AMEN!

At the top of my goddamm lungs, Esmay.

Martha who?

Amen, but you have to shake your head when some idiot like her gets herself some jail time over building a web of lies over $250k or so worth of stock - when she is already one of the wealthiest women in the world. Just stupid.

Make that "she used to be one of the wealthiest women in the world."

Already, talks of Chapter 11. Might even push KMart over the edge.

You got it.

Meanwhile, the leaders of Enron walked away more or less scot-free after destroying the retirement plans of thousands of people.

Just a little perspective.

Enron leaders did NOT walk off scot free. They just indicted Skilling last week. Fastow is going to the Fed farm, as is his wife. Those Enron dudes are going to prison.

Ebbers (Worldcom/MCI) got indicted this week, after his CFO (Sullivan) cut a plea deal.

Perhaps if Martha had copped a plea (rather than go to trial) - she would get off a little lighter. Her arrogance here is why she is going to prison - not the Partiarchy.

Amen, hallelujah and what you said!!

I've already forgotten what this thread was about :).

Meanwhile, the leaders of Enron walked away more or less scot-free after destroying the retirement plans of thousands of people.

In what world did this happen, Rick? Some of those guys are in jail, while others are under indictment now. Almost all of them have had most of their assetts siezed.

Have to agree with the arrogance part. last thing I would let a client do after a conviction is to make a statement like she just did saying that she still believes she did nothing wrong. Geez, doesn't she know there's still a sentencing hearing to go to?

I'm totally fascinated. Can't wait for the sentencing!

*ppppbbbbtttt*

"In what world did this happen, Rick?"

That's the same world in which the religious right is politically powerful and America is imperialist: Lefty Fantasy Land.

Damn! She had some really good recipes and stuff. I'm gonna miss her. No, I'm not being sarcastic - I like her.

OFF TOPIC

Rose.

Call Mom. Shes been trying to call you but there is no answer. I know you're home because you posted 10 minutes ago.

While I don't much care about Martha's doings, I find it interesting that she may get 20 years in prison. Seems like a bit much to me...

Dean, and YOU call Your Mom! We know You are there, you too just posted.

Well Dean, looks like Martha brought out something good in your post.

And that's a Very Good Thing!

My wife and I like Martha Stewart. Because we like her sense of design. And our place is filled with various kinds of Martha Stewart this or that.

And on the strength of that alone, I would vote to acquit her. For the same reason a jury filled with blacks acquitted O J Simpson of murdering his wife. In other words, my view of justice is just like those blacks; it is entirely subjective.

But my advice to Martha Stewart, if she can simply walk away from courtroom, is this:

1) Never,EVER put even a dime of your money in someone else's investment.

2) Never, EVER, listen to any stock broker. Even if they tell you they got a private tip that you aren't supposed to know about.

3) At all times, ALWAYS, cover your ass with documents showing that you ordered the sale of the stock at a spcific price level, or to cover any similar situation.

4) Never, EVER, receive phone calls from anybody whose action merely in telephoning you could incriminate you.

5) Never, EVER, allow any servant or anyone else whose testimony could endanger you in court, access to your private correspondence.

Now for all you citizens out there, I ask you this. Why would anyone be stupid enough to invest serious money in any venture in which they did NOT have insider knowledge of what was happening to their investment?

(Brokers of all type call me for this and that. I let them blab their mouths off for 45-60 seconds, then pull the plug. The world is filled with suckers. I'm just not one of them.)

Arnold Harris
Mount Horeb WI

So they convicted her anyway.

Oh well. That's the way the cookie crumbles.

Arnold Harris
Mount Horeb WI

Yup.

You can get an amen, hallelujah, and thank you thank you thank you. Nuff said.

The only ones I feel for or the poor people who invested in her company.

The interesting thing, as the puppy blender quoted from one of his readers, is that she was convicted of covering up a crime they can't prove she committed. This is fairly similar to the New York State prosecutor destroying Strong Financial and then declining to press charges.

Security law is going to have to be adjusted to deal with the Information Age, one way or another.

I really couldn't care one way or the other, but how do you get convicted of covering up a crime that you weren't even charged with nor convicted of in the first place?
Wouldn't the latter have to occur in order to prove a cover up?
I am so confused!

AMEN!

AMEN!

Pity poor Martha
Convicted on all four counts
No doilies in stir

AMEN

Testify, brother!

Per Enron: If those "workers" at Enron (most of whom were white-collar university graduates pulling down upper middle class bucks) had not been so stupid as to put all or most of their 401(k) investments in their own company's stock, they would not have gotten so badly hosed. This is "Investment 101," people!! Never buy more of your own company's stock than the management matches (at most). And if you do, well, upon your head be it if your company craters and you lose both your investment and your job at the same time.
That said, the Enron guys need to see some hard time.

People don't care about Martha Stewart? How is that possible? I mean, look...among current cnn.com headlines: Court Rejects Brothel Visits Claim, Woman Finds Fingertip in Salad, and Martha Stewart Found Guilty (with sublink Drama Outside). Wow. Camp overload. I may have to lie down.

Regarding what Arnold Harris said about the OJ Simpson analogy: did anyone else see the juror who started preening for the press immediately after stepping out of the courthouse? Of course, you can't always tell from someone's demeanor, but he sure struck me as a gonzo idiot, with his airy victory-for-the-little-guy routine.

I have not followed any, not any, coverage of this case since the story first broke. But I recall reading back then that Stewart was both a stock broker in the past, and at the time of the alleged violation, sat on the Board of Governors of the New York Stock exchange. I wonder if she was held to a higher standard because given her background, and her position, she should have known better. I wonder if another trader would have been cut a little more slack.

As Bill Maher said last night, "Martha will become the first Federal prisonor to blow a guard for a pack of potpourri."

Dean,

I'm just grateful you got the phrase right: "I COULDN"T care less..."

Where's old Kennie Boy Lay these days? How about his wife? Seems the last time I saw her, she was on TV whining about having to sell their 5 million dollar mansion. Or maybe that was some wife of some other Enron crook.

I'll tell ya why you should care about this. Your government is a lying sack of turds. Martha is the old bait and switch. A stock transaction which netted Martha $50,000 makes the headlines. This is the feds idea of taking a bite out of corporate crime? How many millions of our tax dollars were used to prosecute this case? Millions spent to prosecute a $50,000 crime. Compare this with the billions that likes of Enron and our largest accounting firms are stealing from citizens everyday. Are they prosecuted? No they aren't. Lay greased every politician's hand known to man and the chances of him ever being brought to justice are nil. You should be concerned about this Dean. This trial was nothing short of a sham used to deflect public scrutiny from the corporate crime that is rampant in this nation.

I like Martha too. I think her stuff at K-mart is cool and have bought a lot of it. Her so called crime is such small potatoes it is laughable. Boy she has a lot to answer for, getting rich and successful and all that. We need to send more people like her to jail. I'll certainly feel a lot safer when she is behind bars and has filed bankruptcy.

Remember, what you say can and WILL be used against you.

I personally could give less of a fuck about Martha Stewart as an individual, but remember that she wasn't convicted of lying under oath, or swearing false statements under penalty of perjury.

It's all 'impeding an investigation' and assorted nonsense. She's been convicted of covering up a crime that no one has proved happened. If they could have nailed her on insider trading, do you think they would have had to charge her with this bullshit?

It's no longer OUR government, it is now very firmly THE government, and should be treated appropriately.

Ralph-

Regarding Ken Lay - you really think Skilling (who was the 2nd in command, after Lay) - is really NOT going to rat Ken Lay out? You really think that?

These assholes would sell their own grandmother up the river if it gets them out of "pound me in the ass" prison. Lay is going to the fed farm - just like the rest of high-level Enron assholes.

Why all these people defending Martha Stewart. She was a miserable, arrogant, witch of a person. I am glad they are making an example out of her - the $40M would be well worth it - as a deterrent to others in NY high society who think they can get away with insider trading because of who they are.