MARTHA STEWART, REDUX
Meryl Yourish says
Martha Stewart is being railroaded. I’m still waiting to hear the Enron indictments. Ken Lay? Ken Lay? Call your office.
It’s been so long since Enron was on my radar screen that I had just presumed Lay had been indicted; indeed, he has not, at least as of last month. Of course, a grand jury has been empaneled for months and hasn’t yet indicted Lay despite the old saw that a prosecutor can persuade a grand jury to indict a ham sandwich. I guess it’s possible that he is in fact merely incompetent rather than guilty of a crime, although it is rather hard to believe.
Yourish cites a piece by Virginia Postrel which argues that the statute under which Stewart was ultimately indicted is pernicious and subject to abuse. Interesting. I take it for granted that laws are subject to abuse, although I frankly don’t know enough about this specific statute to offer anything beyond the link.
It is embarrassing to see the powers-that-be focus on Martha Stewart, when some others have so clearly done more to damage the fabric of the public trust – ie, defrauded millions of us.
I don’t for a minute gainsay what she might have done, but jesus h, give me a break. She’s an easy target, as compared to someone like Ken Lay who had minions and minions covering his backside, and a whole hell of a lot more people know who she is. These guys went for the fast, easy, visible kill.
But you know what really frosted me was the sanctimony of the prosecutor – “If she had just done what we’re all teaching our children to do – tell the truth” – These days it’s hard even to figure out what the establishment perceives to be truth- it’s a matter of convenience. I truly believe they could turn “I don’t know” into a lie. The audacity of him, standing there preaching to us –
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