The Martha Stewart Scandal: A Tempest in a Cuisinart...
Sign the petition: Ask President Bush to Pardon Martha

THE UK BANS MARTHA!
British customs says Martha Stewart not welcome to visit the UK due to her felony conviction

Are they smoking dope? The answer is yes!

Update: Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, The UK official who has banned Martha Stewart admits to smoking marijuana!

A Double standard? Naomi Campbell and many other celebrity convicts still welcome in the Land of Tea and Crumpets...

IntrepidSloane.com founder William Staeton starts an online petition

Can we say, we told you so? George W. Bush's refusal to pardon Martha Stewart, who had the misfortune of not being born named Scooter Libby, has led to the British authorities banning her form the country due to her status as a convicted felon. Had Martha received her pardon, this would have never happened. Instead she is now prevented from travelling to America's alleged #1 ally on business. Now a new effort is underway in the UK to reverse this ridiculous decision before some bureacrat puts Martha Stewart on the no-fly list!

Now our readers are demanding that the British Abassador to the US intervene on Martha's behalf:

From: g chung
Subject: U.K. Visit - Martha Stewart
To: Leslie.Slocum@fco.gov.uk, privateoffice.external@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk
Cc: editor@savemartha.com
Date: Wednesday, July 2, 2008, 3:16 AM

This e-mail is intended for the British ambassador in the U.S. regarding Martha Stewart.

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith admitted to smoking cannabis a number of times. In fact, an interview is posted on YouTube in which "Jacqui Smith admits cannabis use" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7pPF-jPdYo).

Cannabis (aka marijuana or ganja) is an illegal drug, and its possession, use or sale is illegal. Smoking cannabis is punishable by a prison term in the United States.

While Wikipedia states that "she made a virtue of her having smoked cannabis," the illegal conduct of Home Secretary Smith is a repudiation of the very statement made by the Home Office spokeswoman. Indeed, Home Secretary Smith's illegal conduct of smoking cannabis "is not conducive to the public good" and she is herself de facto "guilty of serious criminal offenses abroad." In lieu of "continue to oppose entry to the U.K.," more appropriately, it should be "continue to oppose" the Home Secretary due to her illegal conduct.

In contrast to Home Secretary Smith, Martha Stewart has lived a squeaky-clean life; she never smoked cannabis or engaged in any illegal conduct. Ms. Stewart made a perfectly legal, inconsequential personal stock sale and political hay was made out of it with a bogus criminal case. She should never have been charged, convicted, or incarcerated.

Clearly, Home Secretary Jacqui Smith was hypocritical in her abuse of discretion in denying Martha Stewart entry to the U.K. to fulfill her business obligations. Ms. Stewart should be treated no differently from any American citizen residing in the U.S. who requires no visa to visit the U.K. The visa ban against her was unjustified and should be lifted as a moral imperative in joining all the other countries around the world visited by her.

G. Chung

Via the BBC:

So how con you help? Sign the new petition startyed by the UK's William Staeton:

Martha's recent denied entry into the UK due to her past conviction, has spurred young British businessman Will Staeton to initiate a Petition for the Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

"The UK Border Agency are simply following the rules laid down by H.M. Government, but given Martha presents no threat to our Nation or our citizens, we are respectfully requesting that the PM intervene." Staeton continued, "It's sought to have Martha's conviction considered "spent", basically debt to society paid, offender rehabilitated, and then entry granted. She's is a tangible economic asset to her own Country, a model citizen and comes to trade with our industries."

No.10 Downing Street cleared the purpose of the Petition and provided the online resource at; http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Marthastewart/ which open to residents of the United Kingdom and Expats. who are urged to sign now.

Any questions can be directed to wills@intrepidsloane.com

When will MSO Shares Recover?

As Martha gets ready for life after Kmart,
investors look for her next big move...

Update: After a roller coaster ride of a week in the stock market, MSO closed down 8.5% on Friday, once again proving that everything and everyone involved in the markets today is nuts. As the US real estate market melts down, many seemed concerned that Martha would suffer too, but that has yet to be determined. So if you're feeling rattled by all of the turbulence, we recommend sticking to your knitting, making a nice cup of hot cocoa followed by a long walk on the beach with your prized Labraddodles, and enjoying the rest of these nice warm days before the leaves start falling and the first frost starts nipping at your vegetable garden. If that doesn't work, try retail therapy.

MSO Surges, In The Wrong Direction Martha Stewart Omnimedia's shares closed under $12.00 Monday, and investors are wondering what will happen next as the company transitions out of Kmart (finally!) and into Macy's, where the merchandising for her products will at long last no longer resemble the 99 Cent Store look of which Kmart has grown so fond. But the deal with Kmart is doesn't end until 2009, and Kmart is dumping products to make way for...what? More cheap crap from China? Meanwhile, Sears-Kmart holding company stock is down 20% this year, and investor Eddie Lampert has lost $4 billion on paper. The whole situation is making everyone nervous. Everyone but Martha, that is. Does she have some inside information that the market does not? Is a big fat buy opportunity on the way? Stay tuned...

LAMBERT'S KMART TRICKS NO TREAT FOR STEWART--NY Post
August 5, 2007 -- Former billionairess Martha Stewart is not seeing eye-to-eye anymore with billionaire Eddie Lampert. It's not about who's richer - it's about their business - or lack of it. Stewart, now worth just half of her former $1 billion fortune, is miffed that Lampert's Kmart chain isn't doing enough to sell her popular items in his stores, causing a drag on her company's own earnings, insiders say. It's a predicament Stewart publicly calls the "Kmart gap," but internally is code for Lampert's own troubles: namely, not investing enough money into sprucing up his own thread-bare stores, while reducing shelf space for sure winners such as Stewart's line of housewares, furniture and sheets.

The next Martha Stewart of the Green Movement...is...Martha?!

How Martha's Fans Can Make Green The New Black

It seems as if saving Martha just wasn't enough for some fans. They want the old Martha back on TV. And we agree; enough with the celebrities trying to roll dumplings and chew gum at the same time, lets see Martha do it the right way! And one fan recently had a a very disturbing experience at a Borders bookstore after a book signing. Read about her creepy experience with security, and our response on how this is all probably part of the vast anti-Martha conspiracy...

Dear John,
In response to the article about the dipping ratings for Martha-I would like to express how I'm feeling as a long-term reader & watcher who has been a loyal fan since day one.

First let me say thank you for this fantastic site that has kept all of us up to date on what happened during the trial & what is happening since.

I remember when Martha first came to television.  My entire Sunday centered around her show.  I would have coffee & breakfast ready so that I could sit and escape into the beautiful world of Turkey Hill.  Martha was meticulous.  She was instructive & everything she did was substantive.  When the show went daily I was concerned.  Would Martha be able to keep me enthralled every day?  She did.  I loved the weekly version of Living as much as the weekend show.

Now to MARTHA!.  I started out really trying to like the format.  I faithfully Tivo'd it every day.  I found myself fast forwarding through half the episode by the end of last season. 

Learn how Martha was wrongly convicted by the media and a judicial system gone mad. Available now through Amazon.com

Why wasn't Martha teaching cooking, crafting, decorating with the same detail that I had come to love?  How come instead of showing a project all the way though-I lost the end of it because it was cut off because she had to go to commercial break.  And most of all, why did I have to sit and listen to celebrity who doesn't even like to cook make jokes through a cooking segment where I am trying to get the good information I'd come to expect from Martha.  The show just wasn't aesthetically pleasing anymore.  The show wasn't beautiful.

While I still love the magazine and will remain a loyal fan, I'm sorry to say, Martha has lost me from her viewing audience.  I don't have to have the exact same show she had before-but I do need to have the teacher & creative genius back that has melted into rosie-oprah-dinah shore kind of host.  (although I love all of them, they aren't Martha!) Until that time I'm afraid I'm not tuning in.  Is anyone else feeling the same way I am? 

Perhaps a campaign to write the show would help, I'm not sure.  Right now I just feel lost without my Martha that helms the best magazine on  the market-not being the same one I see on TV.
 
Christopher

Dear Christopher,

Thanks for the thoughtful note, I think its something that is on the minds of many people who miss the original show . The good news is that advertisers are coming back in droves--who knows, maybe they would sponsor a second show that is more like the original?

John

The Broker Who Fell To Earth Peter Bacanovic is no longer referring to Martha by name, and he is bitter that she refuses to help him pay is legal bills. It's just another sad chapter in a story that ruined many lives, even as the real crooks like Enron's Jeffrey Skilling only now are receiving their sentences.

While the Martha Stewart case was just a spectator sport for some, and a source of high ratings, late night jokes and ad dollars for others, the people who were in the center of the scandal have spent the last few years in a state of recovery. Martha's friend Sam Waksal remains in prison, unable to accept gifts of catered food from his favorite eatery Da Silvano. Douglas Faneuil, the Merrill Lynch assistant who turned state's evidence to save his own skin has gone underground. Mariana Pasternak, Martha's former close friend who provided conflicting testimony, is no longer in Martha's inner, or even outer, circle. And broker Peter Bacanovic, now out of jail, is struggling to put his life back together.

Surprisingly, aside from Martha, none of the major players has written a book or given a major interview about the experience until now. Peter Bacanovic sat down with the NY Times. Martha's former broker Peter Bacanovic now says the thing he hates most is being referred to as "Martha's broker." To say he is bitter about the experience would be an understatement, and he will no longer refer to Martha by name. Here's a portion of the recent NY Times interview:

...the degree to which he has turned against Ms. Stewart, whose connections propelled his career at Merrill, is surprising.

His grievances are many. They range from not being among those who received a Christmas card from her while she was in prison, to her legal strategy. He claims that she turned down offers from the government to settle charges, which would have resulted in no trial and perhaps no prison term. He also blames her for the $75,000 fine he recently paid to the Securities and Exchange Commission to settle insider trading charges.

In his view, Ms. Stewart could have reached her own settlement with the commission at any point between late 2004 and this spring, obviating the need for him to pay a fine. This April, as Ms. Stewart continued to delay, Mr. Bacanovic took matters into his hands and called Ms. Stewart’s daughter, Alexis, a longtime friend of his who had introduced him to Ms. Stewart.

The family friendship no longer existed, but Mr. Bacanovic would ask one last favor — if Ms. Stewart was going to trial, would she help pay his legal fees, as Merrill Lynch had stopped doing so.

“I said, “This is harming me,’ ” Mr. Bacanovic, who had to borrow money to pay his fine, recalled saying. “And she said, ‘No one here feels we owe you anything.’ ”

Message to Peter: The only way to get your life back is to move on The subtext of the NY Times article is very clear: Here's yet another old friend of Martha's who has turned on her, joining the ranks of the Donald Trumps, the Mariana Pasternaks, the friends of Martha who finally just throw up their hands in exasperation with her behavior and walk away. It is a continuation of the media demonization of Martha, and as we have predicted it will likely never end. Unless Martha's friends help end it.

While Peter Bacanovic may feel justified in going public by airing this dirty laundry, it only makes him look bitter, and ultimately it only prevents him from putting this mess in the past so that he can move on to rebuild his life. Martha has moved on and put this all behind her. And that seems to be working out well for her.

Saving Martha, The Epilogue Three years after being indicted for everything but insider trading, and almost five years after making a minuscule stock trade that rocked Wall Street and the media world, Martha settled her case with the SEC without any admission of the insider trading allegations that have plagued her from the beginning.

After the millions of dollars wasted on thousands of lawyer's billing hours and after countless of malicious and inaccurate print, radio and TV stories later, the case ends in a whimper without Martha ever having been convicted of or admitting to insider trading. What a colossal waste of taxpayer time and money. And what a shame the general public didn't realize what a sham it all was until it was too late.

This affair was like watching a heavy weight title fight go 15 rounds and ending up with a no decision. Fiasco or mere farce? We may never know. The biggest crime in this case was the distraction it created away from Enron, which took so long to prosecute that Ken Lay was able to avoid prison time by dying. The second biggest crime was the damage it did to Martha's empire, which is only now repairing the damage. But repair it she will, because that's what she does best.

In a strange and twisted way we are glad it all happened. Not for Martha's sake, for she certainly could have done without this, but we are glad but for meeting all of the good people who helped come together in support of a unique cause the world had never seen before; defending a female billionaire who certainly had the resources the defend herself in her time of need. Some defended her because they realized that a witchhunt is always wrong. Others defended her because they realized this case was being overblown for political gain and for the media dollars that go along with every scandal. And others did it because they love what Martha brings to the world, a sense of goodness and peace at home, something especially needed today.

In the end, justice and goodness and life are not really about how much money you have, but about how many friends and good people we surround ourselves with. By that standard, Save Martha was a success, and to all those good people who came out to rally the courthouse steps and at Kmart and in Bedford, we say Thank You.

But don't be deceived, there are still those who will try their best to trip up Martha (and other strong women) for the simple reason that they cannot stand a woman who is smarter or more successful than they are. And we will be here to defend them.

Saving Martha (and all other strong women),

John Small
Editor

Martha Stewart settles SEC charges--AP
Homemaking diva Martha Stewart will pay about $195,000 and cannot serve as the director of a public company for five years under a settlement announced Monday on civil insider trading charges with the SEC. Under the settlement, the founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc., a multimedia empire dedicated to stylish living, agreed to make a payment relating to losses the government said she avoided on her sale of ImClone Systems Inc. stock in December 2001.

In addition to accepting a five-year ban on being a company director, Stewart agreed to limits for five years on her service as an officer or employee of a public company. During that period, she will be prohibited from participating in financial reporting and disclosure, internal controls, audits, SEC filings and monitoring compliance with the federal securities laws. In settling the charges, Stewart and Bacanovic neither admitted nor denied the allegations in the SEC complaint.

Martha Stewart settles SEC charges--AP
Homemaking diva Martha Stewart will pay about $195,000 and cannot serve as the director of a public company for five years under a settlement announced Monday on civil insider trading charges with the SEC. Under the settlement, the founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc., a multimedia empire dedicated to stylish living, agreed to make a payment relating to losses the government said she avoided on her sale of ImClone Systems Inc. stock in December 2001.

Summer Fever July is always our favorite MS Living issue of the year. It's the one that's always the most relaxed, it makes for perfect summer beach reading, it's full of color and cool creamy deserts. And this year it comes in two flavors: Martha and kids eating parfaits on the subscriber edition, and a close-up of the red white and blue parfaits on the newsstand edition. And don't worry, even if the congress does succeed in passing the anti-flag burning amendment, we hear it will still be legal to eat food that looks like the flag, just as long as it's not cooked on the barbecue!

Is Martha's long nightmare almost over? It was quite a surprise when Martha Stewart, while doing a crafts segment on the Today Show on Wednesday, said that she is close to reaching a "happy" settlement with the SEC. Since the SEC usually bars its settlees from running a publicly traded company ever again, this would be a first. What could Martha be cooking up with the Feds? Just last week the news reports said she would fight the case against which she has always maintained her innocence.

In any case, Martha taking the helm of MSO ever again is considered by some to be a long shot; she has a great management team in place, she gets to do all the fun creative stuff, and she still has the ridiculous status of "convicted felon" hanging over her. Unless President Bush pardons Martha, that is.

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