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On 8 Mar 2004 17:38:28 -0800, (Mike Walton)
arranged random neurons, so they looked like this:

>Let he who would not sell stock on a tip, cast the first stone. Did
>Martha Stewart lie? Of course she did. Did she have any choice.
>Absolutely not.

Are you nuts? She didn't have a choice? Let's just suppose, for the
sake of argument, that, when whatever governmental entity first
inquired, she had slapped her cheeks, looked chagrined, and said, "Oh,
my God! What was I thinking? You're absolutely right! That was an
insider thingy, wasn't it? Oh, please, please, forgive me!" You think
she'd be facing jail time now? I don't *think* so. A hefty fine, yes,
but nothing worse, IMHO.

>Would anybody who has been caught smoking pot, claim
>that he or she is guilty of trafficking. Of course not. Clearly, no
>self respecting Prosecutor would expect Martha Stewart to tell the
>truth, under the circumstances, and any suggestion that Martha Stewart
>deserves to go to jail for lying is absolutely preposterous.

Oh, I see - we have our tongue firmly in our cheek, do we? At least, I
hope so.
>
>Make no mistake about it, Martha Stewart was not prosecuted, she was
>entrapped.

Let me define the legal word, "entrapment": n. in criminal law, the
act of law enforcement officers or government agents inducing or
encouraging a person to commit a crime when the potential criminal
expresses a desire not to go ahead. The key to entrapment is whether
the idea for the commission or encouragement of the criminal act
originated with the police or government agents instead of with the
"criminal." Entrapment, if proved, is a defense to a criminal
prosecution. The accused often claims entrapment in so-called "stings"
in which undercover agents buy or sell narcotics, prostitutes'
services or arrange to purchase goods believed to be stolen. The
factual question is: Would Johnny Begood have purchased the drugs if
not pressed by the narc?

Now, IIRC, Martha voluntarily lied. Was not induced to lie. Was not
refusing to recant the lie, no? Thus, no "entrapment." Puhleeze.
>
>The jury that convicted Martha Stewart harbors the delusion that they
>have sent a message to the little investor, but the exact opposite is
>in fact true. The jury sent the clear message that if you have
>Republican connections and you lie to the American people [somebody
>like John Poindexter] the Federal Government will hire you. If you are
> Democrat like Martha Stewart, you will be entrapped.

I am as big a liberal Democrat as the next person, but I believe you
are mixing apples and oranges. I infer that you are referring to Ken
Lay, et al? Charges are still being teed up, and if nothing happens to
these miscreants, maybe President Kerry can take care of the little
beggars.
>
>The business of America is business, and Marthe Stewart is the very
>best. This witchhunt has sent the clear message that if you are an
>intelligent business person, and you do the right thing [tell a little
>white lie to protect your stockholders] the Federal Government will
>destroy you.

"...do the right thing (tell a little white lie to protect your
stockholders)..."?? Are you nuts? You really think Martha lied to
agents of the federal government for her *stockholders* benefit? And
you really think this was a "little white lie"? A "little white lie"
is when I tell my DH that his gawdawful haircut looks good on him, not
that I didn't get insider information to sell a stock that's going to
tank.

>I think the idiots who targeted Martha Stewart and turned
>the world of the little investors who relied on the value of her company
>stock, upside down, are as guilty as Enron's, Ken Lay is. If Martha
>Stewart spends a single day in jail, the do-nothing regime of an idiotic
>administration that is screwing the small investor, should collapse even
>faster than Howard Dean did.

So, just how much Martha stock do you own? You cannot *begin* to
compare Ken Lay with Martha Stewart. Lay's actions destroyed people's
lives and, I daresay, a LOT of Enron's investors were "little
investors." I have a feeling that we're on the same approximate
political page, but Martha lied and lies have consequences. Ken Lay
will have his own particular level of hell with which to deal, I do so
dearly hope.

Terry "Squeaks" Pulliam Burd
AAC(F)BV66.0748.CA

"If the soup had been as hot as the claret, if the claret
had been as old as the bird, and if the bird's breasts had
been as full as the waitress', it would have been a very
good dinner." Anonymous.

To reply, remove replace "shcox" with "cox"