Here is a typical MSM article, all about how a Tennessee- based guitar manufacturer, Gibson, was shaken down by the Obama Administration, probably because of the Republican-leanings of its owner.
It is published on the very mainstream philly.com, where I, a native Philuphian, and now a NYC’er, go for my sports fix in the morning. (I never ever warmed up to the Rangers, Knicks and Yankees. That is an impossibility).
So, the Southern Huckabee donor got screwed while a Pennsylvania-based guitar manufacturer, Martin, a heavy donor to dems and Obama, was left alone to use the same exotic woods as the Republican Gibson Company.
NASHVILLE — Henry Juszkiewicz and Christian Martin run competing guitar-manufacturing companies, but their politics have nothing in common.
Juszkiewicz, CEO of the Tennessee-based Gibson Guitar, is a Republican who donates heavily to party candidates, including Mike Huckabee.
Martin, CEO of the Pennsylvania-based Martin Guitar, donates heavily to Democrats, including Barack Obama.
Despite their partisan differences, Juskiewicz and Martin have something in common — both of their companies import the same type of exotic wood to manufacture guitars.
The federal government considers this activity questionable and raided one of the two companies.
Take a guess as to which one.
A chorus for you if you answered Gibson.
Federal agents, under the auspices of the Department of Justice and the Department of the Interior, raided Gibson’s offices in Nashville and Memphis in 2011. They said Gibson broke the law by violating the 100-year-old Lacey Act, which regulates the importation of exotic wood from Africa and India.
Of course, this article engendered comments about Obama being a fascist and a control freak and worse than Nixon, etc etc etc. It brought out the uglies for sure.
Of course, stories like that also engender this:
On May 28, Fox & Friends co-hosts again focused on the Gibson Guitar DOI investigation, reaching to connect it to reports that the IRS inappropriately targeted conservative groups, reports which Fox have relentlessly pushed to frame as part of a larger government scandal. Co-host Brian Kilmeade suggested that the existence of the IRS investigation report raised the possibility that Gibson Guitar may have been mistaken in thinking that its alleged improper use of "this eccentric, very rare wood was the reason why they were being investigated" by the DOI, and co-host Gretchen Carlson noted:
CARLSON: At the time there were whispers: oh, you know, the guy who runs the company is a conservative, he's given to Republicans in the past. Maybe that could have had something to do with it, because it turns out that they had done absolutely nothing wrong at the company. Well now some people are trying to put together the dots and draw the lines based on this IRS investigation. Could it be that some of these other things that were going on were also concerted targeted things?
"Targeting things!" Ingenious! Those darn "things"! Of course! Tie it to the IRS non-scandal!
Of course, here is the truth:
There were legal reasons why Gibson Guitar was singled out for investigation. Quinnipiac University School of Law professor John Thomas noted that while other companies also import unfinished wood from India, irregularities on Gibson Guitar's paperwork raised red flags, and court documents have suggested that Gibson Guitar "knew that it was buying illegal woods" from Madagascar:
My take is that the 2009 and 2011 seizures are related in that Gibson's conduct has given USFW [US Fish and Wildlife Service] officials probable cause to be suspicious of Gibson's wood-buying activities. In 2008, Gibson, Martin, and Taylor officials [Guitar companies] toured Madagascar and observed the illegal logging operations. Martin and Taylor promptly stopped using Madagascar woods; Gibson did not. Internal Gibson emails, as quoted by the US Attorney's office appear to indicate that Gibson knew that it was buying illegal woods. Federal officials seized that wood and as per the 2008 Lacey Act amendments, need not charge Gibson with a crime. Gibson must prove the legality of the wood to secure its return. Gibson has been unable to do that.
(sigh)
Darn that liberal media!