Talk:Dean Barnett

Relgion
Dean is Jewish. "As a Jew, this Foxman trait bugs me", Tuesday, July 10, 2007 Abe Foxman vs. Everybody

Gay Rights
Dean is a supporter of gay marriage, but says this:

Romney and Gay Rights, 1994 - 2006; Posted by Dean Barnett 5:36 PM

It’s a long-forgotten moment, but it was a poignant and revealing one. In the wake of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court’s discovery of a right to gay marriage that had been long–hidden in the Commonwealth’s John Adams penned constitution, Governor Mitt Romney had vigorously protested both the substantive result and the judicial arrogance that led to the result.

On the day the decision went into effect, dozens of gay couples descended on Massachusetts’ city and town halls to get married. The TV cameras sought out Governor Romney for his response to the day’s events. The media no doubt expected him to toss some red meat to the conservatives that Romney was courting in anticipation of a presidential bid. Instead, Romney pleaded that the public and gay marriage critics in particular bear in mind that this was a happy and joyous day for many individuals, and act respectfully and accordingly...

...On where the legal line should be drawn on gay marriage, he and I happen to differ. Unlike Romney, and unlike most of the readers of this site, I have no problem with legalizing gay marriage. But unlike Romney’s critics, I know that the difference is a good faith one, and not the result of those I disagree with making venal calculations or indulging their prejudiced natures.

Other work
Dean has written for the National Review (May 24, 2005, 4:47 p.m., Illogic, Stem-cell rhetoric is often unfair and irrelevant)

Dean has written for the Weeklystandard (Kos, Hezbollah, and Israel, Israel's war reveals a division between the liberal blogosphere and the Democratic party by Dean Barnett, 07-24-2006 12:00:00 AM)

Leave the cloying adjectives out. Just give me the facts about the man--I couldn't have cared less about the "Scholar, Athlete, Gentleman" bit.

Improving this article
I've already incorporated as much from the Boston Globe obit as I thought was useful, shoring up as many of the claims in the article as I can. As yet I don't have a good citation for his nickname "Chowdah" although a quick Google search reveals it was in use, so I figure it is worth leaving in. Likewise I did not bother adding a reference for his birthday -- but if anyone wonders, this was confirmed by Barnett in a 2006 blog post. I was tempted to include tributes from Hewitt and Romney, but will probably look recentist in a few days, so I'll hold off revisiting this article until some time has passed. WWB (talk) 16:21, 31 October 2008 (UTC)