Like we needed a reason to boycott them...

[SustainerPlayer]

While I would agree with you that discussions on politics can get nasty, everyone seems to be being pretty civil.  We're all adults here and by default, that alone should guarantee discussions with a level of maturity that don't lead to name-calling and bashing.

Well - I'm not pointing fingers on anyone here. But past experience on this board says otherwise. And we have lost members both to ban and angry leavings with slamming doors. It makes me sad every time because we are here for the love of guitars, music and Warmoth ... and not necessarily in that order.

Being a Dane I love Americans but find all your politicians stark raving mad anyway  :icon_jokercolor:

But we already have enough to discuss and disagree on regarding stainless steel frets, Floyds and telecasters.  :evil4:

 

[jackthehack]

The point of this post in the first place was that (leaving the annoyance factor of Guitar Center out of the equation) Guitar Center (and musiciansfriend.com) are owned by Bain Capital.

You are free to go spend you money at any venue you wish, but if you are philosophically in opposition to manner in which such entities operate, from vacuuming value out of the economy to corrupting the political process to not paying their fair share on their profits, don't shop there.

If you support Romney/the 1% go shop all weekend at GC; if you don't there are numerous alternatives either online or in some cases in your local community you can support with your dollars.


Apropos article coincidentally in the NYTimes today: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/02/business/inquiry-on-tax-strategy-adds-to-scrutiny-of-finance-firms.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&hp

 

[Torment Leaves Scars]

Being a Dane I love Americans but find all your politicians stark raving mad anyway  :icon_jokercolor:

 

Cool, now we can talk about how much I agree with that!  :toothy12:

But we already have enough to discuss and disagree on regarding stainless steel frets, Floyds and telecasters.  :evil4:

Floyds rule.  I don't think I'll ever own a guitar without one again. 

Teles are great guitars but have become way too common, especially with all of these senseless special editions floating around.  Based on that alone, I will never build a Tele or own another one.  They've become so commonplace they really aren't "special" to me anymore.  They've become akin to the 1969 Camaro.  I've seen so many of them in recent years that it's gotten to the point, "Seen one, seen'em all."  I guess I'm a bit jaded to them now.

That being said, I love my Tele, and wouldn't give it up for the world.  It plays and sounds great, and looks even better.  It's a gorgeous guitar.  For me to be impressed by a Tele anymore, it has to look pretty special and have a uniqueness to it.  I've seen the Fender Custom Shop models and so forth and so on.  IMO, while those CS models are certainly special, they're not unique to me.  IMO, Warmoth "builds" a better Tele than what Fender does.  The huge number of available finishes, the huge choice in neck/fretboard materials, etc. all make a Warmoth Tele more appealing to me than a Fender Tele.

If I were to ever change my mind and build a Tele, it would have dual active humbuckers, maple STRAT neck, ebony fretboard, neck binding, 24 medium-jumbo SS frets, Floyd Rose, and a totally wicked flame finish in Dragon Burst...and don't forget the matching headstock!  :headbang1:

 

[Jumble Jumble]

You HAVE to build that tele. It sounds flippin' awesome.

 

[Dan025]

I got to agree with Cagey on this one, you really don't seem to understand the subject matter. And in fact, are actually pointing out the very error in your own opinion.
Granted, if companies were a democracy (i.e. solely at the mercy of the Mob Rule of ignorant shareholders) then that would likely not be a good thing. But, they aren't. That is exactly the purpose for having a board of directors, a chairman of the board and a CEO that make the more real-time decisions, and along with the corporate by-laws, serve somewhat as checks and balances on each other. That isn't perfect either, but if they do a good job then it is a whole lot better than the simple majority shareholder rule you are pointing at.
The fact that Bain was run better (shipped fewer jobs overseas as one measure) before Romney left it is a great example of that process working and a testament to Romney’s ability and integrity.
You really have not exposed any reason for me to even consider a boycott. Hints and allegations, association and inuendo don't prove anything!
On the other hand, lack of concern for me, their customer and poor service will have me taking my dollars some place else in a heart beat.

Romney has no integrity.  It's common knowledge his company has purchased and fired numerous employees, plus sent numerous jobs overseas, in nothing more than efforts to make his already thick wallet thicker.

Maybe to some people, supporting someone contributing to the unemployment crisis in this country may not matter, but to me it does, and I'm not going to add to his bottom line.  IMO, supporting someone like him is akin to supporting a terrorism group.

well i wont say i believe romney has integrity or that bain always does the best things but the cases that prove your view point are hand picked by his competition. take it all with a grain of salt, if bain didn't turn failing businesses into profitable ones the jobs would be lost anyway. how much romney actually had to do with the atrocities or sucesses is also up for debate. i'm sure decisions have more to do with lawyers and accountants than ceos. not to mention the companies wouldn't be open for sale to these companies if it wasn't for the fact they were already failing. imagine if nobody offered to buy the company and it went into bankruptcy destroying every last job, not just a percentage, as well as losing pensions, insurance and all benifits for %100 of the workers.

i'm not saying to be a republican, certainly not to be a romney supporter (i'm not) but really what do you expect? it's rich people making money and the fact is they save more jobs than the destroy and doing so within the confines of the law (as far as we know). they do exactly as you would expect them to and if you want that to change we need laws to regulate it, but that will never happen because we are too busy as a country hating on people without the facts or perspective we need to fix our problems. if you think they are imoral or unjust, fine, dont shop there, i don't, i shop locally at a store im very lucky to have. but i don't know why we need to talk about it. you wont change my mind and certainly not cagey's so we all gave a view point now lets get back to talking about stuff that's fast and loud whether it be cars guitars or girls i don't care.

 

[TBurst Std]

Mod lock this topic. There is obviously an issue that shouldn;t be discussed here; not to mention some people involved that are largely ignornant.

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

If ignorance of subject matter were grounds for thread lockage, they'd all be locked.  The taboo subject has mainly been avoided by keeping it related to business practices and not focusing on political affiliations.

 

[AprioriMark]

I wouldn't mind this thread bring locked, either.  Discussing politics on a message board is always dangerous for otherwise e-friendly people.  The personal attacks that I'm witnessing here are nothing short of the perfect examples of that.  It would have been nice if some of that could have just been edited away, but apparently it's more important to be rude and e-righteous than civil and a part of a community.

-Mark

 

[TBurst Std]

Well if it is not locked:

Do not presume that my lack of reponse that it means to agree or disagree. Not going to read this thread anymore as I am too sadden by some of the reponses.

 

[Ddbltrbl]

I really hadn't planned on writing anything further, but I don't understand what everyone is so scared of?

Marko and I disagreed, but Marko was very civil about it and I hope I came across the same! We were talking business not politics, and we can agree to disagree and still be friendly. Besides, I like Marko's guitars and his sense of humor! :icon_biggrin:

So relax! It's good to discuss viewpoints different from your own; occassionally you learn something new!

Having said that, I really like Dan0's take on it, especially the part about fast and loud girls, ... opps I mean guitars?  :evil4: