The modern day witch hunt?

[thestonesfan]

Is anyone else a bit disturbed by the glee that people have when they see Martha Stewart being destroyed?

I don't know much about the woman. I didn't watch her shows or buy her stuff...but I do know that she worked very hard to get where she was, and her work has generated thousands of jobs. Yet her crime of...um...whatever they decide to call it this week...incites more ire than OJ chopping two people into kibbles did.

For those not in the know...here is what she did. She sold 39 shares of IMClone stock after recieving a tip from her broker that the FDA wouldn't approve a drug they were trying to get on the market. She saved about $41,000 from doing this.

They couldn't get her for insider trading, they couldn't get her for securities fraud, so now they are simply saying she lied about why she sold it and obstructed justice by doing so.

Why do people hate her so much? They'd rather see her go down that any sleazy, non-producing leech of a politician.

 

[KaNick]

People are just happy that she wasn't able to buy here way out of it. I don't really care, and I, like you, would rather see some of our politicians go to jail instead.

 

[stormbind]

hate is derived from jealousy?

both are sins in christianity so i try to avoid them and wouldn't have great understanding of the psychology

 

[Giotto]

I agree that it's ridiculous. Jealousy is what I would attribute it to also. They portrayed Stewart as some kind of horrible human being, and so they are glad to see her fall. Funny that nobody cared really when Ray Lewis the Superbowl MVP football star killed someone, yet this is such huge news.

 

[sysyphus]

You title this thing "witch hunt" and yet you make a basically blanket statement about politicians?

 

[Lifeblood]

Just fine her a million bucks and end this farce.

 

[Thunderfall]

Martha Stewart could get as long as 20 years in prison.

Today I read in New York Post that a judge sentenced a cold blooded wife-murderer for just 25 years in prison.

It's insane. I don't know why she still said she believes in the fairness of the judicial system. Certainly someone like Stewart, even if she did insider traded, deserves much better treatment than a killer...

 

[Pontiuth Pilate]

Just a correction. I read on CNN that she sold more than 4,000 shares. This saved her about 51,000 dollars. Can't vouch for those figures, but CNN is usually on the money [no pun intended].

I'd like to see as much or more attention given to the folks who are doing the heavy-duty stuff, not the tens of thousands of dollars peanuts. I'd also like less focus on trials and more focus on what the government is doing or is going to do to prevent further crimes.

But that's life. Stewart's a celebrity and she's the goddess of the Yuppie movement... so people would love to see her take a fall. She's not a "big-business" type, so it's easy to focus on her instead of the people who routinely engage in this sort of crime. It's the ideal solution - someone who isn't integral to the Old Boy Network takes the fall, no questions are raised about larger problems, no confidence in our leaders is shaken, and the money itself is a pittance, so big biz and foreign investors continue to have confidence - in their ability to continue to play with other people's pensions with impunity.

The inevitable government line is: "We're arresting criminals, what more can we do?"

 

[Pontiuth Pilate]

Martha Stewart could get as long as 20 years in prison.

Today I read in New York Post that a judge sentenced a cold blooded wife-murderer for just 25 years in prison.

It's insane. I don't know why she still said she believes in the fairness of the judicial system. Certainly someone like Stewart, even if she did insider traded, deserves much better treatment than a killer...

Stewart will be unlucky to get three years in prison thanks to something called "federal sentencing guidelines" which I am still uninformed about but seems to be tied to income.

 

[Pongui]

I admit a perverse desire to see Martha in the slammer. Martha Stewart Magazine, June Issue - Sprucing Up Your Cellblock.

 

[Moss]

Stewart will most likely not go to prison at all. I would say at the most for 1 year. And I'm not really sure she deserves to go to prison.

I also find it funny that CNN and all of the other news channels spent the entire day glamorizing this story while I'm sure hundreds of more important things happened. Like someone getting murdered. Someone dying...

Celebs get way too much attention...

 

[KaNick]

She deserves to go to prison. If I stole 51,000 from a casino or something I would to to jail for sure. How is Martha's case any different.

 

[amadeus]

Supposedly the judge in this case doesn't allow nonsense, so I'm torn as to whether she'll waffle on the Stewart sentencing.

To me, she undermined the free market system by restricting individual ability to actively participate in the markets with equal access to appropriate information.

Additionally, after celebrities getting off easy (O.J.) and slaps on the wrist, it's about time we had a high-profile conviction to make an example out of someone.

 

[delsully]

Why all the sympothy for her? She tried to pull a fast one and got busted. F**K her. I find it laughable that some people actually give a crap about this story while non-violent drug offenders serve longer sentences, for example. Oh well, there might be a few less sweat shops in Honduras in a few weeks.

 

[amadeus]

It has been a while, and I hoped I would never ever have to do this again...

Originally posted by delsully
Oh well, there might be a few less sweat shops in Honduras in a few weeks.

 

[Pontiuth Pilate]

And he huffed and he puffed... oh wait, wrong fairy tale.

Martha Stewart Magazine, June Issue - Sprucing Up Your Cellblock.

Taming Rats For Fun And Profit - Proper Federal Prison Shower Etiquette - Decorate Those Bars With Origami Flower Strands! - All This And More Inside...

Additionally, after celebrities getting off easy (O.J.) and slaps on the wrist, it's about time we had a high-profile conviction to make an example out of someone.

Yeah, but I'd rather stick it to those who REALLY were rolling in the filthy lucre. Enough of this deranged flower-arranging woman! Bring me the head of Kenneth Lay!

 

[metalhead]

Someone actually got their comeuppance for obstructing justice. Works for me

 

[ShiplordAtvar]

My problem is this - yes, she might have been guilty, but does that provide an excuse for the orgasmic pleasure people derive from seeing her sullied?

Perhaps the federal prosecutor in this case was simply out to make a name for himself, damn the evidence?

 

[CurtSibling]

Bread and circuses.

That's my view of it.

 

[MrPresident]

Of course Martha Stewart is being made an example of. The American government is saying that it doesn't matter how famous you are, how much money you have or how many gay fans you have, if you break the law then we will come and get you. Of course this is all well and good until you look at other examples of famous celebrities and their run-ins with the law. So, instead of this being an example I want it to be the norm. Prosecute everyone who breaks the law regardless of social status.