Posted on 05/02/2006 1:10:54 PM PDT by meandog
New York, N.Y. – In her new memoir, NOW IT'S MY TURN(Simon & Schuster/Threshold Editions, 2006), Mary Cheney writes that when she told her parents she was gay, the first words out of her father’s mouth “were exactly the ones that I wanted to hear: ‘You’re my daughter, and I love you, and I just want you to be happy.’”
VANITY FAIR editor Todd Purdum reports that Mary Cheney tells her story in a voice very much like her father’s, and that she came out to her parents when she was a junior in high school, on a day when, after breaking up with her first girlfriend, she skipped school, ran a red light, and crashed the family car. Cheney writes that her mother hugged her, but then burst into tears, worried that she would face a life of pain and prejudice.
When Purdum asks the vice president whether he thinks gay people are born that way, Cheney scrunches up his mouth, fixes him with a look that says “Nice try,” then says: “I’m not going to get into that. Those are deeply personal questions. You can ask.”
Mary Cheney tells Purdum that her father “has very little tolerance for bullshit, pardon my French.” She also says that one common reaction from people who have read the manuscript of her book is “‘Wow, you guys really have this close-knit, loving family,’ and it always strikes me as ‘Yeah, of course we do.’ It was very surprising to me that people would think we didn’t.”
When Purdum asks Cheney if he is fatalistic about his heart disease, Cheney says, “I am. I don’t even think about it most of the time. You do those things a prudent man would do, and I live with it.” Asked what he would have for breakfast at Nora’s Fish Creek Inn, his favorite pre-fishing spot in Wilson, Wyoming, Cheney responds without missing a beat: “I’d probably have two eggs over easy, sausage and hash browns,” then hastens to add that that is not his normal breakfast. “The day I go fishing, I get off my diet,” he says.” At a roundtable lunch with reporters a couple of years ago, two who were present tell Purdum that Cheney cut his buffalo steak in bite-size pieces the moment it arrived, then proceeded to salt each side of each piece.
Cheney tells Purdum that he has not changed over the years, but perhaps many of his contemporaries think he has “because of my associations over the years, or because I came across as a reasonable guy, people have one view of me that was not necessarily an accurate reflection of my philosophy or my view of the world.”
Purdum asks Cheney if, during his “darkest night,” he has even “a little doubt” about the administration’s course. “No,” he tells Purdum. “I think we’ve done what needed to be done.” Of the debate over whether or not the administration hyped the pre-war intelligence, Cheney says, “In the end, you can argue about the quality of the intelligence and so forth, but ... I look at that whole spectrum of possibilities and options, and I think we did the right thing.”
Cheney rejects the caricature of him as the power behind the throne, insisting, “I think we have created a system that works for this president and for me, in terms of my ability to be able to contribute and participate in the process.” When Purdum says that the cartoon characterization of him must not be accurate, Cheney says, “My image might be better out there, this caricature you talk about might be avoided, if I spent more time as a public figure trying to improve my image, but that’s not why I’m here.”
Purdum reports that Cheney travels with a chemical-biological suit at all times. When he gave his friend Robin West and his twin children a ride to the White House a couple of years ago, West commented on the fact that Cheney’s motorcade varied its daily path. “And he said, ‘Yeah, we take different routes so that “The Jackal” can’t get me,’” West tells Purdum. “And then there was this big duffel bag in the middle of the backseat, and I said, ‘What’s that? It’s not very roomy in here.’ And [Cheney] said, ‘No, because it’s a chemical-biological suit,’ and he looked at it and said, ‘Robin, there’s only one. You lose.’”
Purdum talks with former New York Times reporter and former executive editor of The Philadelphia Inquirer, James Naughton, who asks of Cheney: “Does he acknowledge that he is not as pleasant as he used to be?” Naughton knew Cheney as a fellow prankster during the 1976 campaign, and all but sighs in search of an explanation as to why he is so different now. “I guess I would like to believe,” he says, “without any evidence to support it, that coming very close to death has somehow compelled him to act as though he only has so much breath and so much life, that he’s only got so much time to accomplish what he has to do. But the public figure is nothing like the private one that I remember.”
Gerald Ford tells Purdum: “He may have changed a bit, but that was required for the change of circumstances.” Ford, who will turn 93 in July, adds, “Times change, and people change as a result of that.”
“If you’re looking for a change from one point to another, being vice president is sui generis,” Lynne Cheney tells Purdum. “It’s not quite like any other job.”
The June issue of Vanity Fair hits newsstands in New York and L.A. on May 3 and nationally on May 9.
I took a class on Judaism about five years ago; the rabbi teaching it pointed out that most Jews don't have a problem with Jesus but with Paul! Paul is rather matter of fact on women (i.e. "DON'T EVEN THINK TO SPEAK CHURCH" and "YOUR HUSBANDS IS YOUR MASTER" or words to the effect for lack of the literal), on marriage (PREFERS SINGLENESS BUT BETTER TO MARRY THAN BURN), on agnostics, etc., etc. IMHO, Paul still clings a bit to his Phariseean lifestyle even after his "Road to Damacus" experience.
What is your view of "Inspiration?"
LOL!
My sentiments, exactly. ;o)
All scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, correcting, rebuking and training in righteousness. At least according to Peter, that is. Then again, as someone on this thread pointed out earlier, Peter isn't God.
We seem to have a new denomination around here: red-letter Christians. They only read the words in red and skip the rest. I'll say one thing for that approach, it makes those "bible-in-a-year" reading plans so much easier!
And of course, when all those things are happening to children, what good Christian parents do is throw them out of the house with no money and no way to pay for an education.
My thoughts exactly.. and may have crossed Dick Cheneys mind as well..
"What if homosexuals hold religious beliefs that don't condemn their lifestyle? Are they still going to hell?"
if hell were the only concern about these gay children, it would be an interesting topic. surely we could also debate for hours about children choosing another religion and rejecting the parents religion( which is probably a larger cause of children being rejected by parents ).
but religion aside, there are also huge health concerns at risk here, which I haven't seen much reference to.
"How about if they hold no religious beliefs whatsoever? Still going to hell?"
That is a great question.
As Christianity goes, there are tests for this. The Bible says that all who have heard and rejected Christ will go to hell. so in this case, have they heard?
The Bible goes on to say that those who have NOT HEARD, will be judged by their conscience. I wonder if those who have ( if it is even possible in America today ) not heard, who are living the homosexual lifestyle, are truly convinced in their conscience that they are doing nothing wrong.
If indeed, they have not heard and their conscience does not condemn them, then no, I doubt they would go to hell.
let me add tho, that someone who's parents raised them into those beliefs would (A) not likely be a freeper and (B) not be very likely to reject them for it.
sorry for the long post.
Interesting parallel to the story of the prodigal son, isn't it. What do you suppose Jesus demeanor would have been if the prodigal had called home for more money?
Had it ended there, I would agree with you completely. But from that point on it was nothing but an attack on his son, from his background to his intelligence, his religion, etc. I consider the kind words you reflected merely a setting for Terry. Because nowhere in his son's interview were there any bad words for his father.
I can see that this father and son love each other. That's why the failures hurt so bad.
I have no doubt the son loves the father, but knowing as much as I do about Terry himself, I'm not sure he's capable of love. Hate yes, but love? There's little doubt (for me) that his son's "coming out" was seen by Randall as a hitch in his come-back.
As for his political future, never going to happen. He has openly called for a take-over of the government and the creation of a theocracy.
BTW, you do express yourself well. Take care.
I'm sorry. You must be adding words to the Bible. I'm SURE the word "rebuking" wasn't in the original...
Why would a loving Christian "rebuke" anyone or anything?
Judge not, and all that...
"Do you really think that a child who is a homosexual is doing it to hurt their parents? "
sometimes, yes.
"Do you think they could be heterosexual if only they chose to?"
in general yes. In my own realm of experiences I can say that I believe it is a cruel trick of God that Men were created to want to sleep with every woman we see.
I would LOVE to "go forth and spread seed". however, I am married. I know what is right, and what is wrong, and make a choice. I do not see the difference in that decision for homosexuals.
In my opinion, Scripture IS inspired but not infallible...I view the Bible as more a guide that the literal word of God. I say this because most biblical historians regard the NT's Gospels as first being coded in written form some 70 years or so AFTER the Crucifixion of Christ (and the OT was first coded some 300 years after Moses). Also, with the exception of Paul's letters, the synoptic Gospels were written mostly by disciples of Matthew, Mark, Luke. And, even though I regard most of the Gnostic and some of Apocrypha with some suspicion, I still believe there to be a lot of truth there (the so-called Gospel of Thomas and Mary, for instance). Finally, it has occurred to me, that when many people witness the same event many different points of view prevail (just ask police who interview witnesses of crimes)--that's why I regard the inconsistencies in the NT as extremely plausible and makes it even more important to my belief.
That statement can only be written by someone who has decided the point before reading the interview.
Frankly, I sincerely doubt a twenty four year old college student is that polished and media savy. It has "coached" written all over it. Most GRADUATES with communications degrees aren't that savy. If you don't believe me, ask someone who hires entry level communications majors.
That is a belief in yourself, not the inspiration of Scripture.
Many lefties are perfectly happy to advocate homosexual rights....as long as their kids don't turn out gay. Then they turn into Archie Bunker.
How so? Do you believe the entire universe was created in six 24-hour days? That Jonah survived three days in the belly of a big fish? That the earth is only 8 thousand or so years old?
Well, it's clear that we completely disagree, and there's little point to continue.
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