JOSEPH NACCHIO SENTENCED TO 6 YEARS IN PRISON, HUGE FINE-- RIGHT WING TEARS ARE FLOWING FOR HIM... AND LOUIS XVI

Maybe it didn't help that the stock market just had a week that roughly mirrors Bush's approval ratings but Judge Edward Nottingham sentenced Joseph Nacchio to 6 years and a forfeiture of $71 million dollars. He had been the CEO of Qwest Communications and was found guilty of 42 counts of insider trading in April.

Unlike Scooter Libby, Nacchio's request for bail while he was appealing was denied. He'll either have to figure out another way to evade prison or turn himself in in about 2 months. Nacchio wept in the court room, going nuts over the fine, while his lawyer begged for mercy based on the fact that Nacchio's son is mentally disturbed and attempted suicide in 2001.

“He has a devastating family situation,” Mr. Stern said, as Mr. Nacchio wiped his eyes beside him.

But a federal prosecutor, Colleen Conry, argued that David Nacchio’s immediate family was supportive enough to care for him. She pointed out that Mr. Nacchio did not quit his job with Qwest after his son’s suicide attempt.

“It didn’t matter enough to him then, and it shouldn’t matter to the court now,” she said.

The judge said Nacchio's undoing was his unbelievable greed and avarice-- typical Republican conditions that get worse with time. His political contributions are well hidden but he's known for having given predominantly to right wing Republicans like Wayne Allard and Elizabeth Dole.

Quoting from the Robert Bolt play A Man For All Seasons, about Sir Thomas More’s refusal to support Henry VIII’s wish for a divorce from his wife, Judge Nottingham said that rule of law must be respected and that Mr. Nacchio’s actions required punishment. Not everyone feels the same way. In fact, there are always self-loathing bootlicks who pay inordinate deference to the rich and privileged and mourn when they are brought down. One of these is a far right, self-styled professor, Richard Bishirjian, of a so-called Yorktown "University" in Denver.

Bishirjian was still grieving for Conrad Black, Dennis Koslowski, Michael Milken and Louis XVI when the news of Nacchio's sentencing hit. He admits he doesn't know anything of the facts... but, of course, that never stops a wingnut from spouting off about how the common masses are ruining the world.

There is some-thing in “Democracy” that pre-disposes us to judge the wealthy and privileged-- guilty.
 
Sometimes those executed deserved no better than a slap on the wrist, but by executing them a point was made.
 
My guess is that something like that has occurred in the instance of Joe Nacchio.

Predictably, Bishirjian seems to think Nacchio was sentenced because he's a visionary entrepreneur, instead of a greed-obsessed criminal. "For Nacchio’s audacity, he was sentenced today to six years in prison and compelled to pay restitution for the millions he gained for exercising stock options before his company’s stock went into the toilet. At the end of the day, Joe Nacchio stood alone in federal court and was sentence to spend six years of his life in jail.
Frankly, why not just kill him?"

Come on, be honest, did you ever meet a right winger who was sane?