Many of the things that Martha does are actually from earlier times, and I wonder if that isn't what people are actually rebelling against when they come out with the negative comments, and what those who admire her are endorsing. What do you think?

Martha got her start by being a caterer and she would take food that was left over and people had paid for and use it the next day at another party. So, for instance if the party had only used 6 bottles of wine, she still charged for the whole case and then charged the next party with the same case so she got paid double for 1 case of wine. She did this her customers all the time. She even would take the wineglasses thatstill had wine left in them and had been drunk from and pour them back into bottles and re-sell them again. Martha would tell her help that the alcohol would kill the germs and it was ok for her to do that because all caterers did that.
That's why you can't find people that would book her again!!
Lots of the people in her books she didn't even do their weddings, she would read about it in the paper and go to the place where the wedding was held and take pictures and put them in the "Martha Stewert Wedding Book" as weddings she had done. She never gave credit to the real caterers or people that had worked for months on the Weddings and Receptions.
She is an icon because her EX-Husband got her a contract to write her first book but her best friend who was a well known writer wrote it for her and she was never credited or paid for that help. If it wasnt' for her Ex-husband she would never be more than an average housewife. He made her what she is today and he left her because she was such a mean person to him. She slapped him and berated him at parties and treated him like a slave.

It's really a shame that a person like Martha has such a big following but meet her in person when she is being herself and you won't think much of her. If her ideas and creativity were at least her own ideas I could at least think she was worthy of some praise but she stole all the ideas you see on her Specials and books. Her staff does a very good job on the magazine and she is surrounded by people who are creative but even they have leaked out how mean she really is. She has slapped many on her staff and they have sued her in court and been compensated for it.
Who do I respect? I respect others who treat others well and don't steal their ideas from others. The information is out there if you really want to the know the truth about Martha Stewart. Honestly but what kind of person would do the things she has done? Bren

Admiring someone's ability at making money does not necessitate under-appreciating altruism and charity. For one thing, it's pretty hard to give to charity (or to garden, for that matter) if you don't have any money.

There is nothing intrinsically bad about money - it's what people do with it that matters. (And I for one have no idea what MS does with her money. Do you?) And don't think that just because I admire a rich businesswoman that I'm one myself - I'm a poor philosophy student.

Zena.

PS There are plenty of good things to be said for concrete and plastic. :o)

If making money by being mean and a thief is admirable, then I'd rather be poor. Anyway, she was pushing "Native Florida Holly" as decoration on one of her shows, and the Parks department had a fit! They've been trying to get rid of that nasty Brazilian Pepper forever, and here she was, putting it in flower arrangements and calling it "native"! Someone didn't do their research well, or maybe one of her staffers just wanted to embarrass her a little - can't blame them.

There are plenty of good ideas out there without having to watch or read about her.

Fireraven9
The morns are meeker than they were,
The nuts are getting brown;
The berry's cheek is plumper,
The rose is out of town. - Emily Dickinson

Lee AKA Fireraven9
The morns are meeker than they were,
The nuts are getting brown;
The berry's cheek is plumper,
The rose is out of town. - Emily Dickinson

Yes, she comes off snooty sometimes, but, she has something to offer that I enjoy. She makes it look so easy, Julia Childs is also one of my favorites.

Flo

The best things about Martha Stewart: she showcases plants, gardens, gardeners, nurseries and garden writers.

The worst thing about Marth Stewart: she makes everything look too perfect and projects it in a way as if her way is the only way.

She stands for an archetype we never saw in the 50s and 60s -- the competent, able, smart, independent woman mixed in with some earth mother country dwelling hippie do it yourselfer then flavored up with a dose of yuppie, class-obssesed, get out of my way, business shark.

Frankly I love her for her competence, her hips, her hair but mostly of all for her magnificent "I can do anything if I set my mind to it, just give me the information" attitude. Ah yes, just like so many of us, even the less perfectionsitic ones. Shes the goddess of the home, the hearth and the boardroom. If she only had a heart(or let it show or pretended to have one) she'd be truelly perfect.

Till then, she's flawed enough to make a much more than adequate celebrity

Springcherry, a darn competent woman herself

There's apparently one general store on Mount Desert Island, Maine. Martha marches up to the counter and demands to use the store owner's phone, immediately.

Store owner, "You can't use the phone in here, but there's a pay phone outside."

Martha again demands to use store owner's phone, saying, "Do you know who I am?"

Store owner, "Yes, I know who you are. If you want to use a phone, there's a pay phone outside."

At which point, the man standing in line behind Martha taps her on the shoulder and says, "Do you know who I am?"

Martha, "I haven't the faintest idea who you are." Imagine a snotty tone of voice.

Man behind Martha, "I'm David Rockefeller. Now, here's a quarter; the pay phone's outside."

From what I've read, that's vintage Martha. Apparently the world revolves around her, or at least it should.

Poor Martha! That's my statement when ever I hear her name come up in any conversation. It's a statement that has gotten much attention from most of my male friends, and quickly gotten attention from my female friends.

For numerous years, I have stated that if poor Martha was a male, she wouldn't get the bad rap she get's. Forget everything else about her for a moment, likes or dislikes rights or wrongs are not the issue here. If she were a male, people would not think the same of her. Well guess what. The recent tv show about her (and the review in the Washington Post) made the very same statement.

I see her situation as very clear cut. First. There are a lot of females out there who are threatened by her. No one can argue (even if you hate her guts) that she is very good at what she does, and she has been very successful at it. The majority of women who hate her, simply can't do what she does. They might make an attempt at it, but they just can't do it. These women are very busy trying to run a house, and their situation makes it impossible for them to tie ribbons around a sheet before putting it on the neatly lined shelf. IF however, you are a very successful woman, you can see where she is comming from, and you know instantly that she has her issues to deal with, just because she is a woman.

Second. Most "successful" men loath her. It's a male thing. I'm sure you have heard the statement that "all men are pigs but we still like to eat bacon". Well, this really hits the nail on the head. Most successful males can't stand the thought of a woman being more successful than they are. It's a threat that out threats anything males can think of. If you are an unsuccessful male, you could eat her bacon raw. Unsuccessful males see her as this person who has become a tycoon making flower pots out of cement. So poor Martha get's a double wammy from males.

So, I do get into lot's of conversations with both my male an female friends about poor Martha. It's always interesting to see reactions from people. If they are successful at what they do, and are comfortable with it, they usually don't have an issue. BUT if they don't take comfort in their situation as it it, they usually hate her.

Mike

and as for clinton - yes he was a louse, yes he did a lot of un-moral things in office but the budget was balanced by the time he left office. where are we now? in the worst budget crisis of our nations history in less than a full presidental term.

i'm with mike on this martha thing - if she was a man she'd be called a genius - since she's a woman she's not, she is bashed and belittled.

oh well - i watch her, i may get a few tidbits of info from her everynow and then, but i don't make recycling bins that need to be stained and i don't tie little ribbons around my sheets. and besides - there is nothing better to watch on tv - jerry springer is still on the other channels and we could probably start a WHOLE new thread on him!

:)
Friz

I love to watch Martha Stewart. I love all the segments and the show is photographed so lovely.

Another thought about all the those who call her fake and complain about a staff of people doing the work. I guess all the chefs on FoodTV are doing all the chopping and prep work. I guess they are going to Williams and Sonoma and picking out the tools, linens and flowers. I guess Bob Villa is doing all the work on the houses and all the HGTV hosts are doing all the remodeling themselves. Get Real!

Faye

Jackie/STROBE

i cant decide if i like "her" or not, but i do like all the kitchen items and linens in her line at kmart...

Jackie/STROBE

Some favorite episodes have been when she brought in experts or visited experts on such subjects as vintage floorcoving, vintage frames, bread artisans, heirloom seedsavers, and orchid growers.

Have you noticed that in Wal-Mart in the kitchen aisle, that the merchandise is a look-alike of the MSL brand?

Faye

Faye

I don't think our society "has sunk so low into materialism that earning your money off others" is a negative thing. That is the way our free enterprise system works. Martha Stewart has provided jobs to more than 500 people. Her TV show, which has given a wealth of information to all of us, is free. Yes, she has made money because she is great at marketing. But then, so has Bill Gates, who has given all of us this great communication tool.

Never met her though, I have spoken to her gardeners, a few house keepers and personal staff members...some like her alot, others have issues about her.

Iam glad there is a Martha Stewart out there, I hope someday to meet her!

Long live the free enterprise system.

and OMG this discussion is old. How cool!