Martha: She Made the Mistake of Being a Self-Made Billionaire

Ludwig von Mises Institute ^ | Posted March 6, 2004 | William L. Anderson and Candice E. Jackson

[cyborg]

Martha Stewart gave the anti-capitalists, the class warfare crowd and the overall jealous playerhaters all the ammo they needed. People who hate success because they are failures. However, pointing out that Martha Stewart should do the time accorded to her (which I think will be mild to say the least) doesn't necessarily make one a hater in the least bit.

[an amused spectator]

Yes, but it sures makes it easy for them when the target is arrogant and convinced the laws shouldn't ever apply to them.

Probably got the idea from her rich Democrat pals like Clinton & McAwful.

Uncle Sam requires respect so the little guy won't raise up a fuss.

Yeah. It's the April 15, 2004 sacrifice. :-)

[King Prout]

oh, that's cold.

[webheart]

Federal prosecutors always roll hard on someone that they can prove is lying to them

God, I wish this were true.....(example: bill clinton)

[dwills]

I sent the following to NRO, which is calling for a Free Martha concert, not too tongue-in-cheek (Stephen Moore, Club for Growth, wants insider trading legalized):

"Heralding Martha as a victim of selective prosecution and class warfare is a poor fig leaf for your obvious bad conscience. Sure, most folks hope to take advantage of stock tips and wouldn't hesitate in doing so-particularly with respect to a position in which they've already invested. Martha ain't most folks. Martha is (or has been) a licensed securities broker, the C.E.O. of a publicly traded corporation and a member of the NYSE board.

You will never make a well-married fashion model into a martyr for the entrepreneurial class, unless you wish to highlight the principle that it takes money to make money. Such reminders tend to alienate the many would-be capitalists who are nowadays consigned to wage-slavery in service of their mortgage-sized educational debts and unaffordable housing. If spousal or family wealth has contributed to any portion of your education, housing or entrepreneurship, you'll do well to not play the 'class' card.

O.J., Clinton, Helmsley, Tyson, Limbaugh, Bonds & Stewart all had or have the means to obtain the best possible legal outcome despite the letter of the law and the evidence of their conduct. The irony that Republicans should decry the punishment of Martha's Clintonian conduct almost justifies an O'Reilly rant. Please hide your tears for Martha and learn to tolerate the howling mob's schadenfreude, lest it sense that you fail to respect the fearsome power of populism."

[Publius6961]

OMG!
Thanks for setting me straight. That's terrible. I never realized that was what she was convicted of.

[rdb3]

You're gonna learn about arguing with ideologues.

Show 'em my motto!

[Oztrich Boy]

Whoopteedoo, where's the crime?

Conspiracy. Obstruction of justice.

[Mamzelle]

re: She made the mistake of lying, repeatedly, about a federal crime. She also, based on her position as a broker and as a board member, knew better. She knew the rules, and didn't follow them. She was given ample chance to ammend her statements, and then she was given several chances to plead out. This is no ones fault but Martha's. Sometimes people have to stand up and accept accountability for their actions. I, for one, am tired of people making excuses for celebrities they admire.)))

I'm a big Martha fan--love her stuff, and I'll miss it--but I just don't feel sorry for her. You forgot to add--"Married to a lawyer for 25 years and lousy with expensive legal advice--" The lies she told were stupid as well as wrong.

OTOH, I wish the kind of hard work that went into her conviction could be used on employers of illegals aliens.

[cyborg]

Yes I have better things to do than give myself carpal tunnel syndrome arguing with azzhats (not anyone in this thread in particular but life in general).

[jwalsh07]

Does the Clintonian argument that "they all do it" make your skin crawl as much as it does mine?

[rdb3]

Does the Clintonian argument that "they all do it" make your skin crawl as much as it does mine?

I find it extremely nauseating, especially how the argument quickly goes from what Stewart's case to general opinion. Obstruction is just that.

Show 'em my motto!

[MeekOneGOP]

;^)

[Darksheare]

She's a Liberal who thought she could get away with insider trading.
Her political contributions?
ALL to the Dems, all to Lib causes.
Railroaded?
Hardly.
Do insider trading, get caught, and commit purjory, do the time like everyone else.

[_Jim]

Allow me to explain.

No, uhh ... why don't you save it.

I can't take any more illogic for today ...

(See, the *smart* thing would have been to have paid Martha off and have had her accept a plea deal - NOT go the full distance and get convicted of all charges which finally made their way to the jury! "And the point was not to keep Martha quiet" sorry - you completely lost me with this one!)

[NYCVirago]

Had she instead been a journalist or a politician, she would have had a chorus of supporters among the political classes. Instead, she made the mistake of being a self-made billionaire, and now the journalists and the political classes are making sure that she is railroaded into a prison cell.

This is BS -- there are plenty of liberal journalists and politicos defending her now.

[an amused spectator]

Uncle Sam let her make millions of dollars selling stuff from Home-ec class and protects her from those who might otherwise think she shouldn't live so large, and she bites the hand that feeds her. Not too bright, but yes, periodically, someone's heart needs to be ripped out on the IRS altar.

I understand your sentiments, but these are not the sentiments of the Founders.

Don't think the line "government of the government, by the government & for the government" would have been real catchy in the late 1700s.

[biblewonk]

She sold the equivalent of ten dollars worth of stock on the advice of her broker, or was it a friend of hers? Whoopteedoo, where's the crime?

It's not a conspiracy nor obstruction of justice since there was no injustice.

[UCANSEE2]

I accept that you can't understand the very simplest of ideas. That those who have inside information and use it to their own advantage would go to extreme lengths to protect themselves, while offering others up for sacrifice, is not really that hard to see.

Let me know if you ever see investigations into other members of the board of the stock exchange. They do the same things she did, but keep it quiet.