Martha Stewart. My hero?

[txaslftist]

I'm starting to think so. Accused of a victimless non-crime, unfairly painted as a 'rich bitch' by an overreaching federal prosecutor and then villified by a far from sympathetic press, she refused to cave in and took the case to trial.

Taking it to trial meant the difference between going to jail and not going to jail if she plead (the secret side of the federal plea bargaining process), but she took it to trial. She lost, in large part because the prosecutor attacked her ad hominem rather than focusing on her so called crime.

She went to jail rather than seeking bail pending appeal which she would have gotten. She did her time with grace and dignity, despite thousands of efforts to make a public joke out of her.

She now is making a comeback of epic proportions, to the extent that her new tv shows are going to have ratings far exceeding her old shows, her product lines are back and making money, and she continues to be dignified, and even more publicly honest and frank than she was before her victimization by the Govt.

I heard a commentator suggest that her best course now would be to publicly admit her failings and ask the American people for forgiveness. I say screw that. The Feds who prosecuted her should be asking for forgiveness. She's already earned mine, as well as my admiration for her courage under fire.

Plus she's a big Democratic contributor, no doubt part of the reason she was prosecuted in the first place.

Here's to you Martha Stewart!

:yourock:

[Horse with no Name]

1. I agree

I wasn't that huge of a Martha Stewart fan until she went through this.
Now I am a die hard fan.

[eleny]

2. Very well said

What first came to mind upon reading your thoughts is how I associate her with responsibility. Unlike some public figures we know and discuss here at DU.

I wish her good success and hope that her future is bright. I always liked her programs even if I laughed all the way through the one where she made marshmallows from scratch. :-D

[LSK]

3. and * did the same crime at Harken

And his daddy didnt let anyone do anything about it.

[txaslftist]

9. It ain't what you do. It's who you know.

[Virginian]

11. She was convicted of lying about a crime she wasn't charged with.

They didn't have enough evidence to convict her of the crime.

Dubya on the other hand, may have lied about a crime he wasn't charged with, but he wasn't charged because of connections.

[txaslftist]

17. Exactly. She was supposed to be an example.

Instead their ridiculous treatment only made her a hero, at least in my book.

[Missy M]

4. Why would Martha Stewart ask the American people for...

forgiveness when she is probably more popular than ever. She is one of my heroes too.

[radwriter0555]

5. Women tend to have so much more integrity than men it seems...

I wish more women had the guts to stand up like Stewart, Pelosi and Boxer.

[trof]

6. I used to make fun of her. Not any more.

The lady has guts, and I respect that.
Go, Martha!

[DURHAM D]

7. I will lift a glass to her this evening ! eom

[rniel]

8. I admire that woman

For sure. She's tough as nails. She's way smarter than all her enemies.

[wli]

10. trial by jury is a sham these days, yes

It's all about bail, plea bargaining, and political influence.

Another reason to emigrate post haste.

[txaslftist]

12. It's been a sham for a long time.

The government has changed the rules so far from what we ideally picture them to be that trial by jury is really just trial by the court with a jury to fill in certain minor parts.

The role of the jury is just to "find the facts" although they aren't permitted to hear all of the evidence, they aren't permitted to ask questions, and they don't get to even know what kind of consequences their decisions will have.

Did you know that only in limited types of cases can the jury know what punishment the defendant is facing? Imagine making any important decision in your life without knowing what the impact would be.

Its a rigged game, even more rigged because the prosecutors (in high profile or difficult cases) can go to the media and present evidence that (1) the judge wouldn't allow them to put in the trial and (2) the defense can't cross examine or challenge. This way you get nice little jurors who are preconditioned to find the defendant guilty.

[Virginian]

13. Martha Stewart, whipping boy for insider trading.

In the aftermath of Ken Lay, people are angry about the insider trading that wrecked the investments and retirement accounts of so many innocent people.

Martha was not charged with insider trading. There wasn't enough evidence. She was charged with lying to the investigator by saying "I am innocent." She did time for lying to the investigator, but I'm sure many on that jury were taking out their frustrations of Ken Lay and other insider traders who have hurt this country and have not seen the inside of a courtroom.

[txaslftist]

14. Only in Amerika is saying "I am innocent" a crime.

[ripple]

15. She was a red herring

To detract attention from Enron, Worldcom, etc. and the heavy-duty fraud that Bush's business buddies were involved in. All of the sudden SHE became the face of corporate crime. :eyes:

I'm hoping Martha is more politically active than ever after everything those hypocrites put her through. I'm glad she's weathered the storm so well.

[txaslftist]

16. I hope she waits until she's off parole, then rips them a new one.

[Booster]

18. Martha is an example we could all learn from, since if something

isn't done soon, we will all be living in a police state where it's your word against their's, and they are always right. I think somewhere during that trial Martha realized she was in a no-win situation and decided, since she was given lemons, she would make lemonade. She has made them all look ridiculous and I admire her for outsmarting them in the end. I always liked Martha even though I was sure those stories about how mean she could be were probably true; she's human just like the rest of us, and I can certainly be bitchy at times. I think being in jail changed her for the better and she will be more tolerant of others, and use her humor more than before. I wish Martha only the best cause out of all of the assholes in our present world, Martha did it the hard way and deserves what she gets, unlike our gutless resident in the WH.

[txaslftist]

19. soon?

Did you know that there are more people in prison in the United States than in any other country in the world? That there are more people in federal prison than in any single state's prison system? That an african american twelve year old has a roughly equal chance of going to prison as to college?

We may not live in a police state, but it is certainly a prison state and well on its way.

There's a book out there somewhere called "They thought they were free". I don't recall the name of the author, but it casts eerie parrallels between the way the Germans lived and the way we live now.

[Booster]

20. Yes, I did know all of that, but the police state I'm talking about is

the threads I've read on DU where blackhawk hellicopters fly over people's houses because they've posted something on DU or elsewhere, and where the government sets you up because of it. I still believe Martha may have been set up because of her political leanings and they wanted to take the heat off of Ken Lay. I still have yet to hear what happened to the daughter of the CEO who sold 2 million shares of Imclone - was that inside trading, or do I just not know what inside trading is? You're right, we have been in a police state for a number of years now, but it could get very much worse for dissenters. The longer this administration is in power, no dissenter is totally safe, except for maybe Cindy - they wouldn't dare touch her.

[txaslftist]

22. This is a new and improved police state.

There are no longer "Dissenters".

The people running the federal government aren't worried about the views of "dissenters" because all of the dissent gets lost in a whirlwind of spin and noise so thick that the average person is completely unaware of it.

Sure, we're blogging on DU, saying things that are pretty darn disrespectful of gummint. Over on Lew Rockwell they're blogging away. Over on Free Republic they're blogging away. Over on the neo-nazi site and the Pat Robertson site they're undoubtedly doing the same.

And I daresay a lot of revolutionary stuff is being said, the kind of things that would have gotten you shot had you said them in the old Soviet Union or in Nazi Germany. But who cares?

As long as Joe Six Pack and his buddies think they are free, and that the nation's freedom is under attack, he'll go along (maybe grudgingly) with the gummint.

I mean, aren't we all against drugs and crime and terrorists?

So long as we agree on that stuff, can't the government keep us in line?

[Dem Agog]

21. I don't LIKE her, but I admire her...

[msrbly]

23. Martha is grace personified. n/t