Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Stockman Scott's Political Debate Porch -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Wharf Rat who wrote (53076)	8/9/2004 6:46:16 AM
From: Wharf Rat	Respond to of 89467

GOP sen. comes to U.S. attorneys' defense August 8, 2004 WASHINGTON -- In blunt, private letters, the Senate Finance Committee chairman has told Attorney General John Ashcroft he believes the Justice Department has retaliated against prosecutors in a Detroit terror trial because they cooperated with Congress. Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, has written Ashcroft or his deputies at least three times to accuse department officials of taking "hostile actions" and "reprisals" against the trial prosecutors. In one letter, Grassley demanded that Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Convertino and his colleagues in Detroit "be made whole and not suffer reprisals." The senator asked Ashcroft to rectify the matter before it begins "exposing the department to public criticisms." Grassley also dismissed as "bureaucratic, legalistic spin" the department's explanations for why the prosecution team was subjected to internal investigation. "Federal law provides individuals who are congressional witnesses or assisting congressional investigations protection from retaliation," Grassley wrote. Justice officials declined comment. Convertino, a 14-year career prosecutor, helped win the convictions of three men accused of operating a terror cell in Detroit last summer, but he came under investigation when his bosses learned Grassley's committee had subpoenaed him to testify, said Bill Sullivan, Convertino's attorney. Sullivan said Convertino had been asked by Grassley's committee last fall to narrowly testify about terror financing schemes, and had no intention of discussing the friction with Washington or the missed evidence opportunities that arose during the trial. Convertino remains employed by Justice but has been detailed to Congress to assist Grassley. He recently sued Ashcroft, accusing Justice officials of interfering with the case and retaliating against him. "The complaints that Rick has must be appropriately answered so that no other prosecutors ever be faced with the obstacles that were imposed in the Detroit case," Sullivan said. boston.com

To: Wharf Rat who wrote (53076)	8/9/2004 6:46:29 AM
From: Wharf Rat	Respond to of 89467

Bush Listens to Sermon on Material Wealth By SCOTT LINDLAW, Associated Press Writer KENNEBUNKPORT, Maine - A clergyman implored his affluent congregation, including President Bush (news - web sites)'s family, to jettison their material possessions, gently mocking George H.W. Bush's struggles on the golf course to drive home his point. The Very Rev. Martin Luther Agnew preached Sunday to a packed Episcopal church just down the road from the Bush family's seaside estate. Its oceanfront parking lot was filled with luxury cars made by Jaguar, Mercedes, BMW and Volvo, testament to the wealth of the summer visitors at this southeast Maine resort. "Gated communities," Agnew said, "tend to keep out God's people." But, he said, "Our material gifts do not have to be a wall." "They can very well be a door. Jesus says, `Sell your possessions and give alms,'" Agnew said. "I'm convinced that what we keep owns us, and what we give away sets us free." Agnew, a guest minister from Louisiana whose summer assignment ended Sunday, swung a golf club to get his message across to the vacationing congregation. The sermon culminated with a joke about the first President Bush's battle to chip a golf ball out of an anthill. Swinging the club in a mock re-enactment, Agnew said Bush had swung twice and whiffed completely, wiping out hundreds of ants. The ants got together and agreed: "If we're going to live, we better get on the ball!" The former president sat stone-faced through this parable, even as his family, including the current President Bush, looked at him and smiled. The ex-president gamely high-fived Agnew when the priest approached the second pew. "Brothers and sisters, what God is inviting us to do is get on the ball," Agnew said, again imploring his audience to part with their possessions. The Bush family that gathered at the front of the church Sunday morning is wealthy by any measure. They convened here at the 11-acre family compound owned by the former president and perched on the Atlantic Ocean. It is worth millions of dollars. The current president lists among his assets his Texas ranch, worth between $1 million and $5 million. He also has U.S. Treasury notes valued at $5 million to $8.7 million. He sold his share of the Texas Rangers baseball team in 1998 for more than $15 million. Also in the stone-and-mortar church were Bush's three brothers, Jeb, Neil and Marvin, first lady Laura Bush and Barbara Bush, the former first lady. The family were gathered here for the wedding Saturday of Jeb Bush's son George Prescott Bush. From church, the president and former president went fishing, their third expedition on the power boat in three days. President Bush was to return to Washington Sunday afternoon. His weekend outing was a last breather before a week of heavy campaigning through Virginia, Florida, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Oregon, Washington and Iowa. story.news.yahoo.com