Jason Sandford
Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.
I was left with the distinct impression that Dr. Mumpower desired an immediate and personal response to his presence, and waiting was not an option. Whether his intrusion into a stop such as the one I have detailed above was executed out of ignorance of the realities of police procedure and the dangers associated therewith, or was the result of a passive-aggressive effort to force police personnel to drop whatever they were doing to answer his calls for service above those created by and for the citizens of Asheville, I do not know.
Either way, I find it patently unacceptable. The political machinations surrounding the recent controversy between Dr. Mumpower and our department are none of my concern. What is my concern is the safety of not only the officers in the Drug Suppression Unit, but all the officers of the Asheville Police Department who do not deserve to be placed into a situation that requires them to decide between doing what they know is right for their safety and possibly offending an Asheville City Councilmember who has already made clear his opinion of our worth, dedication and effectiveness.
Mumpower fires back, saying he’s not doing anything wrong:
The contact with the officers was incidental to my agenda in stopping at the police substation, and, frankly, I didn’t know what they were doing one way or the other. I am not a police officer – do not know police protocols and did nothing different from what I have done in the past when I was on formal observations. In this case I was there not to chat, observe their actions, or otherwise interfere or participate. I was there to report 4 drug dealers in 2 public housing developments within the past 15 minutes.
Now for the ovarian spasms – Leslee Kulba is a reporter who has been writing for the Asheville Tribune for awhile now. We use the term “reporter” loosely. She, like Mumpower, sent out a series of e-mails recently. Only her notes detail her mental illness issues, and the notes has been flying around town. Here Kulba explains her feelings for Mumpower:
When I first met Dr. Mumpower, he suggested I see a friend of his for psychotherapy. I was indignant, but I complied. After a few sessions, I felt the therapy was going nowhere, and so I quit. Recently, Dr.
Mumpower urged me to go back to his friend. I
complied. Today we had some major breakthroughs.
1. I AM ENTITLEMENT ORIENTED. This is the least of my
vices. While real reporters were sifting through
truckloads of information, running up phone bills on
their own tabs, playing hardball, dodging bullets, and
shedding blood, sweat, and tears constantly to get the
real story behind the story, I expected important
people to answer my questions just because I asked.
WORSE –
2. I AM A SEXUAL PREDATOR. The real reason Dr.
Mumpower wanted me to go into therapy is because I was
harassing him with ovarian spasms throughout city
council meetings. When my therapist brought this to my
attention, I denied it. I said I liked Dr. Mumpower
because he defended the Constitution and spoke wisely.
My therapist knew better. He has worked with
schizophrenics, and even they knew the difference
between promptings of the Holy Ghost and sexual urges.
My therapist further told me I as much as told Dr.
Mumpower that God had sent me on a mission to commit
adultery with him. I denied again. I insisted Dr.
Mumpower was a good Christian man with a happy home,
but the truth remains: I am a filthy pervert. Some
suppose that the four police officers at city council
meetings are there to protect Terry Bellamy from my
death threats. After today, I feel they are there to
protect Dr. Mumpower from me forcefully raping him
with my eyes.
SOLUTION: I cannot trust myself to have
anything to do with Dr. Mumpower anymore, and that
means I cannot attend city council meetings until I
outgrow my ovarian spasms.
In conclusion, I am guilty of vast community
disservice. When Dr. Mumpower spurned my sexual
advances, I retaliated by writing nasty articles
defaming him and spinning malicious lies and
inaccuracies about his good programs. As a result, I
have caused more pain in this community than all the
drug dealers, lazy police officers, and corrupt city
officials put together.
Um, ok. Wow. Watch yer back, Mumpower.
I have it on very good authority that Dr. Mumpower regularly sees gay kids to ‘cure’ them. He is a worm; always has been, always will be.
bill – lemme provide a little context. that clip was taken as people were leaving former rep. taylor’s anti-immigration rally (okay, it was officially called an "immigration town hall meeting") down in henderson county last september. the place was teeming with neo-cons, un-robed klansmen and isolationist libertarians – tom tancredo spoke, fer bob’s sake! – so i’m guessing that’s why ms. kulba was there. but if she was there in a journalistic capacity, did she really have to wear a skirt that necessitated two hairdos in order to wear it?
maybe there is something to that self-levelled sexual predator charge.
brilliant, Black! brilliant!
Great name for a band:
The Ovarian Spasms
Mumpower comes off as Asheville’s version of Rudy Giuliani in his showboating days as a federal prosecutor and, no, I don’t mean that as a compliment. Everything he does, everything he says, is ego-driven and self-serving. I’d love to put a couple of beers in Mumpower and ask him what he REALLY thinks about all the different types of people with whom he now must share the streets of Asheville. Mumpower is a throwback to a dark and evil time. Thankfully, his antebellum agenda woill never appeal to a majority of Asheville’s electorate.
Re: Syntax
What the hell was that?
"You don’t recognize this" ?? Who is that asshat?
Why should anyone recognize newspaper reporters?
And she is worried about being insulted, when the syncophant with her calls her THIS?
pretty funny.
cool, syntax!
EM, yes.
bill, exactly.
and mish – you’re right – who knew?
I didn’t mean to comment twice about the ovarian spasms. Though that is my new favorite phrase…
oh. my.
and silly me–i thought ovarian spasms were something that happened when you ovulated. i had no idea that they were something you could use to sexually harass others!!
wow.
just wow.
and these are the people who appear to be in control. Imagine what goes through the heads of those less apparently in control.
Okay, just one more and then I’ll shut up.
Can I just say, YUCKY?
What, exactly, IS an ovarian spasm?
And can I have one please?
What, exactly, IS an ovarian spasm?
And can I have one please?
I can’t quite decide who seems the most crazy here…
the one time i actually got to encounter leslee kulba face-to-face, she struck me as being a meth-addled ann coulter wannabe.
it’s on video, too. you might recognize somebody in the clip.
http://www.thesyntaxofthings.org/main/wp-content/uploads/2006/09/anncoulterwannabe.wmv