I never thought I’d be writing such kind words about a Celtics fan, but that’s the kind of guy that Dean Barnett was.
I met him, as I have met several other important people in my life, over the Internet. A few years back, someone named Dean started commenting on my blog. Evidently, he had a blog of his own – Soxblog (as in Red Sox) – where he was not only making fun of the aforementioned Lakers (hey, they were on hard times), but also doing some rather brilliant political posting. Who was this guy?
We started corresponding in email and soon enough he told me he was coming out to LA. By then Dean Barnett was not just another blogger, but a regular on Hugh Hewitt’s site and a substitute for Hugh on his syndicated radio show. And he was damn good at it, a radio natural.
I also knew by then that, although Barnett and I did not see eye to eye on basketball, we did share an arguably more important interest. We both loved sushi. So when I met Dean, I took him to a sushi bar I know in Studio City, the redoubtable Katsu-ya, and we discovered we liked each other as much in person as we did online. But I learned something else about Dean. He suffered from cystic fibrosis, a disease I didn’t know much about, but which he writes about here.
He seemed to be doing pretty well with it though and when we met again at Blog World 2007, slightly over a year ago now, he seemed to be doing just fine. By then he was blogging at (lah-dee-dah) the Weekly Standard and I thought he was headed for a big online media career. In fact, in a way he already had one – a guy who had emerged seemingly out of nowhere to become a very respected voice in conservative circles. And one with a sense of humor on top of that.
And now he’s gone, suddenly succumbed to the cystic fibrosis.
Requiescat in pace, Dean Barnett – dead at the age of 41. Whoever said life was fair?
His friend Hugh Hewitt has a wonderful appreciation here.
(What a day this is with two friends passing. See below.)
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26 Comments
1. Pajamas Media » In Memorial: Dean Barnett:[...] the entire story here [...]
Oct 27, 2008 - 4:47 pm 2. Alan Kellogg:I first read about CF back when I was a kid. The message was, “This is a killer. It kills its victims at a very early age. Your kid has CF enjoy what little time you’ll have together, but don’t plan on seeing him wed.”
Never really got to know Dean. I did enjoy and appreciate his comments, his posts, and his stints on Hewitt. I know he’s doing a lot better now, but it’s still hard to see some one gone from this realm. My sympathies to all his friends, and remember to keep on doing what Dean supported all through his life; it’s the best way to honor a man like Dean.
Oct 27, 2008 - 4:47 pm 3. srlucado:Very sad news indeed, especially at a time when we need all the articulate conservatives we can find.
Scott
Oct 27, 2008 - 4:49 pm 4. A. N. Pierson:How sad. What a great guy. I liked his Weekly Standard blog.
Oct 27, 2008 - 5:12 pm 5. Lightnin' Hopkins:I always enjoyed Dean’s writing at Hugh’s blog and at The Weekly Standard very much. He was well-adjusted in addition to being well-informed, and the good humor that friends and colleagues speak of fondly in remembrence shone through in his work on the web. I will remember him as I remember Cathy Seipp; both as writers that nurtured and solidified my own political awakening post 9/11, and as obviously good people. You can’t fake being genuine — not for very long, anyway.
The fact that I am the same age as Dean makes me count my blessings and inspires me to do my best with whatever time I have left in this world. I will take a little of that time right now to read Hugh’s piece, and make more time in the coming days to go back and read some of Dean’s work that I probably missed over the years – there’s bound to be something more there that will enlighten and move me.
Godspeed Dean, I’m sure the chowder’s good in Heaven.
Oct 27, 2008 - 5:16 pm 6. lee:Sushi is the best food in the world. No one who appreciated a delicate raw tuna on a soft rice can be a bad person. (sorry for the off topic comment)
Oct 27, 2008 - 5:40 pm 7. Allston:No. F’ing. Way.
Dean lived a scant few miles from me (umm, about 2), and was always on my short list of people to meet. This really sucks; we have lost an elder statesman, and he was surely that.
Goodbye, Dean. You ‘da Msn. Seeya in Valhalla, Buddy!
Oct 27, 2008 - 6:27 pm 8. Boris:I remember some of Dean’s posts over at Town Hall. It’s a shame. RIP.
Oct 27, 2008 - 6:52 pm 9. The Wide Awake Cafe » Dean Barnett, Already Missed:[...] Roger Simon pens a tribute to Dean Barnett that brings tears to the eyes. [...]
Oct 27, 2008 - 7:16 pm 10. cedarford:Great guy. He played the cards he was dealt in life, and played them well. He will be deeply missed by his wife and those whose lives he entered and made a big impression on – from Mitt Romney to his readers and “columnist colleagues”.
A short life, filled with grace and high accomplishment as a professional and as a person.
God grant him favor.
God grant us the ability to understand and detect and perhaps one day fix genetic flaws – to make terrible diseases like CF, MD. even cancer – conquerable. And the wisdom to use those powerful genetic science tools responsibly, and unaffected by the wishes of both eugenicist and Right to Life extremists.
Oct 27, 2008 - 7:24 pm 11. doug:I have only sent a comment to one blogger in my life before now. It was Dean at Soxblog.com. You can read all the articles at The Weekly Standard and at Hugh Hewitt you want, but the real essance of him was at his own blog. It combined politics, sports and his life. Incredible. I am stunned and saddened.
Oct 27, 2008 - 7:49 pm 12. Women hear me roar:I remember some dem idiot asking him “if he supported the war, why didn’t he join?” Dean didn’t answer him, but someone wrote on the blog about his illness.
Oct 27, 2008 - 7:50 pm 13. Anita Hope:I have great respect for him and enjoyed his writing.
I am so sorry for his wife and family. God bless them and I’m sure he is whole and in great health, and breathing easy and getting around to writing.
Is this not reason enough to continue Stem Cell research. Men of his calliber are few & far between, RIP without any further pain.
Oct 27, 2008 - 8:29 pm 14. David Thomson:May God bless Dean Barnett. I never met the man. Still, I greatly enjoyed reading his articles and listening to him on the radio. Dean Barnett will be greatly missed.
Oct 27, 2008 - 8:47 pm 15. Mandy:I loved to listen to Dean when he filled in for Hugh and wish I could have met him; a fellow Red Sox fan, eater of Sushi and conservative. My heart goes out to his family and those who knew him best- you are in my prayers as was he to the end.
Oct 27, 2008 - 10:34 pm 16. Bernard Chapin:This is incredibly depressing. He was a good man and had oodles of talent. At least he got to see 2 Red Sox championships which must have pleased him to no end. Sorry for your loss, Roger.
Oct 28, 2008 - 2:17 am 17. RNB:No. 13: M’am, my son has cystic fibrosis. I am fairly familiar with the disease and current research on treatments. And stem cells have just about zip to do with CF. I will leave it to people who knew Dean Barnett to say what he would have thought of your line of reasoning.
Oct 28, 2008 - 5:18 am 18. The Working File » Dean Barnett, 1967-2008:[...] Roger L. Simon [...]
Oct 28, 2008 - 6:51 am 19. Anita Hope:# 17 I know you are correct and am sorry for your son having this dreaded desease. What I meant was in regards to resarch of stem cell will help in so many other deseases so we may not loose such good people to many castistrophuic illnesses. I am sorry my words offended you, it was not meant too.
Oct 28, 2008 - 8:20 am 20. Harry Truman:We can best honor him & his memory by carrying on, doing our best, in this realm. My perception is that there is a continuity of life & consciousness on the other side of the veil, and they are alive as ever they were here. They do not want us to grieve for them but set them free with our gratitude. Our prayers are for him & his family. Journey into the Light, Brother!
Oct 28, 2008 - 9:59 am 21. Handel Glassberg:Help us. Is this the same Roger Simon who wrote the Moses Whine mysteries? We believe so, since only a literate man could spell, never mind know, requiescat in pacem.
Yrs faithfully,
The Playdo Institute
Oct 28, 2008 - 10:54 am 22. Joe:Handel Glassberg, President
Roger, I’ll take one issue with what you wrote about Dean. “Whoever said life was fair?” Four fantastic years from Dean may not seem like much, but that’s a lot more than we could have. Had he stayed in his previous career and decided to continue to pester Mrs. Soxblog with his commentary. Aside from that, your tribute is touching.
Oct 28, 2008 - 12:20 pm 23. Sandra C:Always enjoyed reading Dean. Amazing when you think about what he never SHOULD have been able to do and compare it with what he DID do during his (too brief) life. God rest your soul, Dean.
Oct 28, 2008 - 1:47 pm 24. Boris:17: It’s really not the place for politics/policy. Plenty of other threads for that.
Oct 28, 2008 - 2:40 pm 25. qrstuv:I loved that guy.
Oct 28, 2008 - 5:39 pm 26. TomyE:I, to, like many of you here am saddened of Dean Barnett’s sudden passing. Like a true gentleman, he kept his illness to himself, and his closest friends. My condolences go to his family. This has been a tough year for our side in losing Tony Snow and now Dean Barnett. R.I.P. Dean.
Oct 30, 2008 - 6:24 am