Paid to Piss People Off

In the first book of his three-volume memoir, Barry W. Lynn recounts his work as a clergyperson in the United Church of Christ and a lawyer practicing as part of the U.S. Supreme Court bar, working to get President Jimmy Carter to issue an Amnesty to those who refused to fight in Vietnam. His work extended to years of fighting against registration for the draft and introduced him to the veterans who were falling through the cracks. He also worked on cults and cultivated friendships with comedians and musicians, who kept him sane. His passion for correcting injustice and inequality guided his advocacy to legislators and to speaking on TV, talk radio, as well as to his podcast CultureShocks. He took on the high and mighty with his repartee and keen intelligence. Rich with photos and images, this memoir is funny and full of American political history. It is a reference book on the 1960s-80s battles over registration for the draft and on the individuals involved in the Carter, Ford, and Reagan Administrations and in Congress. It also is appropriate for courses studying opposition to the Vietnam War. Lynn's work helping young Americans who opposed that war informs today's Americans of their options and their right to choose a road less traveled because of their beliefs and convictions.

As a lawyer admitted to the Supreme Court bar, Lynn litigated and debated. As a clergyperson in the United Church of Christ, empathy and a passion for correcting injustice and inequality pulled him to make sure all groups, including Wiccans, were treated equally. Along the way, he cultivated relationships with musicians, and television, radio, and print celebrities and writes about them and about members of Congress with blunt honesty and wit. Through this volume readers watch a young boy from Bethlehem, PA, polish his debate skills and repartee to take on the giants in the nation's capitol and prevail on many critical issues from the 1970s through 2016. Always he was guided by his passion for the First Amendment and his respect for diversity, in his advocacy on TV, talk radio, his podcast CultureShocks, and with policy makers in Congress and the executive branch. His memoir is laugh-out-loud funny, daring, and full of American political history. It will amuse and instruct.

In this 3rd book of his three-volume memoir, Barry W. Lynn recounts twenty-five years working against the top leaders of the Religious Right on issues including school prayer, prayer in public places, public religious displays, creationism, the Faith-Based Initiative, the Ten Commandments, and death with dignity. He describes his frequent visits to Religious Right conventions to sit in the audience and his broadcast debates with and advocacy to religious leaders like Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, Franklin Graham, Jim Wallis, Joshua DuBois, Jay Sekulow, Rob Schenck, Robert Jeffress, Wiley Drake, Herb Titus, Kelly Shackleford, Bill Murray, Bill Donohue, and Mat Staver. He also tells stories of policy-making as he experienced it behind the scenes with blunt honesty. Lynn worked from 1976-2016 on the social issues that face Americans again in 2023: abortion, LGBTQ+ rights, and book banning. He worked for the ACLU and the United Church of Christ national office in DC before becoming executive director of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State. Well respected for his work on Capitol Hill and with executive branch agencies, he became a radio and television media star for his keen wit and ready repartee as he addressed First Amendment public policy issues. He combines that wit with his experience participating in the making of American history from a front-row seat as a political strategist and lawyer in the Supreme Court Bar. As a clergyperson in the United Church of Christ, his passion for correcting injustice and inequality guided his advocacy on TV, talk radio, his podcast CultureShocks, and in this memoir, which is funny and full of American political history. His battles with the Religious Right will amuse and alarm readers.