Feds Want To Shut Down Rock-and-Roll

There hasn't been an attack on the music industry to this degree since Tipper Gore went after record content labeling:

The Obama Administration is once again poised to begin harassing Gibson Guitars of Nashville, Tennessee, this time taking its grievances with the company to musicians and fans at summer concerts across the nation.

Administration officials have threatened to raid summer concerts in order to seize what it deems to be illegal guitars made from wood that has been banned....

The latest skirmish, however, takes the government's case against Gibson to a new level. The feds intend to take the battle directly to the musicians who use Gibson guitars, which are considered the best in the business, and to the fans who come to hear them play.

If the feds raid summer concerts, major disruptions will ensue which will impact the fans who paid hefty ticket fees to see their favorite musicians such as Sheryl Crow, Ted Nugent, and Paul McCartney, all of whom use Gibson guitars.

The threat was enough to send U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., quickly leaping into action to make sure the government is prevented from seizing guitars made with forbidden wood provided they were manufactured prior to 2008. A law passed 112 years ago in order to regulate bird feathers used in hats was amended in 2008 to protect wood in "protected forests."

Alexander does not wish to repeal the amendment but to insure that it is understood that guitars and other musical instruments made before the amendment passed in 2008 cannot be considered unlawful, given that they were manufactured when using such wood was fully legal.

This whole controversy comes down to two things: 1. Environmental extremism, and 2. Gibson is a non-union shop. Gibson's biggest competitor is a union shop and big supporter of Obama. Obama is letting the federal agencies do his political dirty work for him.

I posted an item a few days ago about how Mitt Romney could score some easy political points on this Gibson case with very little effort.  He needs to pay attention.