The problem with confidence is that it instills too many people with a false sense of confidence. And near as I can tell, the only real reason Martha Stewart is headed up the river is because the jurors found her snotty and arrogant. In all the news items I've seen where stewart jurors have been quoted or interviewed, time after time they mention things such as being "turned off" by Stewart friends like Bill Cosby and Rosie O'Donnell making appearances in the courtroom.
If there's one thing Americans can't abide, it's a rich person that doesn't act like your average joe when push comes to shove. It's ok to fly around in a private jet and spend more on a haircut than some people spend on a house, but don't go around actin' all better than us! In fact, many an internet pundit (yes, the term pundit is really losing its cachet) commented on the fact that Martha Stewart just didn't "get it" and she was even wearing a fur scarf to court for the verdict announcement, which reinforces my opinion that Martha's defense team missed the boat on what this whole trial was about.
ASIDE: As if anybody ever comments on what men wear to court, by the way. Indeed, even the Rueters and CNN reports during the trial frequently ran sentences like, "Stewart, clad in a blue pants suit and matching clutch, sat stone faced as...". I'm sure we'll be reading similar phrases when Jeff Skilling is on trial, don't you think? "Skilling, wearing an Armani two piece and Tom Ford for Gucci chalk white shirt, sat stoned faced....". Sure.
Getting back to the verdict - in America, capitalism may be king, but capitalism without a curtsy for the common man just won't do, and when a new york jury is the only thing standing between you and up to 20 years, you better show us some fucking contrition, dammit, or you're gonna pay. If you can't be contrite, at least pretend that the government has come down so hard on you that you are now a shell of your former self, and that you don't even CARE about the money, you just want your life back. But for the love of God, woman, don't go pretending to be innocent and confident before the jury has decided! They'll have you hung for that!
I don't have any idea whether martha stewart is guilty of the charges against her, although I suspect she's less guilty than any 5000 other people who have made far more off of insider trading in the last year alone. Yes, I know that wasn't one of the charges against her. The charges were lying to a federal somebody and obstructing the somebody from doing something truthful. Ok then, so i suspect she is less guilty than the 5000 other insider traders would have been if federal somebody's had decided to spend millions of dollars investigating them and cross-checking everything they said. What martha stewart IS guilty of is owning the stock in her own name and executing her own transactions. Martha, baby, that's what family trusts are for! You need indirection and no accountability with all of the benefits! You screwed up big time!
Finally, it will all come to no account, won't it? Surely, her attorneys, now realizing that this is more serious than they'd thought, will do a bang up job on appeal. If that's unsuccessful, then it's what, a year or two at a minimum security prison in Vail or Aspen (Motto: "No twilight skiing - this IS a prison you know!"). She will use the experience to pen some beautiful tale of the rise and fall of a young girl from humble beginnings, and she'll emerge from prison a changed woman, with charity in her heart, and a wonderful new slogan for the gay weddings planner business she'll launch with Rosie - "Don't let the constitution ruin your special day!"
Posted by Dick at March 8, 2004 09:01 PM | TrackBack