It wasn’t too long ago that wide swathes of the media were treating Martha Stewart’s sale of a few thousand shares of ImClone Systems Inc. almost as if it were the greatest threat to the entire world financial system.

Well, we’ve heard next to nothing about the Stewart matter in the past two weeks. And what we have heard has little, if anything, to do with Stewart herself. We’ve learned that six ImClone officials have been charged with insider trading and that Stewart’s broker, Peter Bacanovic, has given his telephone records to Congressional investigators.

The lack of attention devoted to Stewart is due in part to the greater and clearly more politically significant questions that surround the financial investments and business deals of President George W. Bush and Vice President Richard Cheney.

We’ve had much to say about the Stewart “controversy,” and eagerly await relevant new developments. Until then, we are content to enjoy the latest column by Michelangelo Signorile, “Buy Martha, Sell Cheney,” which provides an excellent take on the whole matter.

The article begins with this enticing paragraph:

“Okay, are we done frying Martha Stewart yet? If these fantastic financial scandals are indeed a sizzling summer media barbecue in the making . . . then isn’t Stewart a measly marshmallow while Vice President Dick Cheney is the fat side of beef we should now be hauling into the flaming pit?”

Enjoy.