Posted on 09/08/2004 6:11:24 PM PDT by aman_verjee
Thanks to a special invitation from Jim Robinson (Free Republic's founder), World Ahead Publishing is pleased to present Aman Verjee and Rod D. Martin, the editors of "Thank You, President Bush: Reflections on the War on Terror, Defense of the Family, and Revival of the Economy"
Mr. Verjee and Mr. Martin are excited to be here to answer your questions and chat with the Free Republic community. They'll be discussing the reasons they created "Thank You, President Bush," why so many conservative legends (such as Shlafly, Meese, Norquist, and Dobson) were eager to work with them on this book, what it was like being at the Republican Convention to unveil their new title, and anything else that you are interested to know.
So don't be shy - post a greeting to Aman and Rod and learn more about what went into their landmark new book!
ABOUT THE EDITORS
Aman Verjee is the co-editor of Thank You, President Bush (World Ahead Publishing). A Muslim born in Kenya and raised in Canada, Mr. Verjee is the co-founder of "American Thunder," a leading NASCAR magazine, and currently serves as the director of strategy for a Silicon Valley company. He studied public policy at Stanford University and traded bonds on Wall Street before obtaining a degree from Harvard Law School.
Rod D. Martin is also a co-editor of Thank You, President Bush. A conservative Christian from Little Rock, Arkansas, Mr. Martin is Chairman of Vanguard PAC and the author of the political column "Vanguard of the Revolution." He previously served as the Director of Policy Planning & Research for Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. Mr. Martin studied at Cambridge University and was elected student body president at Baylor Law School.
I agree with you that President Bush should get on a flight to Russia, but I also think it was important for him to handle the domestic hurricane issue in Florida. He actually spent time today handing out ice and water to hurricane victims. He has to be careful to handle domestic issues first. The Democrats are claiming he spends all of our money on foreign policy (Iraq) and none at home.
Have either of you ever met John Kerry, and what is your opinion of him?
Yes, the general consensus of the "great men" economically speaking is that Bush is doing a stellar job in a hard situation. I would like to second that with an even more forward view: the concept of the "ownership society" -- HSAs, Personal Retirement Accounts, Education Savings Accounts, increasing home ownership, fundamental tax reform, etc. -- undermines the New Deal consensus irreparably, all while fulfilling its stated vision. Bush's ownership society would create a nation of intergenerational wealth, free, self-reliant, and unwilling to cede power to Big Brother. I am still amazed at just how good Bush is on these things, how solidly he's moving forward on them, and that's a lot of the reason we did this book.
'you can take the man out of the KGB, but you can't take the KGB out of the man....'
"I am surprised that he hasn't!! Altho there are still plenty here who don't trust the Bear, somehow I see what Bush might have seen "in Putin's eyes"..."
Among nations there are no permanent friends, only permanent interests. We have an historic opportunity here, and with Europe increasingly hostile and China increasingly strong, we'd be fools not to jump on it. We just need to keep our eyes open. :)
Yup. Putin had a chance to walk with giants, he chose to crawl with the Euroweenies.
"Also, thank you Mr. Martin for posting that article. What was it like to work with Jeb Bush?"
You're very welcome. As to Jeb, he was great. He's had a very hard time lately with all the devastation in Florida, but he was great to work with and we really appreciate him (as well as his staff). His introduction adds a personal touch we couldn't have duplicated any other way.
'I am still amazed at just how good Bush is on these things, how solidly he's moving forward on them, and that's a lot of the reason we did this book.'
to you both:
President Bush seems to be a VERY remarkable personality, and I admire his trustworthy image. I think he would be fun to hang around with. Do you ever "hang around' with him?
Muslim view of abortion
Whoa - great question. So, Muslims generally have three sources of knowledge and guidance - the Qur'an; the sayings of the Prophet Muhammed (hadiths;)and the views of the leaders of juristic schools qualified to interpret the teachings of Islam.
Nothing in the Qu'ran forbids abortion, as far as I know, though some verses prohibit infanticide and many scholars will tell you that abortion is therefore against the principles of Islam. I am not aware of any hadiths on the matter, though I could be wrong here.
In general, modern permissive abortion policies are not sanctioned by jurists of Islam, which accords several rights to the fetus. (For instance, there is a money ransom on abortion in Islam. A fetus has rights of inheritance and if aborted alive and dies it is inherited by its legal heirs.)
Islam's emphasis on the sanctity of life does extend to the fetus, so if a pregnant woman (in the stage of viable pregnancy) is injured by another, to the extent that she aborts or delivers a dead fetus the attacker can be charged with murder of the fetus. (The law of "qisas" will apply unless the mother forgives him and accepts the blood money.)
So I infer that Islam teaches that abortion is wrong.
Mr. Martin and Mr Verjee,
some people compare President Bush to President Ronald Reagan. Would you say that this a fair comparison?
"Actually Preident Bush gave Putin a chance to be a vissionary and join us in the battle against islmaofascists. Putin dropped the ball because he has dirty hands vis a vis Iraq and food for oil."
Oh, I completely agree. But to be fair, he was in a nasty position on the Iraq deal, even ignoring what we increasingly know about Oil-for-Food. The Russian economy is so dependent on oil exports that it's hard for Americans to fully grasp what he's up against (you will recall that Reagan and the Saudis used this very lever to bankrupt the Soviet Union in the late 1980s), and for us to put Iraq back on the international oil market as a full-steam-ahead producer -- with full Russian help -- simply would have been untenable politically. Putin really had no choice but to oppose us on that, and his taking the wrong side is really quite a lot different in character from France and Germany's actions.
That said, yes, they dropped the ball -- on more than just Iraq, and for other reasons which weren't so "pure" -- and this is an opportunity for them to see the light. We should help them see it.
"President Bush seems to be a VERY remarkable personality, and I admire his trustworthy image. I think he would be fun to hang around with. Do you ever "hang around' with him?"
LOL! I wish! Maybe if you guys buy enough books we'll get an invitation to the ranch. :)
"I agree with you that President Bush should get on a flight to Russia, but I also think it was important for him to handle the domestic hurricane issue in Florida. He actually spent time today handing out ice and water to hurricane victims. He has to be careful to handle domestic issues first. The Democrats are claiming he spends all of our money on foreign policy (Iraq) and none at home."
With as much family as I have in Florida, I have plenty of uniquely personal reasons to agree with you. Still, he needs to go, straightaway.
'you can take the man out of the KGB, but you can't take the KGB out of the man....'
Quite right. We need to work with him, not fall in love. ;)
I can't say that I've ever "hung around" with President Bush or John Kerry. Kerry strikes me as decent enough guy, and I admire him for serving his country when he didn't have to. He just has an extremely liberal Senate voting record, thinks that the fundamental problem with America is that we're undertaxed, and he places far too much emphasis on what the Europeans and UN think we should do. So I wish him well, in his career as junior Senator from Massachussets.
Haven't read Thank You, President Bush: Reflections on the War on Terror, Defense of the Family, and Revival of the Economy" so can't comment on it.
I can't say that I've ever "hung around" with President Bush or John Kerry. Kerry strikes me as decent enough guy, and I admire him for serving his country when he didn't have to. He just has an extremely liberal Senate voting record, thinks that the fundamental problem with America is that we're undertaxed, and he places far too much emphasis on what the Europeans and UN think we should do. So I wish him well, in his career as junior Senator from Massachussets.
"Have either of you ever met John Kerry, and what is your opinion of him?"
I have met John Kerry (although i doubt he would remember that). My personal opinion of him is that he'll say whatever he thinks will help him get elected. The key part of that sentence is, of course, "whatever he thinks", as opposed to what might actually help. No one can have that many radically contradictory positions -- particularly in so very short a time-frame -- and be fit to lead.
But that leads me to another question. :-}
God given rights are the bedrock of American history, culture, and jurisprudence and those God given rights are what seperates the United States of America from the marxists, communists, trotskyites and other assorted democrats. :-}.
Are rights in Islam granted by the creator or by man? In theory of course.
I would like to know if there is any discussion of the deficit in this book. The democrats seem to have a new-found fear of deficits (which they didn't seem to care about for 40 years) and I would like to read some explanations about the danger (or lack thereof) of the current deficit, and also what the President is planning on doing about it. Thanks!
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