Bartcop

I opened Bartcop today hoping to see a new post and instead learned that he had died last week.

Bartcop was the pen name of Terry Coppage of Tulsa Oklahoma, (which place Bart described as ground zero for stupidity in America.)

One of the first political bloggers, Bart opened up shop in 1996, at the height of the right-wing-conspiracy to undo the election of Bill Clinton by smear campaign and witch-hunt. His site was lush with photoshop fun, political cartoons and pages of eye candy called “Bartcop Hotties.” For years he ended every post with a picture of Shirley Manson from Garbage. But Bart was always “swinging the hammer” at greed, bad government, bought media and religious insanity. A redneck progressive, Bart was an avid supporter of the U S Armed Forces and was frequently outraged at their misuse and neglect by chickenhawks eager to send them into harm’s way. Bart was big on gun rights, but not opposed to all gun control, saying that on a scale of 1 to 10, with David Koresh at 10, he’d be a three. He drew outrage from many when he questioned our unquestioned support of Israel, suggesting that the country be re-located to Oklahoma. He would banter with his most rabid critics, posting long email exchanges he posted as “Monkeymail.”

As a sample of the Bart point-of-view that attracted thousands of readers, this from “Bart’s Laws:”

Bart's Law #1

Don't EVER tell the truth in a political campaign.
People want to be lied to.
They don't care if you're the best, most qualified candidate in history, they're going to vote for
a candidate who stars in a fuzzy video of him playing with the family dog while his pearl-necklaced
wife and your 2.3 small children watch in awe while the voice-over dude explains that this guy
has whatever-state-you-live-in family values.

If you doubt me, ask President Mondale about telling the truth.

Bart's Law #2

Any time a person or entity makes a "mistake" that puts extra money (or power) in their pocket,
expect them to make that "mistake" again and again and again. That's why refineries have fires now and then,
because a fire allows them to scream "unexpected shortage" so they can gouge us on the price of gas.

-Bart was a must-read for so many, often an eye-opener and what good fun! For years I would re-post items found on Bartcop on my own blog and on Faceplant, and it was always a thrill when he would post one of my comments, or send me message telling me that I had the correct answer to one of his “History Mysteries.” Koresh, he’ll be missed.