So Martha’s guilty.  Why does this tick me off?  Because she’s up for a maximum 20 year sentence and the guy who started it all, Sam Waksel, is in for 7.  He found out he wasn’t going to get a patent, sold all his stock, sold his kids’ stock, told all his friends to sell theirs, and he gets a third of Martha’s penalty.  The Enron folks, who bankrupted thousands of honest, hardworking people, are still living the high life while waiting for their trials to get underway, and Martha’s went through like greased lightning.  I’ve told my kids a number of times that no matter what they’ve done, they’ll be in more trouble with me for lying about it than for whatever they’ve done, but this is ridiculous.

It’s all about spin.  The people who are supposed to be protecting the people and enforcing the law sit on their thumbs until something easy and high-profile comes along, and think it makes them look like they’re doing their jobs.  It reminds me of the LA cops and Robert Downey, Jr.  When they haven’t caught a single drug dealer or interrupted a drug deal or done anything to make a real difference, they go after the guy.  Invariably, he’s backslid, so they get their names in the paper for once again arresting this threat to the safety of society.

I’ve never had a lot of love for Martha, even though I have her paint colors all over my house, but in this case, I think she got a raw deal, and I hope she wins on appeal.