Historical question: Bartcop and Julie Steele

i remember a while back Bartcop did a lot of fundraising for JHS, even had a big get together in DC with her and Joe Conason at a restaurant James Carville owned. He flogged and flogged the JHS story (which really did seem like a totally gross miscarriage of all American ideals) . . . and then suddenly, he immediately stopped and wouldn't talk about her or the raising of funds or anything at all.

Does anyone actually know what happened? did someone think he had misappropriated some of those funds, or was someone on JHS's side accused of that?

A little help, please.

did you try googling to see what comes up?

the Bartcop sites.

I know someone who is personal friends with Julie Hyatt Steele but don't remember too many of the details. I think the charge was that Bartcop wouldn't give a good accounting of the money raised on her bahalf and there were some questions about that.

Bartcop had his own complaints about her, of course, and the first of 2 times I've ever visited that site (aside from the link to the "Diebold Magic" page which actually is useful), he had an embarrassing little temper tantrum all over the home page about Julie. He was venting his spleen in a most ungentlemanly way. I had no idea what was going on, but got thoroughly turned off to Bartcop from the get-go and certainly did NOT find him credible from the nature of that diatribe. I never go there as a result, nor have I been favorably impressed by Bartcoppers who came here. I found the ones I knew to also be Bartcoppers tended to be the same kind of ass Bartcop showed himself to be. And usually with a misogynist streak as well. Ugly people -- kinda like freepers but on the Left.

I used to enjoy his page a lot a while ago, but that whole episode left me with the same impression. I didn't understand what all the vitriol about JHS was about, as the problem was not well explained. When someone asks you to account for money, you account for it, right? Instead of throwing a fit?

It's too bad. BC certainly holds no love for Bush.

You should write a book on how little you know.

Or are you impugning my ability to get the flavor and make a judgment about a written work (Bartcop website) by reading it?

I know someone who knows Julie Hyatta Steele. That's a different subject from my distaste over Bartcop. Sounds to me like you were conflating the two.

You should write a book on how little you know.

You're right: there is an infinite number of things about which I know absolutely nothing and another really big handful of things about which I only know a thimbleful. A couple of things about which I know more than the average lay person. But I know all I EVER care to about Bartcop. And your point is -- ??

Oh, the many, many hours you've spent with Barcoppers must have been sheer Hell!



By characterizing an entire group of people as Ugly, most of which are DUers as well, I believe you've engaged in name-calling.

Which is a no-no even in the most uncivil of forums.

I introduced the two of them (R & JHS, not Bart/JHS), and there's more to it than she was probably privy to, so please don't allow that info to color your view of Bart. Not saying it has/had anything to do with your view of him~

I can appreciate your perspective on BC, although I don't share it... well, not in its entirety, anyway. Personally, I like him. BC, like Randi Rhodes or any number of people (ourselves included), appeals to some and pisses off others... and the same goes for Bartcoppers/DUers, etc.
*aiming for the award for Most Obvious Comment in a Thread*

Long story short, much of the whole brouhaha can be placed at the feet of an intermediary who really (probably unintentionally) screwed up communication between Bart & Julie, and by the time everybody realized it too many harsh things had been said.

I know the bartcoppers very, very well, being one.

We are NOT asses.

We are not misogynists.

Them's fightin' words, and I think you should retract them.

I hope you and the several others who feel stung by my remarks will look CAREFULLY at what I said, because I took pains to qualify my statement:

I never go there as a result, nor have I been favorably impressed by Bartcoppers who came here. I found the ones I knew to also be Bartcoppers tended to be the same kind of ass Bartcop showed himself to be.

Did I know you were/are? Nope. Julie? Nope. AmericanStranger? Nope. There were a handful of people who came here who were ugly and disruptive and while I could name a few names (and have forgotten a few of them, I'm sure), that's not allowed -- but I wouldn't anyway. Further, I don't recall seeing the specific people I'm talking about here at DU for quite some time.

And we now know you thereby.

is used with no restraint.

Do you stir up trouble for fun or profit? I've seen this sort of thing before.

W_A_M

I also know BartCop well. We were two of the people at the JHS event.

>And usually with a misogynist streak as well. Ugly people -- kinda like freepers but on the Left.<

Thanks.

Julie

How you been? Good, I hope.

-as

I'm a BartCopper. I'm a forum mod, and a long-time poster.

How dare you?

You wanna talk about 'freepers on the Left?' Should I bring up how Bart himself was treated here, for asking questions about Bev Harris - voicing suspicions that turned out to be true?

No, let's not bring that up. Just call us 'freepers on the Left.'

-as

you must be one of THEM

:looks askance and aghast:

Bartcop is fine. A little extremism is not a bad thing once inawhile is it?

Maybe I sorta liked him and his attitude because I am a fellow male/Okie (okay I am from SD, which is not Ok, but same general area). Plus, he always had toons from Doonesbury, Get Your War on, and Boondocks.
I have not been there in a while since I have been spending most of my time on DU. I got tired of the constant bash, bash, bash of the Democrats. Like the people who do not stand up to the fascists are worse than the fascists themselves.
The ugly label probably fits me too, but hopefully only on the outside.

Along with Atrios and American Stranger and many other Bartcoppers as well as a large DU contingent.

Julie got everything left over after expenses, such as paying for food and drinks and so on. What happened is that she was still in pretty desperate straits; she lost her house due to legal bills and so on, and was hoping for a book advance to bail her out. That never materialized, or hasn't yet. I know I would buy the book, and Julie is a wonderful person and a real hero.

I believe that a bartcopper fell in love with her, while helping her move into a cabin in North Carolina. I was communicating with him, and he became convinced that there HAD to be more money. I know Bart well, and there was no more. But this guy, Bob, convinced her that there must be, and it got ugly.

No one likes being called a thief, and that is what was happening. As far as I am concerned, Julie got her money, several thousand dollars, but possibly had expected more.

BTW, David Brock was there too, just after returning from the wilderness of right wing thuggery.

being allowed to stay there for free, right?

It was in terrible condition and a couple of bartcoppers were working there to fix it up to make it more habitable. I think one fell in love with her. Then things went nuts.

Julie herself didn't really say much. It was that BC member who was making the charges. I was sorry to see two people I really like going at it, but Bart did no wrong, he and Christian worked their butts off to organize the event and keep potential disrupters out (the Freepers were threatening to disrupt, but in the end, never showed). We all had a wonderful time, things seemed great, then suddenly, all sorts of nasty things were being said by ONE PERSON about BC, and he blew up.

I think he was well within his rights. Bart is an honorable, decent guy.

I remember speaking to Bart about that time. He was pretty agonized over the whole thing, but ultimately he wasn't going to stand around and get slimed for trying to do something good for someone..

To characterize Bart's entirely justified rage at the entire situation as a 'tantrum' is an indicator of how badly the situation is misunderstood - notwithstanding how many friends are 'personal friends' with JHS.

-as

I really like the guy, but I know he can rub people the wrong way. One thing you can't question is his integrity, though.

The break up betweeen Bartcop and JHS was fueled by missunderstandings and aggravated by foolish stubborn pride.
There was then and is now no serious question of bad acts by either party.

What is without question is that Bart and most Bartcop readers are not fans of Bev Harris while Eloriel is a Bev booster. I'd guess that this is where Eloriel got his apparent dislike of all things Bartcop.

It is a mess, but he not only gave her all of the money, but a lot more out of his own pockets.

At some point, JHS was influenced by a third party who tried to convince her that Bart had cheated her, and she decided to believe that person.

It simply wasn't true, and I feel very sad for JHS.

bartcop busted his ass to put on juliefest and as a result it was quite the success. while i was unable to attend due to a severe (and ongoing) financial situation, many of my fellow bartcoppers did, including atrios, pete hisey, killer tomato, et al. they are all my friends for years now and they are all kind and decent folk. those of us who have a hand in the way the forum is managed, work hard at keeping posters who degenerate into personal attacks from distrupting thoughtful discussions of our political world. i resent that someone has taken to calling us names here without mentioning anybody specifically. so...shut up...shut up...shut up...heh

moose & squirrel
http://moose-and-squirrel.com

I thought it must have been something like that. I sent JHS money through Bartcop as well and would hope it was handled carefully. It would suck to be accused of something like that after crusading for someone the way he did for JHS, but on the other hand, he's dealt with enough hucksters (working in a car dealership) to know that someone like JHS would have been in danger of having her name used to raise money by someone with less scruples. I think BCs heart was in the right place, but his overreaction (which was confusing and necessarily one-sided) hit the wrong note.

thanks for the clarification.

he tirelessly campaigned to help JHS out and then was unjustly accused of stealing. his feelings were truly hurt. the third party took advantage of jhs's unstable mental condition and tried to criminalize bartcop. that in itself is criminal. no wonder bartcop holds poker parties instead now.

m&s
http://moose-and-squirrel.com

spent quite a bit of his own money on the big Julie-fest. He was unjustly accused and reacted appropriately. Too bad for Julie. I spent $25 buying the video of the Julie-fest, BTW.

A very sad happenstance but Bart did his best from what I could see.

Sometimes when people are in trouble and they can't really get back at those who have caused them trouble they strike out at those who are closer to hand. I feel sad for both of them.

The conservation movement is a breeding ground of communists
and other subversives. We intend to clean them out,
even if it means rounding up every birdwatcher in the country.
--John Mitchell, US Attorney General 1969-72

at one point.

into quite a very cool deal with Carville and Atrios and David Brock in attendance.

The money was probably handled in an informal but honest way, and after the fact someone swooped in and wanted a by-the-book professional accounting of all the expenses, receipts, and disbursements for the whole event.

People were having to use their own cars to pick up others from the airport, Carville hosted the event at his own restaurant, and things were hodge-podged together in some respects, but the whole event was truly a great thing, and I believe Bartcop felt really stung by the accusations of dishonesty that later surfaced. That really sucked and most all people believed that Bartcop was totally honest and aboveboard.

Not as the uber-blogger as we know him, anyways. :)

I don't even know if Eschaton had even come into existence at that point. If it was started, it was tiny compared to what it is now.

He was just a nice chap to sit around having a drink with at the time.

-as

I believe that event was one the catalysts for his voice to emerge.

That weekend he was just another schmoe.

(Martini stain and all)

I send him 20 dollars via paypal a few years back. He found out about something personal that my family went through and he not only paypal me back my 20 dollars but added 20 dollars of his own. He told me he doesn't want to take any money from our family. I don't know him personally but I always thought that was a nice gesture on his part.

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