<HTML><HEAD>
<META content=text/html;charset=iso-8859-1 http-equiv=Content-Type>
<META name=GENERATOR content="MSHTML 9.00.7930.16423"></HEAD>
<BODY style="PADDING-LEFT: 10px; PADDING-RIGHT: 10px; PADDING-TOP: 15px" dir=ltr
id=MailContainerBody leftMargin=0 topMargin=0 CanvasTabStop="true"
name="Compose message area">
<DIV dir=ltr>
<DIV style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">
<DIV>As one who has a serious case of G.A.S. (guitar acquisition syndrome), I
have been watching this issue evolve for a number of years. The bureaucracy for
this sort of thing is too entrenched and incapable of making common sense
decisions when they are called for. I remember seeing a PBS program that
documented the burning of a pile of ivory as big as a house. It took place at an
African game preserve and the ivory was collected primarily from animals that
had died from natural causes or that had been purposely killed to reduce the
herd size. This country, full of desperately poor people, could have sold this
resource for a small fortune. Instead, they were forced by “global do-gooders”
to destroy this valuable product. I could get very political but
won’t.......but this is not the singular fault of one or the other political
party. We simply need to elect persons who will take action to rein in the over
zealous who, at the approval of their own conscience, insist they must protect
us from any and all ills real or imagined. </DIV>
<DIV>Chuck Vetter</DIV>
<DIV
style="FONT-STYLE: normal; DISPLAY: inline; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: small; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; TEXT-DECORATION: none">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt tahoma">
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV style="BACKGROUND: #f5f5f5">
<DIV style="font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A title=rrg@unlv.nevada.edu
href="mailto:rrg@unlv.nevada.edu">Rob & Helen Goodale</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>Sent:</B> Saturday, August 27, 2011 11:49 AM</DIV>
<DIV><B>To:</B> <A title=pianotech@ptg.org
href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>Subject:</B> [pianotech] Feds confiscating musical instrument
materials</DIV></DIV></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV></DIV>
<DIV
style="FONT-STYLE: normal; DISPLAY: inline; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: small; FONT-WEIGHT: normal; TEXT-DECORATION: none">
<DIV><FONT face=Calibri>Recently the Gibson Guitar Company was raided by federal
agents asserting that the company has been using illegally obtained banned
lumber from protected forests. It also discusses ivory from piano keys
being confiscated </FONT><FONT face="Times New Roman">by agents. A very
interesting, (and scary) concern about how the government is, (likely),
over-stepping their boundaries. Even if it is from a piano built before
ivory is banned you are at their <U>mercy</U> because you dont have paperwork
<U>proving</U> it is pre-ban ivory, (and how are you supposed to produce
that? A sales receipt from 1926?). Failure to have such a document
can not only result in the materials being confiscated, but also facing heavy
fines and possibly even jail time.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>While the government has responsibilities to ensure that banned materials
such as ivory do not enter the country, it seems like that authority should be
limited to boarder agents and customs inspectors, not demanding proof of origin
on a vintage piano. As far as Gibson is concerned, they claim they have
proof that all of their wood is legal and purchased from a "Forest Stewardship
Council certified supplier". The concern here doesn't appear to be whether
or not possessing wood, ivory, or other materials is legal, but rather the laws
being too broadly and not properly defined. Possessing pre-band ivory and
wood is not a crime, importing new material is the crime.</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Calibri></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Calibri>Read here: <A
title="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904787404576530520471223268.html CTRL + Click to follow link"
href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904787404576530520471223268.html">http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904787404576530520471223268.html</A></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Calibri></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Calibri></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Calibri></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Calibri></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Calibri></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Calibri>Rob Goodale, RPT</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Calibri>Las Vegas,
NV</FONT></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></BODY></HTML>