If there really were an Invisible Cloud Being, the 50-year-old blogger who
calls himself Bartcop would have a radio listenership in the millions while
Rush the Vulgar Junkie would have to type his rants into an chronically-crashing PC.
But if it were a truly loving Invisible Cloud Being, it would have Shirley Manson of
Garbage calling the ³Bart phone² every day, offering pledges of unlimited funds to
pay for an editorial staff, researchers, and plenty of Chinaco Anejo to keep Bart¹s
³tequila treehouse² spinning ‹ at least enough to counter the spin spewing from the
White House and its exclusive propaganda arm, Fox News.

How to define Bartcop.com? You can¹t, and that¹s part of what makes it so addictive.
Bart (not his real name ‹ he prefers to stay anonymous for now), offers not only an antidote
to the manufactured outrage from the well-funded right, but a populist oasis for liberals who
need an occasional break from the academic, polite (read: boring) left.

If you¹re already a Bartcop addict, you can blame another addict: Rush the Vulgar Junkie.
Long before he added his name to the growing list of prominent  right-wing moralist hypocrites
(Gingrich, Bennett, Hyde, Dr. Laura et al) Rush¹s daily onslaught of horseshit eventually provoked
Bart into starting an anti-Rush  newsletter. The newsletter, titled with the sort of subtlety that would
become a  Bartcop trademark ‹ ³Rush Limbaugh: Lying Nazi Whore² ‹ caught the attention of
Mark Perkel, a San Francisco writer. Perkel convinced Bart to go online, start a blog, and catch
a wider audience. It worked. Since 1993, Bartcop has evolved from a Rush-sucks/Clinton-rocks
pamphlet to a haven for angry liberals (and some conservatives) frustrated with the direction of the
country under the  ³B.F.E.E.² (Bush Family Evil Empire), Republicans, and submissive ³Pink Tutu² Democrats.

If not for Perkel¹s nudging, Bart might still be working in the finance department of a Tulsa,
Oklahoma car dealership, reminiscing about better days ‹ like when he owned a bar in Hawaii.
Earlier this year, he unemployed himself so he could do Bartcop.com full-time, and develop an
Internet-based radio show (he currently supports himself with advertising,  subscriptions
and donations). His ³tequila treehouse² may not have a view of a Hawaiian shore, but at least
he¹s become famous ‹ sort of. Famous enough, at least, to have an official detractor:
Check out ³Bartcop.NET² for proof that the real Bart is a bona fide rock star of the angry left.
Correction: punk rock star.

And that¹s part of his appeal: The fact that he¹s not a writer, doesn¹t  know computers too well,
and has no experience in broadcasting ‹ yet has managed to addict thousands of readers on a
daily basis, some of whom now donate their time and talents to make his radio show a reality
‹ is a tempting inspiration to frustrated anti-Bushers who feel the game is already over. It helps
that he¹s damn funny, unpredictable, streetwise, and able to dissect the spin in an almost
purposefully inelegant way. If you can get past the typos, cheesy web clip-icons and crude design,
you¹ll find ‹ between contributed political cartoons and links to topical news articles ‹ the sort of
red-meat commentary of which liberals have been denied lately by the mainstream media. A recent sample:

³Have you ever noticed that the gas-guzzling, terror-financing SUVs are often named
after the most beautiful places in America that the B.F.E.E. and the Republicans want to destroy?
If you¹re in Seattle and buy a new Buick Ranier, aren¹t you slightly hurting Mt. Ranier?
If you¹re in Salt Lake and buy a new Cadillac Escalade, aren¹t you creating more acid rain
to fall on that beautiful Crimson Staircase thing that Clinton made off limits to mining and
oil companies, but then the Illegal Thug reversed that soon after stealing power.
The Tahoe, Durango, Yukon Denali, Sedona and Sequoia - what do they have in common?
Those are all places the B.F.E.E. wants filled with oil rigs, strip mining, looters and polluters,
the bastards. After all, preserving those parks won¹t make the B.F.E.E. any richer, so why
should anyone care? They must think it¹s real cute to destroy the environment with vehicles
named after our lost parks.²

Sometimes you need your Chomsky, your broccoli; other times you want your Bartcop,
your rare cut, nice and bloody. The secret seasoning comes in  the form of tidbits about
Bart¹s personal life: He rarely lets a blog go by without reveling in the virtues of poker,
Shirley Manson, Chinaco, pin-up calendars, Boondocks, Letterman and circus-like
celebrity trials. We recently contacted the elusive Bart at his secret Tequila Treehouse,
with the expectation that he not only answer our questions but dedicate a  shot of
Chinaco to Fringe for us being hip to his punk-rock self.

FRINGE: On your site, you often joke about your lack of popularity and influence,
but clearly you¹ve got a sizeable, dedicated following. Have you ever tried to deconstruct
what makes your blog so addictive for some? You must be tapping into something deeper
than anti-Bush angst.

BART: I think most people write as if they¹re giving a speech, which is nothing like a normal
conversation. Many writers think they have to pepper their sentences with fancy thesaurus
words and it makes the writer sound phony.  Every day I get advice telling me to change my
writing style or stop using the language most Americans use, but I just try to be myself and
it¹s possible people see that as a form of sincerity.

FRINGE: For now, you prefer to remain anonymous. But if your radio show gains traction,
you¹ll become more of a public figure, and you¹ll have even more opportunities to spread
your message. Are you ready for that kind of exposure?

BART: So far, my ³fame² has far exceeded the economic rewards. I can¹t afford any kind
of security so a lot of exposure isn¹t what I want or  need. Sure, I¹d like the page to be read
by more people, but I have zero desire to be famous. People say fame will get you a better
table at a restaurant, but when we eat out, we generally use the drive-thru window.

FRINGE: What would you tell young progressives who are trying to get their message out to
swing voters, the ones who are still buying into the Bush-will-protect-us myth? What¹s the
best approach at this point, and is the Internet enough?

BART: Bush has been a total disaster for America. Clinton¹s peace and prosperity has turned
into Bush¹s war and recesssion, but the biggest problem is the Democrat¹s refusal to fight back.
They¹d rather praise Bush, and since he has the media fully behind him, there¹s little WE can do
until the Democrats begin to resist.

The right owns the government, the TV networks and talk radio. The Internet is NOT enough
but it¹s all we have. Ashcroft has yet to figure out how to shut down websites that criticize our
never-elected king.
 
FRINGE: Several months ago you mentioned that someone was doing a documentary on you.
If that still in the works, and if so, how is it progressing?

BART: I have some friends in a rock n roll band. Once we watched them play at a club, and
some record company weasel said he wanted to talk to them and they flat-out refused.
Shocked, I asked them why, and they said at each gig, some weasel would offer to make
them rich but it was always some mook trying to get into their sphere to bask in the reflected
glory ‹ or get into the after-party.

Before I learned better, I use to indulge those guys but I stopped doing that. Far as I know,
each one has turned out to be some lonely person who talked a good game but really just
wanted to spend some time with someone he perceived as interesting, so I guess the short
answer is ³no.²

FRINGE: Your archives include a real-time account of 9/11 as the events of that day unfolded.
It¹s heartbreaking to revisit those pages, but it¹s one of the few places on the web that perfectly
capture the confusion and horror of that event. You even expressed support for Bush for a while,
and it got you some nasty letters.

BART: I¹m as viciously against Bush as one can get, but people were screaming for his head
even before the towers fell. I figured Bush deserved at least one day without people like me
on his back. There was plenty to criticize the next day, such as his running like a scared rabbit
from Florida to Louisiana to Nebraska.

He was so shaken on 9-11, he had to deliver his address to the nation via tape like he was hiding
in some damn cave in Afghanistan. To make it all worse, the GOP-monopolized media painted him
as the heroic Commander in Chief when the truth was he was too scared to even speak.

FRINGE: You get lots of flack from some liberal readers for not being ³pure² ‹ you¹re pro-2nd
Amendment, pro-military, pro-death penalty, and you sometimes go out of your way to use
politically incorrect language to make a point. Is it harder to please liberals than it is to change
the mind of conservatives?

BART: Just for the record, I own and carry, but the NRA is just plain crazy. They think a home¹s
not complete without rocket propelled grenades and they don¹t want taggants in dynamite, for Christ¹s sake.

I¹m pro-military except in cases like Iraq when our boys are dying just so Bush can steal Iraq¹s oil.
Wesley Clark is right ‹ had we invaded Afghanistan and looked for bin Laden, he¹d be dead now.
But Bush wanted that oil, so he suspended the war on terror so Cheney and Halliburton could
steal that oil.

I¹m conflicted on the death penalty, but some obvious cases like Tim McVeigh on the DC sniper are
easy calls. That poor crazy woemn in Texas who drowned her kids?  No need to kill her, but Texas
probably will because blood-thirsty Texas voters like that kind of stuff.

And yes, I often use the ³N² word when describing how the all-white GOP thinks about African-Americans.
To them, they¹ll always be ³niggers.² But to answer your question...both sides are deeply entrenched and no
amount of facts or logic will change anyone¹s mind. One big difference is unlike the simpering ditto-monkeys
who worship Rush, my readers hold me accountable for every word. In Radio Show 21, some people thought
I¹d made a mistake and they blasted me with both barrels...and these are paying subscribers :)

FRINGE: Tell us about ³bartcop.net², the anti-Bartcop site. Is that a badge of honor for you, proof that
you¹re making an impact?

BART: I don¹t know if they¹re still up, but there were a half dozens ³stalker² sites about a year ago.
Again, it¹s sad when a person is so lonely that  stalking me becomes their reason to keep living. I¹m nobody.
If they want to stalk somebody, they should aim a little higher ‹ maybe Britney Spears.

FRINGE: On many anti-Bush message boards, the expat question occasionally surfaces. There¹s a genuine
fear that this country is descending into a long-term, if not permanent right-wing rut, a corporate and
Christian-right Disneyland-from hell. Would you consider emigrating if Bush wins in 2004, or are you going
to keep hammering no matter how bad it gets?

BART: Nah, I¹m here for the long haul. I think what will eventually happen is the right will turn on Bush.
The left is too afraid to fight, but the right isn¹t, so at some point I think Bush will reach too far and some
senior GOP senators will tell Bush to knock it off or they¹ll impeach him.

FRINGE: What are the main differences between Bush¹s America and the one we might have had under Al Gore?

BART: I get sick when Bush¹s media says Gore would¹ve surrendered to bin Laden. When Gore volunteered
to go to Vietnam, Bush deserted his post to get drunk, do cocaine and screw hookers in Mexico ‹ yet the
networks and talk radio protray him as the brave American warrior.

The truth is, Bush promised to bring bin laden to justice but he decided to steal Iraq¹s oil, instead. Of course,
the media won¹t call him on that, either.

If the winner had been allowed to take the office, Gore would not have given the super-rich and the giant
corporations billions in tax cuts and the economy would be much stronger. Gore would also protect, not rape,
the environment and he¹d invest America¹s future in wind and solar power but with Bush, we¹re going backwards to
fossil fuels that pollute and make his friends rich. It¹s a lot harder to gouge somebody on wind or solar power.

FRINGE: What the hell are you going to do if Shirley actually calls?

BART: It¹s funny, I¹ve heard from a dozen people that ³know² Shirley and they¹ve all promised that she¹ll call
someday. It would be fun, but I¹m happy with my life as it is, so that¹d just be icing on the cake.

FRINGE: In Santa Fe, local liberal politics is part of the local flavor. Any suggestions for a town that might be
designated as an Enemy of the Homeland by Herr Ashcroft?

BART: First thing Santa Fe should do is pass a resolution condemning the phony ³Patriot Act,² but maybe they
already have. Ashcroft is religiously insane and has no problem with breaking the law if God tells him to.

And for sure, the Iran-Contra felons will use the Patriot Act against Bush¹s rival next November. The poor scared
Democrats caved in to Bush AGAIN on the Patriot Act. I think Democrats who support Bush should be arrested for
accepting money (their paychecks) under false pretenses. Maybe the idea of going to jail would scare them more than Karl Rove.

END
 
 

Note: The clubs and bars I owned were in Tulsa,
but Fringe's non-whore journalism deserves a shot of Chinaco.

 
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  back to  bartcop.com