Martha Steward

[135711]

In the world of rip-offs, and foreign invasions, I feel concern about Martha Steward. A "dyed in the wool" American girl. What are your thoughts.

[DJ Apostrophe]

money is a powerful corruptor... and it just goes to show that not even a 'dyed in the wool' american girl is exempt from that corruption... its all about the $$$

[135711]

NO! no! Martha is good. Martha did good stuff. Why should Martha suffer, while these other cruddies go scot free?

[Inquartata]

You know her personally, then? That's the only way to have a really informed opinion on someones mores and values, I think. remember that she is in the entertainment industry---essentially, an actor. We take such people at face value to our peril. For all we know she is evil incarnate. For all we know she is a saint. In any event, probably the investigators are better situated to know than we are.

And it's not an either/or thing. We needn't choose between prosecuting Thief A or Thief B on the basis of how much they stole or whether they seem to have a pleasant personality. If they both did the crime, hit 'em both.

[latenight]

At least the jail will be pretty... can't you see an episode of her show from prison? She can teach "snake" how to make petifours.

[HilandDoug]

It's "Stewart", with a "T", but she will do little if any jail time. She will forfeit her profits from the IMClone stock sale, maybe pay a petty fine of a few million tops (she's worth hundreds of millions), and her life will go on.

I knew she would get hit as soon as her broker said publicly, "I gave Martha inside information relating to the sale of IMClone prior to her placing her sell order." Martha used to be a stock broker, and had a seat on the exchange, until she had to give it up becasue of this mess. She knew when she heard the info from her broker that it was inside information, and she knew that it would be unethical for her to place her sell order at that time, but she did it anyway, and she was only protecting a $250,000 profit. What's a quarter mill to Martha Stewart? It should have been nothing, and she should have let it sink, becasue it's going to cost her a lot more than $250,000 in the long run. However, the market likes the news, becasue her stock is up a few points today. It's no big deal. It's like Mango getting a speeding ticket. It's embarrasing, it costs a little money but not enough to break you or cause hardship, and everyone forgets it in a year.

[counter riposte]

What color goes well with metal bar?

I have to agree with Doug, in all it will be a slap in the wrist, and I seriously doubt people will be rushing to return thier linens over this thing.

[Philistine]

Originally posted by HilandDoug
It's "Stewart", with a "T", but she will do little if any jail time. She will forfeit her profits from the IMClone stock sale, maybe pay a petty fine of a few million tops (she's worth hundreds of millions), and her life will go on.

One other thing--she will likely no longer be able to be an officer or director of any publically traded company, including her own.

--Philistine

[Inquartata]

It's true that the typical penalty for insider trading has always been disgorgement of the illicit profits and fines, but in the wake of all the corporate scandals, and given her very high profile and the scrutiny of the media I wonder whether there might not be an "example" in the offing...

[Gav]

Who the hell is Martha Stewart? What does being "a dyed in the wool american" have to do with criminal activity? Nationality has little to do with criminal intent.

[Niceguy4186]

if she does go to jail, anybody wanna take bets on matching orange curtains made from the jump suits?

[HilandDoug]

Sorry Gav, Martha is the Domestic Dominatrix here in the States. She does interior stuff, from decor to.....you name it! If it's under a roof or in the house, Martha's got a hand in it. Linens, cookbooks, lamps, holiday decorations, mail order catalogues, magazines. Look her up on the web and you'll be amazed at what you find.

[135711]

Hi. I just got back into things here. I've never seen martha do leather unless it were a terre cotta and black combo. I guess the reason I write about this, is that I noticed that as soon as a woman gets real money, someone tries to screw it up for her and she lands in jail. Take Leona Helmsley for example, do you really think she should have gone to jail and what about her husband, why was he exempt. How does Martha pose such a threat while someone like Pinochet goes home to glory? What's the deal, and is there any real justice? What's cookin?

[JEC]

Hey, Martha would do some symbolic but well deserved time, and the her male friend who passed the tip will also do time TOO. Well deserved for both.

[135711]

You're trying to be fair, which is good, however, I think her husband passed away. In any "case" I really never believed she ripped anyone off. Martha is largely symbolic, she's a weathly white, blonde and she made a lot of money in decor. Lots of people would love to see her rot in jail. Free enterprise should be that, free; in terms of freedom, not cost-free in terms of money. Too much "kenneth star". It's almost like another Joe McCarthy era.

[achilleus]

Originally posted by 135711
In any "case" I really never believed she ripped anyone off. Martha is largely symbolic, she's a weathly white, blonde and she made a lot of money in decor. Lots of people would love to see her rot in jail. Free enterprise should be that, free; in terms of freedom, not cost-free in terms of money. Too much "kenneth star". It's almost like another Joe McCarthy era.

Justice is blind. Did she cause widespread grief like Enron? No. Does that mean that what she did was legal? No. She knew the law, and she broke it, and deserves the appropiate punishment for her actions.

She won't do jail time, most likely just a fine, and a slight smudge on her public image.

Also, don't confuse her image with who she is. She's a smart business woman. She's built a very strong brand, with some very good products and ideas. She made a rather ridiculous illegal move in an attempt to save a pittance.

Arguing the validity of the law, is a different story. These laws have been in place for some time, and unlike McCarthy not subjective. The CEO's and companies are accountable down to the last detail. Anything less, is fraud, theft, and dishonest.

[135711]

I hope it's a light sentence, I bought a Martha Steward-ish lamp, which I'm giving to a friend when I leave my apartment.