Martha Stewart.

[American Voice]

There are some folks who say, "y'know, ya gotta admire Martha Stewart!"

To them, I say: you're not by boss. You don't tell me what to do!

What do you all say? Shave her head and burn her as a witch?

 

[Numure]

Did you see how little she got!!!!!! America, the land of the free, as long as your rich. I've seen people that ran threw red lights get more then that!!!

 

[peapod]

Before I pass judgement on martha sentence, I will wait and see what Ken Lay and his buddies get. American voice, shave her head and burn her at the stake! Ball busters don't go down that easy. Especially ones that know how to throw a match into some cognac.

 

[researchok]

Enron, MCI Worldcom and global crossing--what a team

CEO's need to be drawn and quartered. Its that simple.

 

[Haggis McBagpipe]

Martha Stewart has been made a scapegoat, her crime was far less than her male counterparts. She gets the book, they don't. Five months, etc., is a lot of time for a relatively minor white collar crime. Jail time for someone who poses virtually no threat to anybody? I think not.

I - no previous Martha Stewart fan (perish the thought) - sure do admire her for the ballsy way she's handling this. Let's put it this way, I'd rather someone like Martha Stewart be in my corner than, say, one of those weepy little TV evangelists, et al, who get caught and cry like babies about it.

 

[researchok]

Before I pass judgement on martha sentence, I will wait and see what Ken Lay and his buddies get. American voice, shave her head and burn her at the stake! Ball busters don't go down that easy. Especially ones that know how to throw a match into some cognac.

Really, I like this genteel, feminine side of you.

But please, tell us how you really feel.

 

[peapod]

Light my fire.

 

[researchok]

matches..matches....my kingdom for a match...

 

[Ginger_Ale]

What a lousy sentence. 5 months home confinement. Wow, that's punishing.

 

[researchok]

AND 5 months detention AND 2 years probation.

She's not exactly Lizzy Borden.

 

[Haggis McBagpipe]

It is patently insane. They needed a scapegoat to show that the law is by god going to take corporate corruption seriously... and Martha was an easy target. I can't believe they're sending her to jail. Then again, this is the same country that wants to send Bobby Fischer to jail twelve years later for the henious crime of playing chess against Yugoslavians. Good grief.

 

[researchok]

Yup, I agree-- though I think the boycott of Milosovic was warranted.

The man had been out of control for years at that point, systematically killing, albeit quietly.

 

[peapod]

Did anyone catch martha's interview last night on 20/20. I find it sad that such a person now has to go before millions of people and strip herself just to show that she is a human being. Now that she has been brought down and has showed the necessary requirements of being broken perhaps she will be able to evade the paint brush the ramseys were painted with.

On any given day, you can read lots of articles in newspapers of fraud and theft and club med sentences for the crimes. I am not saying that martha stewart did nothing wrong. But she did not defraud shareholders, she did not steal money from anyone, and she was not charged with stealing any money. She was convicted of telling a lie. Not that any of us have ever told a white lie to revenue canada or other such insituations.
They say that people like to have people of wealth and importance fall from grace. It does seems that they want it more if its a women.
I root for Martha Stewart, not because she should get away with anything, but because she should not be judged because she appears cold and standoffish and she bought an expensive handbag for court. She worked hard for her money and she can spend it anyway she wants to. She should not have to explain her purchases to strangers.
So there she was last night showing everybody that she has the same feelings that most of us have. Hopefully for her now that she has been brought down she will be able to pick herself up and continue on. I am putting my money on the fact that I think she will do just that, and thats a good thing.

 

[Haggis McBagpipe]

I root for Martha Stewart, not because she should get away with anything, but because she should not be judged because she appears cold and standoffish and she bought an expensive handbag for court.

Yes! Yes!! This is it in a nutshell, Pea (or, should I say in a peapod). Martha Stewart is guilty of being a strong, dynamic, ruthless, icy cold woman.

Men like that are called powerful, women like that are called bitches who deserve everything they get. When a man is ruthless and lies freely and often, it is said, 'oh well, sure, you have to be like that to be in that kind of position', but if a woman is like that, it is pretty much unforgivable, she is seen as an insult to all that is wholesome and good. Stupid double standards.

Martha Stewart refuses to be the 'victim', another crime in the eyes of the American public. They like their victims, and they like 'em nice and soft and crying their eyes out. I'm sure glad I did not see this show 20/20, for it sounds to me as though Stewart was forced to participate in that tiresome new activity, Crying Copious Tears in Public to Show Heart. Pffft.

 

[American Voice]

The five months in federal prison she was sentenced to she will never serve. Neither will she be grounded for five months, which she would be only subsequent to the prison time. She will pay the $30,000 fine, but that's got to be chump change in comparison with her attorney fees.

Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. will likely wither and die a lingering death. Prestige is her stock in trade, and her image has been irreparably corroded. She was arrogant. She is a well-heeled thief and got caught at it. Who wants to identify with that?

The sensible thing for her would be to serve the time, and save the money the appeals will cost. Her appealing may salvage some of her prestige, though, and maybe enough to be able to quietly liquidate the company piecemeal. So, in the end, maybe she will end up in the black. Let the punishment fit the crime.

Ken Lay, on the other hand, will almost certainly serve time in prison, probably several years, and have to pay huge sums in both fines amd attorneys' fees. He will be a poor white man then, and have to forever be looking over his shoulder, wondering if someone might be following him with a gun. As a convicted felon, his employment options will be limited. Let's see, what did those Watergate guys do? Wrote books, became ministers, hosted radio, actor. . .

 

[peapod]

As usual you completely miss the point.

 

[American Voice]

What you are saying is that with you the strategy is working? I'm just looking at it from a different point of view. You see her as an heroic figure, bracing against a storm of prejudice and injustice. To me, it looks like defense team strategy. Do you think it is significant that she didn't wear a hat?

 

[peapod]

I really don't want to repeat myself, so this is the last time I will make mention you are missing the point. on myself seeing Martha Stewart as a "heroic figure" I call bullshit. I see her as exactly the opposite. Maybe it has something to do with my being left handed seeing things from the order side of my brain.

 

[American Voice]

Peapod, I want to understand your point of view, but you are an enigma. Explain it to me, what is it I am missing? Okay, I'm messin' with you about the hat--I think you're being taken in--but I truly do want to understand what it is you believe. Keep your hair on! :roll: