A Tale of Two Barrys
In our earlier report about the National Press Club debate involving Glenn Reynolds , Joe Trippi , and Barry Lynn , we were careful to distinguish between Barry C. Lynn -- senior fellow at the New America Foundation, who participated in last night's debate -- and Rev. Barry W. Lynn , executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State.
Our care was rewarded by this amusing email message, from Barry W. Lynn:
Thank you for the helpful clarification that I, Barry W. Lynn, am not Barry C. Lynn (although I do not really know Barry C. Lynn, he was kind enough to be on my radio show one day, and has been even kinder in giving my number to CNN when they wake him up at odd hours to comment on Jerry Falwell).
However, in attempting to write a comment about your sparkling coverage of the Goliath debate, I noticed that you don't just let anyone post . This is a good thing.But I would like to post. I have just given exclusive tips to both the Washington Post and the New York Times, so I am all tipped out. However, I think I deserve to be allowed to post just because you linked to an old (and frankly horrifying) picture of myself , which I do not use anymore (however, I have not retained Jessica Alba's intellectual property lawyer to try to stop publication as I am a First Amendment absolutist). Although I am a bit older than many of your readers, I was once admitted to Studio 54 (although, as a minister and generally ethical person, I will concede that was when the place had already been turned into a theater, and I was seated as the fourth at a table of three Long Island hairdressers to see Brooke Shields in "Cabaret").
If this doesn't get me into the "stable" (a word it is now acceptable to say in public, post-Oscars), it will only be one more cruel step in a life filled with rejection. Just last week Bill O'Reilly said I am "one of his favorite guests" but then nanoseconds later labelled me a "paranoid crazy." Really, do you want to be associated with his camp?
Delightful! How could we deny a request like that? Welcome to our "stable," Reverend Lynn!