Asheville Daily Planet January 2015 by John North

Jerry Lee Lewis’ wild times retold

Obama called a Marxist — and likely a Muslim

Christmas Jam: A crowd-pleaser — See REVIEW, Pg. B1

Jason Isbell

— See REVIEW, Pg. B1

— See STORY, Pg. A2

ILLE V E H AS ASHEVILLEʼS GREATEST NEWSPAPER

January 2015

Vol. 11, No. 02

An Independent Newspaper Serving Greater Asheville www.ashevilledailyplanet.com FREE

A provocateur ... with big ears!

Special photo courtesy of Western Carolina University

Ex-Mouseketeer Lindsey Alley performed her comedy show Dec. 2 at Western Carolina University. A review appears on Page B1.

Protests allege police brutality targets blacks From Staff Reports At least seven protest rallies have been held in the past month or so across Buncombe County over alleged police brutality targeting blacks. The protests were triggered by two cases: • A Ferguson, Mo., grand jury decision on Aug. 9 not to indict police officer Darren Wilson in the fatal shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed 18-year-old who reportedly got into a struggle with Wilson after allegedly robbing a convenience store. • A New York City grand jury decision on Dec. 3 not to indict officer Daniel Pantaleo in the chokehold death of Eric Garner, who was unarmed and allegedly selling loose cigarettes — and reportedly was uncooperative with officers. In both cases, the officers were white and the two men killed were black. In Wilson’s case, he said he felt his life was in danger. During some of the Buncombe protests, demonstrators held pictures of Reynolds High football player A.J. Marion, who was killed in 2013 by an Asheville police officer following a residential break-in, report of a gunshot and ensuing foot chase. As was the case with Brown and Garner, Marion was black and unarmed and the white officer was later cleared of any wrongdoing. See PROTESTS, Page A9

Interim APD chief named; sees no crisis

From Staff Reports Asheville’s soon-to-be interim Police Chief Steve Belcher said Dec. 18 that he does not see the Asheville Police Department being in crisis, despite nearly one in four officers having signed a petition saying they had no faith in department readership. Belcher, who will come on as Asheville’s interim chief Jan. 20, recently served as interim chief in Bell, Calif., after the former chief there was fired amid a corruption case that ended this year with prison sentences for some elected officials.

Bell was absolutely facing a crisis, Belcher said. “It’s very different,” he told local news media, referring to Asheville’s situation. Belcher will temporarily replace former Chief William Anderson, who retired in December following the presentation of the officers’ petition. The state Department of Justice also started a standards inquiry at the department and is looking into an internal affairs review being conducted by city police. Belcher will be paid the equivalent of an annual salary of $145,486. He will likely get half of that because his employment

should last six months, according to his contract. He will also get $3,400 in relocation expenses, $1,000 a month for housing and use of a city vehicle. He said in general he would be “aiming the ship in the right direction. “There are expectations of the community, of political leaders, of employees and the media itself,” Belcher said. “You have to make sure you have a good understanding of those expections and make sure to meld those together, so there is a smooth transition for the person who is going to take over.” See APD, Page A9

2 conservatives catch flak from their own base From Staff Reports

Two local conservatives said in mid-December that some of their support base was angered by the cancellation of their pro-police rally, planned for Dec. 11, after activists from the LBGTQ community announced that they would hold a counter-protest simulaneously nearby. “I had been blessed with my fill of conservative armchair quarterbacks critiquing our actions without any understanding of the circumstance,” Dr. Carl Mumpower, one of the organizers (along with Chad Nesbitt), said. “At this point, my patience with the selective efforts and principles of Asheville’s conservative community are worn a bit thin. “It is telling that most every voice of criticism has stepped over our final request — sending a note of thanks to their local law enforcement agency. Had conservative stalwarts embraced that mission, over trying to perfect our efforts, the impact for our police could have been far more significant and less risky than a 30-minute rally amidst a parade of lesbians with signs saying, ‘F--k the police.’” See CONSERVATIVES, Page A9

The Advice Goddess

Amy Alkon

You delete me Q:

— I’m trying to get over my ex, but I’m constantly checking his Twitter and Facebook pages, and I get really upset. I’ll see pix of women or see that he’s gone to some event and wonder whether he met anyone there. It’s crazy-making, but I can’t seem to stop looking. — Unhinged See ADVICE GODDESS, Page A4

A2 - January 2015 - Asheville Daily Planet

DeLay on Obama: a Marxist, likely a Muslim

By JOHN NORTH

john@AshevilleDailyPlanet.com

President Barack Obama is a Marxist and probably a Muslim, former Republican House Majority Leader Tom DeLay charged during a Dec. 12 speech at Asheville’s Crowne Plaza Expo Center. “I thank God for President Obama,” DeLay said to a cheering audience. “He’s done more for the Republican Party... than any one person could ever do.... “He doesn’t lie about being a Marxist. He’s proud of it. In fact, I think he’s a Muslim, but he definitely is a Marxist,” DeLay contended, triggering applause from the crowd. He added that the president “doesn’t hide” from his alleged Marxism, unlike other politicians who “lie about who they are.” DeLay also said that the United States needs to return religion to government and that it must respect the Constitution’s guarantees of individual rights. He said the Constitution represents “God creating this wonderful country” — and that conservative victories in 2016 would ignite a spiritual revival already in progress. DeLay was the keynote speaker at the 22nd annual Charles H. Taylor Holiday Dinner, which is one of the largest gatherings of Republicans in the state. Other major speakers included Gov. Pat McCrory and North Carolina’s U.S. Sen-Elect Thom Tillis. (See other story on this page for their comments.) About 700 people were in attendance, event organizer Trish Smothers told the Daily Planet. (Conversely, the Asheville CitizenTimes reported a turnout of 525 people.) DeLay was introduced as an “instrumental leader in the GOP revolution” who “speaks

his convictions.” DeLay represented a Texas district in the U.S House from 1985 to 2006. He was a leader who could get votes for GOP legislation, an exponent of conservative views and involved in a number of ethical controversies. Tom DeLay In 2005, DeLay was indicted on money-laundering charges and, in 2010, was convicted in relation to funneling corporate donations to state candidates in Texas. However, appellate courts later ruled that DeLay’s conduct did not violate state law. DeLay’s congressional career overlapped Taylor’s. As a result of their friendship, DeLay occasionally spends time camping in Taylor’s RV at nearby Lake Toxaway. DeLay, who was given a standing ovation when he took the stage, began by noting, “When Charles Taylor invited me to speak to a ‘little gathering’ here, little did I know this is one of the largest dinners in North Carolina politics. “You need to know what criminalization of politics looks like... If you stand up for what you believe in, the liberals will” do everything they can to destroy opponents. “But, as my (2007) book, ‘No Retreat, No Surrender: One American’s Fight,’ noted, “When the Republicans took over the majority, really, for the first time in 60 years, in 1985... Nancy Pelosi announced that they would ‘take out’ Tom DeLay.” See DELAY, Page A7

GOP-led legislature’s successes touted by McCrory, Tillis at dinner

By JOHN NORTH

john@AshevilleDailyPlanet.com

As a result of the Republican Party’s takeover of North Carolina’s legislature in 2012, the state government is clicking on all cylinders, according to speeches by Gov. Pat McCory and Sen.-elect Thom Tillis — both Republicans — Dec. 12 at the 22nd annual Charles H. Taylor Holiday Dinner in Asheville. The keynote speaker was Tom DeLay, former Republican Party Majority Leader in the U.S. House of Representatives, who ripped President Barack Obama in particular and progressive-liberals in general. (See other story on this page for DeLay’s comments.) When inaugurated in January 2013, McCrory said he noticed that two fountains near the Capitol were not running and were trash-filled. He added, “That’s the culture that we walked into after 23 years of ... the other party controlling the governor’s office. If something was broken, they just said, ‘We’ll fix it later.’” Now, “the fountains are working and state government is starting to work for the first time” in two decades. McCrory then told the party faithful, “When we (Republicans) came into office, our (state) economy was broken from 20plus years of the other party (Democrats)

January

Sen-elect Thom Tillis

Gov. Pat McCrory

ruling. Teachers hadn’t been given pay raises for five years.” Now, McCrory contended, North Carolina’s economy is roaring and the teachers have received a raise. Later, Tillis said that the results from the November 2014 election “put (Democratic House Majority Leader) Harry Reid on notice that he has fewer options anymore. “We are going to put this great nation back on the path... Everyone should be in a position to realize the American Dream. It’s not to give it to you, but to give you a chance to realize the American Dream.... “We’ve got to get government out of the way. That’s what’s wrong with this nation today,” Tillis said to loud applause. See GOP, Page A7

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A4 — January 2015 - Asheville Daily Planet

Van Duynn named Senate minority whip for next two years

From Staff Reports

RALEIGH – Sen. Terry Van Duyn of Biltmore Forest was chosen by Senate Democrats on Dec. 17 to serve as minority whip for the next two years and Sen. Dan Blue, D-Wake, was kept on as minority leader. Van Duyn was elected a senator in April, appointed to the seat vacated after Sen. Martin Nesbitt died the previous month. In November, she easily won election for a full term in the 49th Senate District, which includes most of Buncombe County. Encouraging the party’s senators to stay united on Terry Van Duyn legislation is the minority whip’s responsibility. The job is usually considered second in importance in the minority caucus to that of the minority leader’s. When the General Assembly reconvenes in January, there will be 16 Democratic senators. Van Duyn, 63, later told the news media that she was among five people who expressed an interest in the job — and she was surprised to get the nod so early in her Senate career.

Homeless man bows out of council race

From Staff Reports The upcoming race for a seat on Asheville City Council dwindled by one, when a homeless man who planned to run dropped out on Dec. 15. James Bullman, 38, said that he would not run after all in the 2015 election. He has been homeless in Asheville for two years. Instead, Bullman said he wanted to concentrate on photography. Under the tag of Bullman Photography, he regularly posts on

social media photos of everyday Asheville life. “I don’t think it’s feasible. I don’t think it’s realistic,” he told local news media of his candidacy. “I don’t want to hinder anything — I don’t want to be in the way.” Two month ago, Bullman had announced his intention to run, saying he wanted to promote local food growing by creating a National Plant a Seed Day, and to push for stronger sentences for sex offenders.

From Staff Reports Asheville City Councilman Cecil Bothwell pleaded guilty to driving while intoxicated in Buncombe County District Court on Nov. 23. Bothwell was given a 30-day suspended sentence with one year of unsupervised probation by Judge Calvin Hill. He also was ordered to pay $640 in court costs and fines — and his license was suspended for a year. However, Bothwell qualifies for a special limited driving privilege. The plea was part of an agreement with prosecutors to drop DWI aiding and abet-

ting charges against Leslee Reiter, Bothwell’s girlfriend who was the passenger and owner of the car he was driving, according to Henderson County District Attorney Greg Newman. Buncombe District Attorney Ron Moore had asked Newman to handle the case because of Bothwell’s stance in a recent district attorney election. Since the June 19 incident, the progressive two-term councilman has said, “As I noted last summer, I take full responsibility for my mistake. I’d love to see more public officials do the same.”

Councilman Bothwell pleads guilty to DWI

Advice Goddess

Continued from Page A1 You know you’ll feel bad when you check his Facebook and Twitter, yet you keep doing it. This is the social media version of being the busty friend character in the horror movie -- the one who says, “I hear creepy reptilian hissing coming from the cellar. I’m sure it’s nothing, but I’ll just rub my large breasts with raw hamburger and go down there with this flickering flashlight to check.” Unless intelligence tests have revealed you to have an IQ rivaling that of Jell-O, you’re repeating this misery-making behavior because you, like the rest of us, are prone to fall into automatic strings of behavior we call habits. In “The Power of Habit,” Charles Duhigg explains that “a habit is a choice we deliberately make at some point, and then stop thinking about, but continue doing.” Research finds that every habit has three components, which Duhigg calls the CUE (a feeling that triggers behavior), the ROUTINE (the behavior itself), and the REWARD (some sort of payoff that tells your brain, “Oh, yeah, let’s totally do that again”). You’re probably picturing yourself at 80, with an elderly monkey on your back, still

frantically checking Facebook for signs your ex-boyfriend’s shifted position in the last 30 seconds. But Duhigg emphasizes that you can break a habit. You do this by swapping out the middle step, the routine (compulsively clicking into your ex’s social media accounts). To understand what to replace it with, check in with yourself at the moment the urge strikes and figure out the “why” -- what reward you’re going after, what need you’re trying to fill. Maybe you’re lonely and longing to feel connected. Or maybe you’re going for a hit of intensity. Intense feelings are called “arousal” in psychology and can be positive or negative. Either leads to feeling stimulated and alive (though sometimes alive and pretty miserable). Next, you need a plan — a substitute routine to slip in whenever the impulse to cyberstalk him strikes. This replacement routine is especially important because a “negative goal” — not doing something — is way harder than doing something different. So, if it’s connection you’re longing for, call a friend or go impede a co-worker’s productivity. If you’re an intensity junkie, watch a clip from a slasher movie or maybe rappel to your

UNCA board OKs 5% tuition boost From Staff Reports Tuition at UNC Asheville will increase by 5 percent for in-state and out-of-state of students, while room and board costs and mandatory fees will hold steady under the tuition and fee plan for the 2015-16 academic year approved unanimously by the university’s Board of Trustees at its Dec. 12 meeting. UNCA in-state undergraduate tuition will rise 5 percent each year from its current level of $3,666 to $3,849 next year, and to $4,041 in 2016-17. Tuition for out-of-state undergraduates will rise from its current level of $18,537 to $19,463 next year, and to $20,436 in 2016-17. Fees will remain at $2,675 for 2015-16 as increases in certain general student fees will be offset by a decrease in the debt service fee. Under the plan, the total cost of attendance (tuition, fees, room and board) for in-state undergraduates would be $14,907 next year, a net increase of 1.24 percent. “Our tuition and fees committees, which included students as well as faculty and staff, worked extremely hard to balance

university needs with minimizing increases and keeping UNC Asheville affordable,” said John Pierce, UNC Asheville vice chancellor for finance and operations. “Our tuition and fee total is currently the lowest of the 15 schools in our designated comparison group of public liberal arts universities. Every year, UNC Asheville gets ‘best value’ plaudits from national rankings, reflecting our high academic quality balanced with affordability.” Looking ahead to the 2016-17 academic year, the Board of Trustees voted to approve a 5 percent increase in tuition, and a less than 1 percent increase in general student fees. The debt service fee and the cost of room and board for 2016-17 are still to be determined. Most (75 percent) of the revenue gained through the tuition increases will be used to help keep faculty and staff salaries competitive and to provide added money for on-campus jobs for students. Students played active roles in the process, comprising half of the eight members of the fees committee and three of the seven members of the tuition committee.

Best-values ratings rise for UNCA From Staff Reports UNC Asheville is once again among the top 100 “Best Values in Public Colleges” in the 2015 rankings released online Dec. 17 by Kiplinger’s, advancing to number 51 nationally, up from number 58 last year. In creating its rankings, Kiplinger started with a list of more than 1,200 public and private four-year schools. Academic quality measures are weighted at 55 percent in Kiplinger’s rankings, with affordability weighted at 45 percent. Kiplinger includes competitiveness (acceptance rate and SAT scores of incoming freshmen), graduation rates (with the fouryear graduation rate weighted most heavily), retention rates, and the student/faculty ratio in measuring academic quality. UNCA is ranked sixth nationally among public colleges ranked by Kiplinger in total cost of attendance for in-state students, 10th lowest average debt at graduation, and 11th

for lowest cost after need-based aid for instate students. Schools in the University of North Carolina system made a strong showing in Kiplinger’s rankings, with UNC-Chapel Hill maintaining its spot atop the “Best Values in Public Colleges” list. NC State University, UNC Wilmington, Appalachian State University and Western Carolina University are also among Kiplinger’s top 100 public colleges. The Princeton Review and The Fiske Guide to Colleges also ranked UNCA as a “best value” this year. In addition, UNCA was the only public university to be included by U.S. News and World Report on the “Best Undergraduate Teaching” list of national liberal arts colleges – placing eighth nationally. For a complete summary of UNCA’s national rankings, visit https://www.unca.edu/ about/facts-and-figures/rankings.

car instead of taking the elevator. Be prepared for temptation to gnaw at you, especially if you’re tired or hungry (when willpower is at its wimpiest). Make it harder for yourself to cheat by mailing your phone to a faraway friend and burying your modem in the backyard — or at least blocking the guy on social media and maybe installing a program on your computer like Freedom (macfreedom.com), which prevents you from getting on the Internet. When the going gets tough, remind yourself that time heals most wounds, and it should do the job on yours — as soon as you stop picking that 140-character scab every 10 minutes. • (c.) 2014, Amy Alkon, all rights reserved. Got a problem? Write Amy Alkon, 171 Pier Ave, #280, Santa Monica, CA 90405, or e-mail AdviceAmy@aol.com

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Asheville Daily Planet — January 2015 - A5

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A6 — January 2015 — Asheville Daily Planet

Asheville named to ‘World’s Best Cities’ list

From Staff Reports

National Geographic Travel recently named Asheville as an “up-and-coming” city in its new book, “World’s Best Cities: Celebrating 220 Great Destinations.” The book calls Asheville “a mecca of awesome mountain scenery, bohemian art and high southern cuisine” and notes, “Asheville’s exuberant foodie scene is all about fusion and updated southern favorites.” The write-up also highlights Zambra Wine

and Tapas, Salsa’s, Luella’s and 12 Bones. Zip line options are also celebrated in the “local secrets” section as well as Black Mountain College and Asheville Art Museum’s collection of BMC instructors Josef and Anni Albers. The book will serve as a travel guide that highlights 220 urban destinations, both well-known and emerging, with beautiful photo galleries, inciteful text and insider tips and secrets. In addition to Asheville, the book

showcases iconic cities like Paris, Rome, New York, London and Tokyo, as well as other “up-and-coming” cities like Denver, Nairobi and Abu Dhabi. Meanwhile, Asheville also was named a top place to visit by Frommer’s Travel Guide. The list was highlighted on ABC’s “Good Morning America” on Jan. 1. “Everyone’s talking about Asheville,” the write-up notes. “Is it the gentle Great Smoky Mountains and their national park nearby, beckoning hikers and nature photographers?

Is it the crunchy bohemian culture, the burgeoning community of artists? It might be the walkable historic downtown full of style-within-reach boutiques, evolved Southern cooking (like at the River District’s 12 Bones), and Malaprop’s, one of America’s great independent bookstores. “Whatever the reasons, Asheville’s national profile has risen to qualify it as the Austin of the East — accessible, youth-friendly, affordable, and the place to go for a sweet lifestyle,” the Frommer’s write-up says.

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Asheville Daily Planet —January 2015— A7

DeLay

Continued from Page A2 As a result of Pelosi’s threat, “Every election year, I’ve gotten ethics charges. In the suit, they said I was conspiring to defeat Democrats.” The crowd laughed. “I was convicted (on ethics charges) because I wasn’t tried by my peers in my home county,” DeLay said. “I was tried in Austin, Texas — ‘the leftest of the left.’ It’s like, in North Carolina, being tried in Chapel Hill. “Of course, I was convicted, sentenced to three years in prison. ... All of that cost me $12 million in legal fees. I tell you that story because I praise the Lord for every bit of it... It was an amazing process. Most people under that kind of pressure would have balked.... I have a pest control company — it’s (his business) pretty good experience for a politician. I had to raise every dime of it....” DeLay credited God with helping him through his legal troubles — and a Christian testimonial constituted about a third of his address, along with a few criticisms at Democrats. “I learned not to wory about tomorrow,

GOP

Continued from Page A2 McCrory, a Republican, drew laughter from the start by quipping, “You know, my security almost didn’t let me come tonight. They literally said, ‘We will not let you come to this, if you let Congressman Taylor drive you....’ “I’m so proud of Susan Tillis (wife of Thom),”he said. “Election night they were down nine points with a number of the precincts in. I walked up to her and said we were down and came back (in his own election a few years ago). She said, ‘But you lost in 2008.’ I forgot about that. Damn, what a comeback.” The crowd laughed again. Also, McCrory said, “I just want to let you know when we became governor, I’d be in the west a lot. We come here (to the governor’s western residence in Asheville) about every other weekend. The west is where I see my wife — and the west is where I see the bears.” He then cited a number of accomplishments of the GOP-dominated state legislature and the governor’s office. “The first and biggest decision we made” was to not extend the period in which jobless workers could receive unemployment benefits and instead work on paying off a

just to talk with Him today,” he said. “Not even Nancy Pelosi can separate me from the love of Jesus Christ.” He added, “God needs to come back into the public square and we need a third spiritual revival in this country... when we stand unashamedly for Jesus Christ... It is time for a revolution for the Constitution... I could go on and on... This spiritual revival has to happen in this country.” Regarding today’s American political “left,” DeLay said, “All of that stuff started in the 1880s. That’s when Americans were traveling to Europe and were being taught by Karl Marx and (Georg Wilhelm Friedrich) Hegel — and they came back and taught in our universities. “Guess what? They never left. Our universities are packed with people teaching the progressive agenda” and today’s progressives are the intellectual heirs of the Marxist-socialist agenda, he noted. (Hegel, a German philosopher, influenced Marx with his work. Hegel died in 1831. Marx, best-known as a revolutionary communist and philosopher, died in 1883.) “We have allowed them (the progres-

$2.6 billion debt — for the state’s jobless program — to the federal government, he said. “We decided to tear up the credit card to the federal government” and, he added with a wide smile, the state is now six months away from retiring the debt. North Carolina’s jobless rate has plummeted and the state’s Medicaid program has moved from an unexpected shortfall of $535 million to recording a budget surplus, McCrory said. “Most importantly, North Carolina’s not fifth-highest (in unemployment) in the country, as when I came in. North Carlina has had the highest unemployment drop since I got elected... Guess what, for the first time, we’re below South Carolina (in the jobless rate) — and I let my friend (S.C. Gov.) Nikki Haley know, too... “We’re introducting a transportation plan. We’re building roads where they’re needed. I couldn’t have done it without (then-House) speaker Tillis. But let me tell you, I’m proud that he’s our senator now.” Next, Tillis, elected last November, began by noting, “When Pat came in, we started a tradition of getting together for dinner every Thursday morning” in the Governor’s Mansion. “We had a great rela-

Way beyond hip and trendy Asheville Daily Planet

sives) to take over this country and shred the Constitution,” DeLay said. As a result of ignoring the Constitution, the U.S. has polluted its culture and allowed over-regulation to slowdown the economy, he asserted. “And I can’t get into the social issues. Look what happened in Ferguson (Mo.). It had nothing to do with a cop shooting a teenager. It had everything to do with the culture of Ferguson that would raise a teenage that would attack a cop and try to kill him,” DeLay said. “If the City Council of Asheville allowed someone to pray (to Mother Earth) to open a meeting, what should you do?” he asked. “Religious freedom doesn’t mean ... you have to allow an atheist to pray to open up the council meeting.... “We are graduating kids who cannot read, who cannot add, who have no sense of the history of this country and certainly no sense of personal responsibility,” DeLay noted. “The University of Texas needs to be cleaned out from what’s going on” with leftists there. Further, he said, “The state legislature needs to invoke the 10th Amendment because the federal government has so shredded the Constitution. I mean... being bold. I’m not talking about just running

the federal government better than they (the Democrats) did. I’m talking about eliminating the Department of Education. It’s not in the Constitution. Get rid of the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency). It ain’t in the Constitution. Don’t just elect them (representatives) and go home. This is not a democracy. I hate democracies. It’s a republic — a representative republic. “Because the prosperity of this country depends on personal freedom and personal responsibility, if we’ll do that (eliminate unconstitutional agencies), the election of 2016” will be the start of a much-needed turnaround for the U.S., DeLay said. “I’ve seen the spiritual revival going on. I hope that God will save this country for His purpose, not your comfort...” he said. “Right now, 50 percent of Americans are depending on the government (for help) one way or another. The next election is the most important election in the history of the country.” If conservatives make the effort, “then your children will enjoy a much better America.” He then added added that “God needs to come back to the public square.... “God bless you and merry Christmas,” DeLay concluded, prompting another standing ovation.

tionship. As the governor said, we’ve done some amazing things here.” Tillis later said that “I especially want to thank (former state Reps.) Tim (Moffitt) and Nathan (Ramsey). I was deeply saddened that the voters in Buncombe County missed the opportunity to send them back. They were such great leaders to Raleigh.” The crowd applauded. Tillis said he is excited “to have the opportunity to go to Washington and do

exactly what we said we’d do,” including “putting the president on notice that he has taken this country in the wrong direction.... “I want you to pray for this president that he’ll have the wisdom to change direction and join us... And pray for our country,” he told the audience. “I’m going to come back here next year and I’m not going to talk about the reasons we didn’t get things done. I’m going to talk about what we got done,” Tillis vowed.

A8 —January 2015 - Asheville Daily Planet

Faith Notes Sunday, Jan. 4

PROGRAM, 3-5 p.m., Grace Lutheran Church, 1245 Sixth Ave. W., Hendersonville. A program, “Recharging Your Prayer Life,” will be led by four presenters who will guide participants in learning and trying out four prayer practices: Centering Prayer, Lectio Divina (Latin for “divine reading”), Soaking Prayer and Guided Prayer. Reservations are required by calling 693-4890, ext. 304.

Wednesday, Jan. 7

PROGRAM, 5:45-7 p.m., Grace Lutheran Church, 1245 Sixth Ave. W., Hendersonville. “Before Amen,” a six-week adult class on bibilical prayer led by Pastor Ke Langsdorf and based on Max Lucado’s DVD discussion series, will be held. The class is free, but an optional dinner from 4:45 to 5:30 p.m. is

Aileen Lawrimore, call 645-6720.

BLUEGRASS WORSHIP WITH LORD’S SUPPER, 10:30 a.m., Center for Art & Spirit at St. George’s Episcopal Church, 1 School Road, Asheville. A bluegrass worship with Lord’s supper will feature music by Tom Godleski (of Buncombe Turnpike) and friends. CONCERT, 7 p.m., Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Asheville, 1 Edwin Place, Asheville. Folk musician Bill Staines will perform in the montly Mountain Spirit Coffeehouse Concert Series. A New England native, Staines became involved with the Boston- Cambridge folk scene in the early 1960s and, for a time, emceed the Sunday hootenanny at the renowned Club 47 in Cambridge, Mass. He quickly became a popular performer in the Boston area. “Singing mostly his own songs, he has become one of the most popular singers on the folk music circuit today and averages around 200 concert dates a year,” the UUCA noted. “Bill weaves a magical blend of wit and gentle humor into his performances.” As one reviewer wrote, “He has a sense of timing to match the best stand-up comic.” His music is billed as a slice of Americana, reflecting with the same ease, his feelings about the prairie people of the Midwest and the adventurers of the Yukon. Admission is $15 for adults and $10 for students.

Send us your faith notes

Sunday, Jan. 11

Tuesday, Jan. 6

WOMEN’S BIBLE STUDY, 10 a.m.-noon, Billy Graham Training Center at The Cove, 1 Porters Cove Rd., Asheville. A women’s Bible study with Jane Derrick will present “Is Peace Possible” on Tuesdays through March 3, except no session on Feb. 24. A $10 lunch buffet is available with reservations made noon Friday before the study. Admission is free, but call (800) 950-2092, or visit www.thecove.org, to register WOMEN’S BIBLE STUDY, 6:30-8:30 p.m., Billy Graham Training Center at The Cove, 1 Porters Cove Rd., Asheville. A women’s Bible study with Kendra Graham will present “Compelled: Christ’s Relentless Love for You” on Tuesdays through Feb. 17. A $10 lunch buffet is available with reservations made noon Friday before the study. Admission is free, but call (800) 950-2092, or visit www.thecove.org, to register. EPIPHANY CELEBRATION, 7 p.m., St. John’s Episcopal Church, 290 Old Haw Creek Rd., Asheville. Epiphany will be celebrated with a candlelight service of music that begins in the sanctuary and continues outside for the traditional burning of the greens and more singing. Afterward, light refreshments will be served in the Parish Hall.

Benedictine life, with reflection on a theme from the Rule. The Rule provides a trellis to support life with God, not a rigid program to control every action. How to live life to its fullest in the context of human frailty and mortality is celebrated in the Rule and will be the focus. Attendees are asked to bring their own lunches. Beverages and desserts will be provided. Admission is $30. To register, call 684-6266.

Folk musician Bill Staines will perform at 7 p.m. Jan. 11 in the Mountain Spirit Coffeehouse Concert Series at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Asheville. $5. For dinner reservations, which are required, call 693-4890.

Friday, Jan. 9

PROGRAM, 1-2 p.m., Grace Lutheran Church, 1245 Sixth Ave W., Hendersonville. Healing prayer is offered on the second Friday of every month by Grace Prayer Ministers and the Order of Saint Luke. This is a Christian-based nondenominational time of prayer.

Saturday, Jan. 10

BENEDICTINE DAY PROGRAM, 10:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m., Calvary Episcopal Church, 2840 Hendersonville Rd., Fletcher. The quarterly Benedictine Day will feature participants living a simplified version of the

Wednesday, Jan. 14

CHILDREN’S PROGRAM, 2:30-7 p.m., First Baptist Church, 63 N. Main St., Weaverville. The Kids for Christ children’s program offered on Wednesdays during the school year will resume. The program — for grades one through six — includes a snack, recreational time, homework help, Bible study, choir and hand bells by invitation. An optional supper is $2 per child and $3.50 per adult. After supper, mission groups are planned. To register with Joy Sprinkle or

Sunday, Feb. 8

CONCERT, 7 p.m., Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Asheville, 1 Edwin Place, Asheville. Sally Barris will perform in the montly Mountain Spirit Coffeehouse Concert Series. Admission is $15 for adults and $10 for students.

Please submit items to the Faith Notes by noon on the third Wednesday of each month, via email, at spirituality@ashevilledailyplanet.com, or fax to 252-6567, or mail c/o The Daily Planet, P.O. Box 8490, Asheville, N.C. 28814-8490. Submissions will be accepted and printed at the discretion of the editor, space permitting. To place an ad for a faith event, call 252-6565.

LETTERS The Asheville Daily Planet invites Letters to the Editor of 200 words or less. Please include your name, mailing address, daytime telephone number and e-mail address. For more information, call (828) 252-6565. Send mail to: Letters, Asheville Daily Planet

P.O. Box 8490, Asheville, NC 28814 Send e-mail to: letters@ashevilledailyplanet.com Send fax to: (828) 252-6567

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Asheville Daily Planet — January 2015 - A9

Protests

Continued from Page A1 The local protests included the following: • Nov. 25 — About 200 people gathered at the Vance Monument in downtown Asheville to protest the decision to not indict Wilson. • Dec. 1 — A number of UNC Asheville students gathered on campus as part of a national movement to raise awareness of what they called police violence in response to the Ferguson incident. Students walked out of class at 1:01 p.m., the same time Brown was killed by Wilson. The walkout at UNCA was one of at least 60 such protests across the country. • Dec. 4 — More than 100 people showed up near the Vance Monument to protest the grand jury’s decision to end the criminal case against Pantaleo. • Dec. 5 — A protest against alleged police brutality was held by a number of students at Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa. • Dec. 6 — A “die-in” protest on the killing of Garner drew more than 100 people was held in downtown Asheville. The protesters marched from the Buncombe County Courthouse to the center of downtown to rally, where they staged the “diein” against police brutality. Despite the rain, protesters, led by students, chanted, “Hands up, don’t shoot!” and “We are unstoppable, another world is possible!” • Dec. 11 — Activists from the local LGBTQ community rallied at the Vance Monument to show support for victims of police brutality. The event was originally organized as a counter-protest to a “Stop Brutalizing Our Police Rally” that had been planned by conservative activists. However, the rally to support police was cancelled by its organizers, Dr. Carl Mumpower and Chad Nesbitt, who issued a press release citing fear of “potential violence” if the events happened simultaneously in the same area. (For details, see related story

Conservatives Continued from Page A1 Meanwhile, Nesbitt said, “The decision to cancel was solely based on safety concerns of the police officers’ families. After we announced that we were having the rally the gay anarchists threatened to spit and instigate violence at the rally. “Children and elderly family members of police officers were to be at our rally. There was no way we were going to allow children to be in danger. We did the right thing.” “As you know, Carl and I have never walked away from a fight and we’ve fought for conservative and moral issues for years. We did not back away from this rally. We pulled a fuse from a bomb. If those crazies spit on those police officers’ families, there would have been a huge fight/”. Further, Nesbitt noted, “There were some Facebook posts, phone calls and emails from our conservative friends, who said we should have never backed down. Some even called us cowards. “It pissed us off and we dished it back at them. Carl and I stand by what we did and stand by whatever smart aleck remark to conservatives that disagreed with us because they did not know what we knew was coming,” Nesbitt said. Following are four samples of remarks received via Facebook or email from supporters of the pro-police rally reacting to its cancelation that Mumpower received: • “Very disappointed you did not carry out your rally at a time when deputies need a moral boost.” • “In the sense that their activity (LGBTQ community) stopped yours, they will interpret it as a win and be fraudulently encouraged to keep up their thwarting of conservative efforts to make valid points publicly. That’s the part I don’t like.” • “AS a Republican The tail didn’t wag the dog. The dog ran off. Don’t every (sic) give in to minority!!!!” • “I understand the not wanting confrontation... that is why the progressives run the town... If ya start something ... don’t back down.”

Vance Monument. It was led by families with members who had been killed by police. On related issues, Asheville Citizen-Times reporter John Boyle wrote a column in early December, expressing sympathy for those who feel they are victims of police brutality. In response, Asheville City Councilman Cecil Bothwell wrote to the AC-T, “This is wildly funny. John Boyle, who was so totally dismissive of the obvious racism in the Asheville Police Department a couple of weeks ago is suddenly all upset about racism elsewhere. Boyle, you don’t have a clue. The facts will out. But, jeez, what two-facedness!” Meanwhile, Arden resident Russell Johnson went to Ferguson on Nov. 26 to protest what he saw as injustice — and the Asheville radio host’s actions got him a dislocated shoulder, time in jail and instant international notoriety. Johnson, 45, recounted being arrested in Daily Planet Staff Photo front of Ferguson City Hall and being hauled LBGTQ protesters hold up an anti-police banner during a Dec. 11 off by police. He is the host of “Political Alrally in front of the Vance Memorial on Pack Square in downtown chemy,” which airs on Asheville FM. Asheville. In yet another related matter, there have been several meetings recently in the on the conservative backlash on Page A1.) The LGBTQ rally Asheville area of groups discussing allegations of police went on as planned, attracting about 30 participants. There brutality and ways to bridge tensions between blacks and the was little police presence and attendees were mostly peaceful police. and law-abiding, although a splinter group of self-described One of the meetings, held Dec. 18 at Klondyke Homes anarchists did momentarily interrupt traffic as they started to public housing in Montford, drew about 75 people, includmarch down Patton Avenue. ing children, parents, police officers, community organizers, • Dec. 13 — WNC Solidarity held a march against police nonprofit service providers and college students. violence from St. James African Methodist Church to the

Dr. Carl Mumpower Chad Nesbitt The following is one of the few printable remarks that Mumpower received over the phone: “Should I bring my hoodie? How about a rope? We can string ‘em up on the monument.” In a joint statement on the rally’s cancellation that was sent to the Daily Planet, Mumpower and Nesbitt noted that “the selfdescribed LBGTQ community has publically announced their intention to hold a counterprotest in time and location proximity to our event. That increases the potential for duplication of the aggressive actions we’ve seen in San Francisco and other cities that various liberal factions in Asheville seek to imitate. We want to thank the police, no create more risks and work. “Lawless protesters across the country are ironically duplicating the methods and missions of racist organizations we rightfully rejected at an earlier time. “Anarchy, violence and protest as a form of entertainment merit no support from those wishing to keep our society healthy and whole,” the duo said. “We’re happy to step aside and let these folks have the field — there are other ways to thank those in law enforcement. To that end, Asheville-area conservatives are encouraging people to show support for the police by sending them holiday and thank-you cards. The APD can be reached at 100 Court Plaza, Asheville, N.C. 28801.

APD

Continued from Page A1 Deputy Chief Wade Wood will lead the department until Belcher starts Jan. 19. Belcher will run the department while the city searches nationally for a replacement for Anderson, whose last day at the office was Dec. 12. His last official day with the city was Dec. 31. The city has agreed to pay Anderson $35,000 in exchange for his promise not to sue under labor laws or say anything negative about the city. Belcher has 40 years in law enforcement, the city said. He has served as interim chief in three California cities, in addition to Bell. “Interim Chief Belcher brings the depth and breadth of experience needed to lead the department forward,” City Manager Gary Jackson said. “He has a proven track record of building support for immediate, positive change.” Jackson said he wants the new permanent chief on the job by June. In addition, city Fire Chief Scott Burnette has been put in charge of an APD overhaul. Meanwhile, Belcher said in a statement issued by the city, “As a chief and an interim chief, my approach and philosophy is fairly simple. Treat people decently, listen to what they have to say, formulate a plan and receive buy-in, be clear on expectations and hold people accountable.” Belcher will lead the daily operations of the department and work with Matrix Consulting Group on an assessment of the APD, the city said. The city is conferring with the consultant for help amid problems in the department. In other APD-related matters: • Regarding the state Department of Justice standards inquiry, its staff wants to review the findings of the city audit into radar and officer certifications, spokeswoman Noelle Talley said. • The Asheville Citizen-Times is asking a judge to order police to make public dozens

of video recordings of political gatherings and demonstrations, according to a lawsuit filed Dec. 8. The newspaper, in the lawsuit, said keeping the recordings secret will have a “chilling effect” on the First Amendment right of the public to demonstrate. The lawsuit alleges the videos — made since 1980 — are covered by North Carolina’s public records law. Police are not using the records as part of ongoing criminal investigations, according to the lawsuit. Among those recorded on video were a Halloween Witch Rite, according to two prominent Wiccans. Steve Rasmussen, whose Craft name is Diuvei, and Dixie Deerman, whose Craft named is Lady Passion, said a police officer, who was uncomfortable with the APD’s policy of recording public gatherings, smuggled the 18-year-old video out of the department. It is one of about 100 recordings the APD keeps in an archive dating back to KKK rallies in 1980. The Wiccans said they obtained the recording sometime before 2008. They decided to make it public after the AC-T sued the city, to call attention to the practice. The video, released Dec. 18, shows a public gathering that includes a Wiccan ceremony. The person recording the event can be heard telling someone at the gathering that he works for the police department. • Various meetings between the police, faith leaders and others in the local community have been held in a quest to open up communications. About 30 people attended a Dec. 16 meeting at Hill Street Baptist Church to hear a panel of 12 that included city officials and community activists. Panel members responded to questions prepared by the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance of Asheville and Buncome County. Also, a “Have Coffee With a Cop” community issues forum is scheduled at 8 a.m. Jan 24 at Bojangles restaurant at 99 Merrimon Ave. in North Asheville.

A10 — January 2015 - Asheville Daily Planet

Asheville Daily Planet — January 2015 — A11

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Asheville Daily Planet — January 2015 — A13

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The Daily Planet’s Opinion

Performance Center: Let’s build it

ith the new year, the time has come for Asheville to move ahead with The Performance Center, a proposed state-of-the-art entertainment facility to support the growing cultural arts of the area. The 2,000-seat center is projected to cost $55 million, with funding coming from public and private partnerships, coordinated by the Asheville Area Center for the Performing Arts. The Performance Center is expected to generate 351 jobs for Buncombe County, including 91 in the restaurant and lodging industry, and 57 people in the retail trade. The new venue could generate $19.5 million in new visitor spending, based on a study by SYNEVA, an Ashevillebased private consultancy led by research economist Tom Tveidt. Interestingly, the location for the new center is still undecided, as there are six undisclosed, potential sites being researched by AACPA.

While Asheville already is home to multiple charming venues, such as Thomas Wolfe Auditorium and Diana Wortham Theatre, The Performance Center will be aimed at bringing acts to Asheville that do not already perform here. In turn, this would “build upon the existing performance menu, rather than duplicate it,” Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer noted recently. Facing friendly competition for entertainment acts from neighboring cities such as Greenville, Tenn., Charlotte and Greensboro, the proposed facility would provide Asheville with a top-notch performance complex to stay in the race. The biggest question remains the issue of funding: where will the $55 million come from? Based on all we have seen through the years in this can-do community, we have confidence that area artslovers will come together to make this dream a reality in 2015.

Holding on to our humanity

CHAPEL HILL — “What is our tolerance for brutality?” A minister asked this question from the pulpit Sunday morning and suggested that his listeners consider recent news stories relating to “enhanced interrogation” procedures by the Central Intelligence Agency. If we think these enhanced tactics or torture could be justified on the grounds that they were effective in providing useful intelligence, do we show a high tolerance for brutality? Will we accept brutality if it achieves effectively some desired results? Our past records on this score indicate we are open to this rationale. For instance, some people in our region in years past embraced lynching as an effective way to deter crime and keep certain people “in their places.” Our ancestors accommodated themselves to the brutality of slavery as necessary for a healthy and profitable economy. More recently, some of us ignored the brutal results of widespread smoking tobacco use, because we were dependent on the economic benefits the tobacco industry brought to our state. But our greatest accommodation to brutality comes, of course, in war. “Wynne’s War,” a new novel by Aaron Gwyn, set in Afghanistan, gives readers an uncomfortable look at the horror of war and tolerance of brutality that accompanies such conflict. Gwyn teaches writing at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Although he never served in the military, his interviews with combat veterans have given him the ability to bring the battlefields to the pages of this book. The central character of the story is an Army Ranger, Elijah Russell, who is detailed to a Special Forces team in Afghanistan to train horses for a secret and dangerous mission. Team leader Carson Wynne is a powerful, charismatic, relentless soldier. He gave up the opportunity to make millions in the hedge fund business to be a soldier. Using the horses that Russell has trained for their transportation, Capt. Wynne’s team travels through the desolate regions of eastern Afghanistan near the Pakistani border, always subject to attack or capture by the Taliban. Russell’s best friend, Wheels, explains, “This is Whac-A-Mole. We kill one Talib, another pops up over here. We send guys

D.G. Martin after him, our guys get captured and we have to send more. Then more Talibs join to fight them. It just keeps going.” The team experiences the brutality of Taliban torture when its two Afghan scouts are captured. “Russell glanced up and saw two bodies suspended upside down from the limbs of an enormous oak, naked except for the ‘taqiyah’ caps on the crown of their heads. “The corpses were maybe 20 yards away, but he could see that their throats had been slit in gaping red smiles, their genitals cut away. There were cuts and bruises along their legs and torsos, the skin in places almost black.” Russell remembered that he had been briefed on what would happen if he were captured by the Talibs, “what they called the ‘Afghan way’: castration or disembowelment, followed by decapitation.” Capt. Wynne showed that the Americans were not immune to rough tactics. The interrogation of a Chechen soldier fighting for the Taliban went like this: “The man stared up at him. Then he closed his eyes.” “Wynne slapped him twice very quickly, very hard. ‘This can get a lot worse,’ he said. “The man began panting. “‘Are there more?’ “The man seemed to wilt. You could see something in him break, like a plate shattering. He began to shake his head.” At the conclusion of the interrogation Wynne “pulled his pistol from its holster, pressed the muzzle to the Chechen’s forehead, and fired.” Horrible as the dehumanizing impact of war may be, tolerance of brutality that creeps into conscience of those of us on the home front represents a much greater threat to our collective humanity. • D.G. Martin hosts “North Carolina Bookwatch,” which airs at 9:30 p.m. Fridays and at 5 p.m. Sundays on UNC-TV.

Letters to the Editor

Ramsey, Moffitt thanked for their legislative efforts

Immeasurable thanks go to Representatives Nathan Ramsey and Tim Moffitt from thousands of us who appreciate their service. While cutting taxes for all, they reigned in N.C.’s wasteful spending and reduced the highest taxes and unemployment rates in the entire southeast. Passing laws increasing job opportunities, they updated or eliminated obsolete and duplicative regulations. Contrary to ads proven false, they increased spending on education. We thank them for pulling us out of the huge debt inherited from the Democratic-led legislature and governor Purdue. We thank Representatives Moffitt and Ramsey for protecting county residents from Asheville’s increasing control of regional resources and citizens, including forced annexation. We thank them for environmental laws, including those for the CTS site and for coal ash dumping, neither of which had ever been addressed by Democrats. These two hardworking, poorly paid, and dedicated statesmen most unquestionably made N.C. better. Their experience, intelligence, courage, and strong character will be missed by thousands. Hopefully, the election spending (many times that of the Republicans) and false advertising by Ager and Turner pays off as well for constituents, but I doubt it. JANET BURHOE-JONES Swannanoa

Perfect storm of events could spark youth vote

I found it worth my gasoline to attend the police violence (counter)protest because of a very fortunate coincidence in that a major national movement involving many youth are mobilizing for a mainly municipal cause; while Asheville simultaneously selects a new police chief after losing ours over what might easily be the same issues. This is a perfect storm of events that ultimately could revolutionize youth turnout in municipal elections; especially if young citizens (alas, I can no longer include myself) can find a way around the lesser evil quandaries that they find so demoralizing, and so do I. One such alternative that I have sent off to Ferguson (Mo.) activists is the kind of recall election that toppled Grey Davis in California. Such elections uniquely enable angry young voters to vote against politicians rather than for them, and that combined with turnout motivated referenda like the North Carolina gay marriage amendment give us a rare opportunity to bring angry youth to the municipal polls in record numbers. The youth of Ferguson can move right away on a recall, though unfortunately the youth of Asheville might have to learn to hold a grudge for nine months. While I was at this (counter)protest, I saw an impressive sight. On what might have been Chief Anderson’s last day, Asheville Police displayed impressive tolerance of some somewhat provocative anarchists, who blocked traffic and used the “F” word. See LETTERS, Page A15

The Candid Conservative

The new champions of racism

“The word ‘racism’ is like ketchup. It can be put on practically anything.” — Thomas Sowell

The Problem

vents in Ferguson, Mo., reveal America’s growing dedication to racism as permanent public policy. That mission rests firmly in the deceptive grip of the same Democratic Party once backing slavery and segregation. Though their methods have changed, misanthropic dedications continue – exploitation remains a seedy and effective path to power.

The Reality

It’s been decades since we’ve embraced honest dialogue on race. The on-going farcicalities kidnap energy and unification sorely missed in a hazardous world. This mischief tracks to apathy. Echoing the familiar is easier than thinking. Ferguson mobs and wannabe thrillseekers conveniently embraced assumptions of a young black man’s innocence and the guilt of Whistle Blower a white officer. That facts offered reverse testimony didn’t matter to those anxious to rage as an alternative to fixing the mess they helped create. Michael Brown was killed as surely by a corrupted culture as a bullet. During the ‘30s, ‘40s and ‘50s, blacks in America were dramatically succeeding toward economic and social parity. Progress abruptly ended with the ‘60s and a liberal-led public policy model dedicated to dependency and entitlement over autonomy and accountability. Through almost universal black loyalties, the Democratic Party has blossomed. That relationship has not been reciprocal and the slide has paradoxically accelerated under a

Carl Mumpower twice-elected black Democrat president. A black culture increasingly defined by anger, misogyny and hip-hop thuggery seems startled by push-back. It’s deserved – some of this country’s most vocal racists are black Americans seeking to even the score with their own brand of bigotry.

Racial Absurdities

Twenty-first century America should discard organizations defined by race. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Congressional Black Caucus and Black Panthers stand as monuments to man’s enthusiasm for habit over achievement. These folks are racists, don’t know it, and are thus strangled by a damning truism – you can’t achieve equality by practicing inequality. For an authentic ideal of equivalence through independent action, consider immigrants and descendants from Asia. During our nation’s railroad boom livestock were treated with greater care than Chinese migrant workers. As recently as WWII, Japanese Americans were interned – a fancy word for imprisoned – through arbitrary institutional racist policies implemented by, again the irony, a Democratic president. Out of our political adventurism in Southeast Asia by still another Democrat came thousands of refugees landing with nothing. In each case, hard work, family unity and personal grit grounded dramatic recovery. Equality resulted as a byproduct of action, not complaint or the pretend benevolence of political power brokers. See CANDID CONSERVATIVE, Page A17

Asheville Daily Planet —January 2015 — A15

Commentary

ow that the economy is showing some clear signs of recovery, coupled with the frackinginduced glut of oil and resultant low gas prices, Asheville is awash in tourists, shoppers and, not to be ignored, regular citizens of our fair city. Convenient parking is getting scarce downtown, and traffic can be pretty jam-up on Friday and Saturday nights. There are calls for the city to “Do Something!” Unfortunately, we missed our last big chance to solve our downtown parking woes into the distant future when we spent almost $15 million on the parking deck behind and underneath McKibbon’s Aloft Hotel. We blew our wad on 200 parking spaces when there was another option that the city chose to ignore. We could have had a trolley. From studies I had gleaned around the country it was clear that Asheville could have built the first section of a downtown electric trolley that would have served the River Arts District and Downtown for the same investment. A trolley would have enabled access to the excess of parking available at the perimeter of town. While the $15 million would only have provided that first section, it could easily be expanded as demand grew, to cover more parts of town. The great advantage for tourists and shoppers would have been the ability to park once and get on and off at multiple stops along the way. It would have immediately relieved downtown parking pressure for those whose needs demanded vehicular access, and it

On the left

as retail or residences since the floors are all slantwise. The change will be as rapid as the demolition of phone booths by cell phones or the collapse of Blockbuster in the face of Netflix. Remember this column, because I’m pretty certain you’ll see, sooner than you can believe it: I told you so. • Cecil Bothwell, author of nine books including “The Prince of War: Billy Graham’s Crusade for a Wholly Christian Empire” (Brave Ulysses Books, 2007), is a member of Asheville City Council.

Hate to say ‘I told you so,’ but I did Cecil Bothwell would have permitted a much more beneficial use of the land on Biltmore now committed to a deck. Now some are calling for yet another deck “somewhere” to handle (and encourage) even more downtown driving. This would merely pile insult on top of injury. Worse than the enticement to drivers created by each new parking garage is the waste of downtown property on facilities that generate no tax money. A vacant lot like the one mostly dedicated to parking at 51 Biltmore could have been home to a major mixed-use development, adding millions to our tax rolls. But that chance has gone by. Our parking fund is extended to the limit on the loans for the deck and a similar financial opportunity won’t recur for the city for years, perhaps decades. However, we need to look forward, and forward looks like less traffic. As I’ve noted in this column months ago, the vehicle picture is about to change radically. My predictions in the May 2014 Daily Planet have proven too conservative. Driverless vehicles are poised to change everything

Letters to the Editor Continued from Page A14 I particularly would like to thank Chief Anderson for inspiring that kind of restraint on the part of APD and hope his successors can keep up that kind of work. I also hope that Asheville selects a new chief with at least as much civilian experience in domestic violence shelters as April Burgess-Johnson of Helpmate. Unfortunately, a chief might need a police resume in addition to Ms. Burgess-Johnson’s, unless she can qualify quickly, but I still consider Ms. Burgess-Johnson’s domestic violence resume to be a minimum qualification for a new chief because that is fundamentally what municipal police are paid for. If not for domestic violence, cities could

simply encourage county, state and federal police to patrol for free while using local funds to relieve the poverty that motivates so much destruction. ALAN DITMORE Leicester

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we believe we know about parking issues in America. Google has promised its first retail model driverless cars will be marketed in 2017. As currently planned the first generation of these cars will be urban models, designed for relatively low speeds and local city use. Once these cars become available, all of our past urban planning around parking flies out the window. When cars come to you, when and where you need them, they can park themselves anywhere. The demand for on-street and parking deck spaces downtown will rapidly collapse. Car ownership is predicted to collapse as well, with transportation experts predicting a 90 percent reduction in car ownership over the next 20 years. Two-car families will quickly shift to one, since the same vehicle can drop multiple passengers at different locations. Today’s “ZipCar” systems will soon come to you instead of you finding your way to the car. Banning of human drivers is expected to follow quickly. Humans are unreliable and dangerous operators of motor vehicles and the cost for insurance will quickly price us out of the market. What this means for city planning is clear enough, if only dimly perceived by current planners. Building more parking garages is an enormous waste of resources and money. Parking decks are very difficult to repurpose

A16 - January 2015 - Asheville Daily Planet

Commentary

2 sides fighting for the very soul of N.C.

his past Election Day, I was handing out sample ballots with Democratic candidates highlighted. One man refused my offer – but when he had passed me perhaps 15 feet, he turned around and raised one arm with forefinger pointing to the sky. “God will judge you for what you’re doing,” he said. I may have said something like, “Okaaay.” He surprised me. After years of electioneering, this was my first condemnation for being a Democrat. I don’t make light of this encounter. It was an isolated skirmish in a much bigger war – the civil war that’s raging today in North Carolina. Ours is not a shooting war, like the big Civil War or the Patriot-Tory sub-war during the Revolution. Those were wars about pure politics: independence from England and independence from the United States. Our civil war today is about righteousness. Christian against Christian. My Election Day finger-pointer belongs to those Christians who believe that homosexuality and abortion are the great sins of our time. They base that belief on the Ten Commandments, the Apostle Paul’s First Corinthians 6:10-11 and Leviticus 18 and 20. These Christians vote Republican. I’ll call them Red Christians. On the other side, Blue Christians hold rallies called “Moral Mondays.” Their idea of morality is based in the many teachings of Jesus, such as Matthew 25:34-40, where we’re told to help and take care of the sick, the needy, even those in prison. So why is this a civil war? Why isn’t it just a difference of opinion? After all, they share the same basic faith. Red pastors of course teach Jesus; Blue pastors teach Paul. Why? Because the two sides don’t just have competing ideas of sin and righteousness. They take their views over into politics, where the stakes are nothing less than the future of North Carolina.

Lee Ballard The core political issue is where the power of the state should be exercised. Should the state intervene on behalf of the poor, children and the mentally ill? Or should the state’s power be used against homosexuals and abortionists? We’re not in a time of friendly difference of opinion and problem-solving. One side wins, and one side loses. Civil wars are like that. In the French Wars of Religion in the 16th century, Establishment Catholics and Protestant Huguenots gushed blood for 25 years. In the end, a halfmillion Huguenots left France. In North Carolina, the sides are competing for the power to make their view of righteousness the law. If Blue Christians get power, they enact legislation that favors the poor and children’s education (which they did until they lost power in 2011). If Red Christians win – and they have won three times in a row – they move to effectively close abortion clinics (which they’ve done) and ban gay marriage (which they’ve done). The First Corinthians passage mentioned above gives perspective: “Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men, 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.” Red Christians would see the man-with-man part and

want the state to act against homosexuals. I, as a Blue Christian, see “the greedy” and do not want the state to favor the rich and powerful, who back Republicans to gain tax benefits. In North Carolina, it’s clear who’s winning. The massive Red Christian vote has joined with secular Republicans who ideologically favor big business, and budgets slap down the poor. Quite literally, and not a pun, it’s a war for the soul of North Carolina. • Lee Ballard lives in Mars Hill.

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Candid Conservative

Continued from Page A14 Black Americans are killed out of proportion to their numbers because they commit crimes out proportion to their numbers. Paradoxically, 100 people a year die at the hand of a law enforcement system that each year loses a similar number of its own. Both these figures shrink in comparison to 6,000 black-on-black murders. There are reasons clerically cloaked race hustlers like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton continue to enjoy the limelight. Like the entitlement thinking they advocate, folly dies a reluctant death. Absorbing Michael Brown’s stepdad yelling, “Burn This Bitch Down,” and Louis Farrakhan declaration, “We’ll Tear This G**Damn Country Up,” offer a brain scan on how hardheads roll downhill. Hammering on color is like masturbation, it may feel good, but it’s not productive. To do true good you have to look up, breath deep and climb.

A Course in Racial Reason

Any man who judges another by color is a fool – any man who fails to measure others per their choices, culture and character – likewise. In that simple equation we find explanation for the zombie-like persistency of racism. We have no control over birthed color. How unfair it is to artificially label anyone whose skin differs from our own. More than we realize, negative reactions commonly assigned to color find firmer traction elsewhere.

We’re in charge of our choices, cultural dedications and character. America’s black ethos has been so obsessed with getting others to play nice with color that these accountabilities have been broadly displaced.

Solutions

Police are charged to keep the peace and respond to aggression, not to diagnose motivations. Anyone not wishing to be harmed by an armed officer would do well to reconsider violence as a path to empowerment. Protesting voices have been notably indifferent to “be cool” as a risk antidote. If you’re white and find yourself reacting negatively to people of color, take a maturity pill and think about why. I have a personal resistance to anyone who chooses to live off the labors of others; advocate dysfunctional social models (spoiler alert – men may be created equal, but cultures certainly aren’t); or fuel their identity through greed, violence or other evils. Those are matters of choice, culture and character that I remain free to assess as good or bad. To reject others based on color would mark my own bad. If you’re black, rethink your enthusiasm for the political party that kidnapped your ancestors and continues to perpetuate an equally wicked version of social slavery. There is only one sure path to equality – be an equal. In a struggling world, grace reliably follows those who strive to learn, work,

Asheville Daily Planet — January 2015 — A17

grow and contribute. There is no arguing the success of one who seizes control of their own destiny – detractors be damned.

Salvaging your teen amidst an increasingly wicked culture is a mission best not

left to chance. Three social cliques – those advocating drugs, homosexuality and atheism – are running successful recruitment programs. Adolescence is an anxiety ridden transitional period reliably defined by confusion and a search for meaning. That’s an equation ripe for kidnapping young minds. Pharmaceutical short-cuts to happiness, gender swapping and spiritual neutrality run counter to the tests of time, experience and nature. That doesn’t matter to those seeking validation of their own wobbly identity by kidnapping the identity of others. Directly resisting dark forces of influence is important – but it’s not enough. The best way to keep weeds at bay is to grow good grass. Love, success opportunities and vibrant role models are crucial to interrupting conscripted teens. There is an important difference in supporting youths’ passionate search for social truth and standing by while they are abducted by fad-driven con artists. • Do you have information about a source of mischief in our community? You can safely contact us at 828-2528390 or drmumpower@aol.com. We are offering a $500 reward for information on corruption, crime, or other harms you share in confidence and we reveal in print. Bad things grow in the dark. We have a flashlight – do you have a whistle? • Carl Mumpower is a former member of Asheville City Council.

much more. An example of small, but interesting improvements include raising a 3 percent callresponse rate at the unemployment department to 97 percent; forming a list of unused state property for possible selling; involving teachers in the process to improve schools; reforming beer establishment codes, en-

couraging sales. Good apples, Moffitt and Ramsey accomplished huge feats in a short time. Regrettably, their replacements’ goal is to return N.C. to a cart of rotten apples. • Henry D. Mitchell is chairman of the Buncombe County Republican Party.

Conclusions

There is no place in a civil society for racism. Ferguson exposes why we should be just as aggressive in challenging today’s corrupt black culture as the racist white culture that fueled its creation. Attendance at a local NAACP meeting, Martin Luther King Jr. birthday bash or hatred-filled race rally reveals why one is as bad as the other. We should all be ashamed of the horrific numbers of young black men we sacrifice to drop-out and unemployment; a rampant drug culture; black on black violence; decimated families; and other broken bridges to hope. We should be ashamed of accepting black leaders – locally as surely as nationally – as empty voices of deceit and self-service. We should be ashamed of politicians who secure their career on racial rhetoric. Most especially we should be ashamed of paralyzing political correctness studiously indifferent to real facts and answers. America rightfully rejected the Democrat fueled white KKK racist culture of yesterday. We’ve since abandoned that success to another version of boys in the hood. Guess who has the bigger body count….

Conservative Tip of the Month

3 Republicans thanked for upsetting apple cart By HENRY D. MITCHELL

Anytime an apple cart is upset, especially after 140 years, the established old guard is also upset. Unwilling to accept change, they desperately spread rumors while trying to return to their status–quo massive bureaucracy. Outspending Republicans many times over, liberals targeted Representatives Tim Moffitt (rated NC’s most effective legislator) and Nathan Ramsey, and School Board member Lisa Baldwin with huge outlays of outside money and supportive media. Nonetheless, thousands of us thank these three for their service, hard work, dedication, and courage. Baldwin exposed our local education board’s spending on administration and buildings instead of students and teachers. Willing to make the necessary tough decisions, Moffitt and Ramsey, many other legislators, and Governor McCrory inherited a huge cart of bad apples when Republicans came into control of N.C. two years ago. Even though our tax rate was among the nation’s highest, our deficit was $2.7 billion plus the $2.5 billion we owed the federal government for our badly managed unemployment insurance system. Crucial expenses, including teachers’ pay, had become in large part dependent upon

Obama’s temporary funding that had ended. Purdue froze paychecks of state employees and teachers for years. Our unemployment rate was the highest in the southeast. Roads were built according to political power instead of by need. Regulations were obsolete, duplicative, and over-burdensome. Comparing data with only 27 other states, over 35,000 people voted here and in another state in 2012. What accountability existed was mostly unenforced. No wonder businesses were strangled and families suffered while government waste, fraud, and overreach flourished. Unfortunately, to some extent they still do; it will take many years and prayers to expose and repair our broken system. But here are a few Moffitt and Ramsey accomplishments from a long list: Massive reform of the tax code, decreasing taxes for all; expanding jobs to pre-recession levels (including 1,400 at Linamar); halting forced annexation by cities; forcing cities to share control of regional resources (water and airport); increasing spending on education; easing veterans into the workplace sooner; increasing accountability; eliminating and/or updating regulations on small businesses; funding I-26 Connector and expansion, initiating CTS site cleanup, passing coal ash dumping regulations; paying off debt to federal government early, resulting in huge savings of interest owed; and

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A18 — January 2015 — Asheville Daily Planet

‘A Motown Christmas’ ‘A Swingin’ Little Christmas’: needs a little bit of soul Local Show Reviews

the joint was jumpin’ with joy By JOHN NORTH

john@AshevilleDailyPlanet.com

Asheville jazz singer Heather Masterton was the highlight with her rockin’ rendition of “All I Want for Christmas Is You” during Russ Wilson’s “Have Yourself A Swingin’ Little Christmas” Dec. 18 at Isis Restaurant & Music Hall in West Asheville. Even before she finished, the crowd was cheering on her vocal pyrotechnics, coupled with raw emotion. And when she finished, the applause was sustained and loud. The two-night cabaret-style swing music show, which drew a full house, ended its run on Dec. 19. The Special photo courtesy of Flat Rock Playhouse show included two one-hour sets The a cappella group The Mistletones thrilled and a 30-minute intermission. the crowd during the show. From left are Wilson, billed as “North CaroWendy Jones, Paula Hanke and Krista Tortora. lina’s very own King of Swing,” As a novelty act, Bones performed “Is and his 15-piece band with an assortment of That You, Santa Claus?” While this reviewsingers performed for more than two hours. er found it over-the-top goofy, the crowd In addition to Wilson and his orchestra, and Massterton, performers included Wendy Jones, seemed to like it and applauded heartily. As Bones returned to playing guitar with the Harry Schultz, Hank Bones, The Mistletones a orchestra, Masterton strolled onto the stage and capella vocal group and others. asked, “Hey, Asheville — how are you?” Wilson greeted the crowd by joking that The crowd cheered and Masterton deliv“we’ll all get lit up like a Christmas tree.” ered yet another rousing performance with He prompted some laughter when he “Walking in a Winter Wonderland.” She added, “We thank you for coming out on a received sustained applause for her effort. ‘school night’ to our little musical soiree. Surprisingly, the first set ended on a Boy, have we got a show for you!” weak note with Simone Bernwall’s fairy For his opening number, Wilson quipped, tale rendition of “The Who Song” from Dr. “Let’s start out with a wonderful song Seuss’ “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas,” featuring ... me.” Backed by his zim-zamand a female vocal group, The Sireens, zoom of a band, Wilson, sounding like a singing subpar versions of “Rockin’ young Frank Sinatra, sang, “I’ve Got My Around the Christmas Tree,” “Here Comes Love to Keep Me Warm.” Santa Claus” and “Frosty the Snowman.” Jones sang, “The Man With the Bag,” For the second set, Wilson yelled, seductively adding after it ended, “You’d “Lights! Camera!” Teasingly, he then better watch out!” silently mouthed the next word — as the With vivid hip gyrations and suggestive hand gestures, and to the crowd’s delight, she crowd yelled, “Action!” His orchestra then played “Let It Snow” as an instrumental. then launched into “Santa Baby,” cooing at Notable second set performances included the end, “Hurry down the chimney tonight.” Jones’ “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” and Between songs, Wilson was asked what “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” kind of drink he would like. “A molotov cocktail. I’ll light it myself,” Wilson’s “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” and Schultz’s “The Christmas Song,” which he said evenly, as the crowd laughed. he performed way too low for his voice. Next, Schultz, looking dapper in a black Scoring a hit near the show’s end with suit with forest-green shirt and olive tie, angelic harmonies and sexy moves was The sang “Cool Yule” — and he sounded unMistletones, which performed, among others, cannily like Dean Martin. The band followed Schultz’s well-received “Christmas Is Here” and “Happy Holiday.” Wilson ended the show by leading a singnumber with “Snowfall,” a dreamy, mellow along of Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas.” instrumental with a heavy swing accent.

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john@AshevilleDailyPlanet.com

HENDERSONVILLE — The Flat Rock Playhouse’s production of “A Motown Christmas” on Dec. 19 had its strong points, such as Lavance Colley’s spinetingling rendition of Stevie Wonder’s “Someday at Christmas.” Unfortunately, despite the show’s title, there were many more mainstream Christmas songs and black gospel music — Special photo courtesy of Flat Rock Playhouse and too little of the sound and Lavance Colley (foreground) sings in the show. virtually none of the “poetry in energy, broke for a seemingly early intermotion” choreographic razzlemission, and then returned with slower dazzle made famous by Berry Gordie’s songs until the finale. Overall, this gave the iconic Motown Records. feeling that it ended with a whimper rather There was no “Rockin’ Around the than a bang. Christmas Tree” or “White Christmas” or Besides Lavance, the two-hour show, “Baby Please Come Home.” which completed its two-week run Dec. 21, Unlike the whirling dervishes, known also showcased the voice of LaVon Fisheras The Temptations, The Four Tops, the Wilson. She sounded Aretha Frankin-esque. Supremes and many others, the performers The show, with little to none of the elaboof “A Motown Christmas” just sang, with rate choreography that most people associate minimal movement. with those who made it big with Motown, Worse, music stands stood in front of featured mainstream holiday fare, including each singer, holding sheet music for their “Jingle Bells,” “Frosty the Snowman,” and songs. They flipped the pages as they sang, “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town.” Also perdetracting from the spontaneous and emoformed were religious standards like “Go tional feel for which the Motown sound Tell It on the Mountain,” “Silent Night” was renowned. and “Joy to the World.” Also, while Motown Records had some There were four backup vocalists, but white acts, it predominately featured black neither their names nor the list of songs entertainers. However, the FRP show were included in the playbill. included two white singers of the six on stage, and all of the band members were white. The overwhelming presence of whites on the stage made the show seem less than authentic. The show, an original creation, also seemed to lack a script that narrated any kind of a story about the rise and success of Motown. Instead, the performers, at times, improvised with stories and comments that did not — in this reviewer’s opinion — contribute to the show’s flow. The stage included a large dance floor that audience members used several times during the show, especially early on. Strangely, the show opened with high

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Asheville Daily Planet — January 2015 — A19

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A20 —January 2015 - Asheville Daily Planet

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Asheville Daily Planet — January 2015

Jam’s tributes to 2 greats shine By AMY DANGELICO Special to the Daily Planet

Special photo by DINO PERUCCI

Jason Isbell and band play at the Jam.

The 2014 Warren Haynes Christmas Jam’s highlights included much-anticipated covers of Grateful Dead songs by Billy & The Kids as well a somewhat surprising Neil Young tribute set by Gov’t Mule during the 26th annual music marathon on Dec. 13. No specific turnout numbers were available by deadline, but this show was the first in a number of years not to sell out the U.S. Cellular Center in downtown Asheville. In addition to Billy & The Kids and Gov’t Mule, the performers included Hard Working Americans, Jason Isbell, The Revivalists and the Love Canyon Rangers. One of the only disappointments of the event was the cancellation of co-headliner Vince Gill’s performance due to the death of his Time Jumpers bandmate Dawn Sears.

Review

This year, the Christmas Jam raised more than $500,000 for the Asheville-area Habitat for Humanity — the concert’s largest donation since its partnership with Habitat began in 1998. Through the years, the event has donated more than $1.8 million to the organization. The Jam opened with Love Canyon Rangers, featuring a fusion of Love Canon with Mike Guggino and Nicky Sanders of Steep Canyon Rangers. To the audience’s delight, the eight-person bluegrass group performed its own version of Waylon Jennings’ “Good Ol’ Boys (Theme From The Dukes Of Hazzard).” Love Canyon Rangers performed twice more during the Jam. Next, American Idol-winner and

Jerry Lee Lewis book: insider’s look

Review

Ex-Mouseketeer’s comedy sparkles, despite tech flaws

By DAVE ROWE

Special to the Daily Planet

By KATHERINE NAGEL Special to the Daily Planet

CULLOWHEE — Retired Mousekeeteer-turned-stand-up comedian Lindsey Alley’s Dec. 2 performance was notable, while the show’s production lacked consistency in effects, lighting and props. Her one-woman comedy/cabaret act was presented at Western Carolina University’s Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center. The audience of about 75 appeared to be mostly fresh-faced students from WCU’s Theater Department, attending to gain insight from Alley’s largely autobiographical show, “Blood, Sweat, and Mouseketears.” The stage setup was minimal: two stools, a small table, one microphone, and a piano accompanied by Alley’s pianist, Rick Leonard. A large projection screen served as the backdrop, a big square of blue to match the stage lights while the audience waited for the show to begin. Finally, the house lights were extinguished, and the booming voice of Alley’s mother, Marcia, filled the auditorium. Marcia asked the audience to quiet down, turn off cellphones, and, at last, begged that it be understood: she really did try to wrest a proper Southern woman from the precocious girl she raised down in Lakeside, Fla. “I tried,” she said, “I tried, and I failed.” With an arresting air, channeling the early stylings of the Divine Miss M, Alley burst into view; her red-sequin, Vegas-style gown catching every point of light as she moved fluidly between comedy sets and original renditions of classic songs: some Disney, some holiday, some Broadway musical, but all recognizable, even to the young audience. She achieved every note of the nostalgic “A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes” and applied equal vigor to her, presumably lesser-known, “Sleeping with a Jew at Christmastime.” Alley’s comedic narrative was, at times, brutally honest, and she openly invited the audience to be in on the biggest joke here — it is the personal confession the entire show pivots on, and the one she is ultimately owning and selling: from the roll-call of “The All New Mickey Mouse Club” of the ‘90s that churned out the huge careers of Britney Spears, JustinTimberlake, Christina Aguilera, Ryan Gosling and Keri Russell, Alley is the Mouseketeer that didn’t make it. “I used to be a Mouseketeer,” she said. “Isn’t that adorable? I know what you’re thinking: ‘Lindsey who? I don’t remember

Asheville native Caleb Johnson shared the stage with Warren Haynes to perform Haynes’ megahit “Soulshine.” The Revivalists, a New Orleans-based seven-piece band, then took the stage and blew the crowd away as it played its own “Not Turn Away” which was melded into The Blues Brothers’ “Everybody Needs Somebody To Love.” Haynes also joined the band on stage for “Soul Fight.” Performing its own version of Drivin’ N’ Cryin’s “Straight to Hell” was Hard Working Americans, featuring Todd Snider, Dave Schools of Widespread Panic, Neal Casal of Chris Robinson Brotherhood, Chad Staehly of Great American Taxi, Duane Trucks and Jesse Aycock, with a sit-in from Drivin’ N’ Cryin’s frontman Kevn Kinney. See CHRISTMAS JAM, Page B6

Lindsey Alley performed in a show titled “Blood, Sweat and Mouseketears” on Dec. 2 at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee. you.’ But it’s fine. Neither does Christina (Aguilera).” Alley’s sometimes crass and often self-deprecating monologue covered a range of topics, from the fruitless pursuit of DisneyPrincess-happiness (otherwise known as the horrors of dating in your thirties) to the highs and lows of her career. She recalled to the audience the lackluster role she landed in her twenties as a waitress in a New York City restaurant. One night she was fated to wait on former cast-mate-turned-international superstar Justin Timberlake. See EX-MOUSEKETEER, Page B7

A book on the legendary rocker known as “The Killer” drew a crowd of about 200 to Malaprop’s Bookstore/Café on Dec. 10 in downtown Asheville. “Jerry Lee Lewis – His Own Story” is the book and Rick Bragg, its author, spent 90 minutes at the bookstore presenting it. He read from the introduction, a scene where a 12-year-old Jerry with his father Elmo are watching a singer entertain a group of bourbondrinking high-rollers. “Don’t worry, son,” said Elmo, “someday thatcher be you.” “I think he meant both,” Lewis reportedly said later. Fame and fortune did, of course, come his way as a ‘50s Sun Records phenom, where he, for a time, rivaled Elvis Presley in popularity. Things, though, took a nosedive when it was discovered in 1958 that he’d married his 13-year-old cousin Myra. Bragg mentioned her as being part of Lewis’ unofficial extended family. In his book, Bragg called the marriage “culturally common” and noted that the pair were third cousins. The marriage, according to Myra Lewis’ book, “Great Balls of Fire,” lasted 12 years and produced two sons, both of whom died tragically. Bragg, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, spent three years off and on getting Lewis to tell his story. Lewis, he said, got his nickname in grade school for winning fights. During his talk, Bragg dispelled what he said was a common misconception – that Lewis crashed his Cadillac into the gates of Presley’s Graceland with gun in hand, intent on malice. See LEWIS, Page B7

B2 - January 2015 - Asheville Daily Planet

Jeff Foxworthy will perform standup comedy at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 3 in the Event Center at Harrah’s Cherokee Resort in Cherokee.

Calendar

Events

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Please submit items to the Calendar of Events by noon on the third Wednesday of each month, via e-mail, at calendar@ashevilledailyplanet. com, or fax to 252-6567, or mail c/o The Daily Planet, P.O. Box 8490, Asheville, N.C. 288148490. Submissions will be accepted and printed at the discretion of the editor, space permitting. To place an ad for an event, call 252-6565.

Saturday, Jan. 3

JEFF FOXWORTHY SHOW, 7:30 p.m., Event Center, Harrah’s Cherokee Resort, Cherokee. Comedian Jeff Foxworthy, billed as “one of the world’s most-respected comedians,” will perform. He is the largest-selling comedy-recording artist, a multiple Grammy Award nominee, and bestselling author of more than 26 books. He has hosted or starred in five television series and was also a part of one of the most successful comedy tours of all time — The Blue Collar Comedy Tour. For tickets, which range from $53 to $85, visit Ticketmaster.com.

Tuesday, Jan. 13

OBJECTIVISTS’ MEETING, 6 p.m., North Asheville Library Meeting Room, 1030 Merrimon Ave., Asheville. Attendees are invited to celebrate Ayn Rand, her philosophy of Objectivism and the prime value – life. Admission to the meeting is free. LIBERTARIAN MEETING, 7 p.m., Oakleaf Furniture, 130 Miller St., downtown Waynesville. The Haywood County Libertarian Party meets on the second Tuesday of the month. Open discussion and debate are encouraged with all perspectives and persuasions welcomed, regardless of political or religious affiliation.

Wednesday, Jan. 14

PEACE MEETING, 9:30 a.m., Black Mountain Presbyterian Church, Black Mountain. A meeting will be held by Western Carolinians for Peace and Justice in the Middle East.

Friday, Jan. 16

BALSAM RANGE CONCERT, 7 p.m., The Foundation Performing Arts Center, Isothermal Community College, Spindale. The award-winning bluegrass

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group Balsam Range will perform in concert. Special guests will include Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, and Mountain Faith. For tickets, which are $20, visit www. FoundationShows.org, or call 286-9990. “ELEMENO PEA” PRODUCTION, 7:30 p.m., Fletcher Studio, HART Theatre, 250 Pigeon St., Waynesville. HART will perform the play “Elemono Pea.” which is billed as a “keenly observed comedy about class, family and the choices that shape who we are,” unfolding “in real time, fast, furious and funny.” The production also will be presented at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 17 and at 3 p.m. Jan. 18. For tickets, which are $10 for adults and $6 for students, call 456-6322. GREGG ALLMAN CONCERT, 9 p.m., Event Center, Harrah’s Cherokee Casino, Cherokee. Gregg Allman, a founding member of the Allman Brothers Band and inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, will perform in concert.The ABB’s unique amalgam of rock, blues, country and even jazz-flourishes expanded the boundaries of rock music and their signature, extended onstage jamming set new standards for live concert performance, according to a press release. In addition to his singing and playing, Allman wrote many of ABB’s most memorable signature hits, including the classics “Whipping Post” and “Dreams” from the self-titled debut album “Midnight Rider” — and “Please Call Home” from the band’s second LP, “Idlewild South,” and “Melissa” from 1972’s “Eat A Peach.” For tickets, visit Ticketmaster.com or call (800) 745-3000.

Saturday, Jan. 17

THE SOCK HOPS CONCERT, 7 p.m., Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts, 1028 Georgia Rd., Franklin. The Sock Hops will perform hits from the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s, including “Why Do Fools Fall in Love?” “At the Hop,” “Sherry,” “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” and “Come Go With Me.” For tickets, call 524-1598, or visit GreatMountainMusic.com. SHANA TUCKER CONCERT, 8 p.m., Diana Wortham Theatre, downtown Asheville. Cellist and jazz-soul-folk vocalist Shana Tucker will perform in the Mainstage Music Series. For tickets, which are $30 for the general public, $25 for students, and $15 for children 12 and under, call 257-4530 or visit www.dwtheatre.com.

Thursday, Jan. 22

MARTIN DOCKERY’S ‘WANDERLUST” SHOW, 8 p.m., Diana Wortham Theatre, downtown Asheville. Martin Dockery’s “Wanderlust” one-man show will be presented. It is billed as “the true tale of a desperate search for an Epiphany while on the way to Timbuktu... Any Epiphany at all.” The show will be presented nightly through Jan. 24. For tickets, which are $28 for the general public, $23 for students, and $15 for children 12 and under, call 257-4530 or visit www.dwtheatre.com.

See CALENDAR, Page B3

Calendar of Events Continued from Page B2

Saturday, Jan. 24

HARD TO RECYCLE EVENT, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Aaron’s Rent to Own Parking Lot, 1298 Patton Ave., Asheville. GreenWorks will hold a Hard To Recycle Event. WYNONNA CONCERT, 7:30 p.m., Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts, 1028 Georgia Rd., Franklin. Wynonna and Friends will perform in concert. A five-time Grammy-winner and New York Times bestselling author, Wynonna is billed as “a country music mega-star.” Her career has revolved around telling stories with “unflinching honesty and wisdom,” whether through her music or in television appearances. For tickets, call 524-1598, or visit GreatMountainMusic.com.

Monday, Jan. 26

BUILDING BRIDGES SESSION, 7-9 p.m., MAHEC 119 Hendersonville Rd., Asheville. The first in a series of sessions will be held for Building Bridges. The program aspires to enable the community to confront and overcome racism through a continuing process of changing attitudes and hearts through education, consciousness raising, nurturing and ongoing support. The goal is to be intentional in respecting diversity within the community. The sessions run through March 23.

Friday, Jan. 30

PEACE MEETING, 3:15 p.m., Brooks-Howell Home, Merrimon Avenue, Asheville. A meeting will be held by Western Carolinians for Peace and Justice in the Middle East. “SHINING CITY” PRODUCTION, 7:30 p.m., Fletcher Studio, HART Theatre, 250 Pigeon St., Waynesville. HART will perform the play “Shining City” which is billed as a “ghost story based around the visits of a widower to a therapist, claiming he has seen his dead wife in their house. The therapist has his own problems and the play charts the parallel trajectories of the two men in their struggle to

understand what is happening.” The production also will be presented at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 31 and at 3 p.m. Feb. 1. For tickets, which are $10 for adults and $6 for students, call 456-6322. “WUTHERING HEIGHTS” PRODUCTION, 8 p.m., Diana Wortham Theatre, downtown Asheville. Aquila Theatre Company will perform “two plays in two days,” beginning Jan. 30 with Emily Bronte’s classic, “Wuthering Heights.” The play is about all-consuming passion and ill-fated lovers on the lonely moors of northern England. For tickets, which are $35 for the general public, $30 for students, and $15 for children 12 and under, call 257-4530 or visit www.dwtheatre.com.

Saturday, Jan. 31

CAFE STRING QUARTET CONCERT, 7 p.m., Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts, 1028 Georgia Rd., Franklin. The Cafe String Quartet will perform a concert featuring a variety of musical genres, including classical, pop, jazz, Broadway and more. The group also brings what is billed as a “unique perspective of performance and storytelling in a salute to love songs.” For tickets, call 5241598, or visit GreatMountainMusic.com. ELVIS IMPERSONATOR SHOW, 7:30 p.m., Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center, Western Carolina University, Cullowhee. Travis Ledoyt, reportedly hailed by critics as “the world’s best young Elvis” impersonator, will re-enact the moves and music of Elvis Presley in his prime in a show that focuses on the hits and ambience of the era from 1954 to 1959. For tickets, which are $21, call 227-2479, or visit http:/bardoartscenter.wcu.edu. CAROLINA BRASS CONCERT, 7:30 p.m., The Foundation Performing Arts Center, Isothermal Community College, Spindale. Carolina Brass will perform a range of music from its reportoire, including classical, contemporary, medieval, Renaissance, jazz, Broadway, Dixieland and big-band genres. Also performing will be The Symphony of Rutherford County. For tickets, which are $14 and $17, visit www.FoundationShows.org, or call 286-9990.

See CALENDAR, Page B4

Asheville Daily Planet — January 2015 - B3

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Calendar

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Events

Saturday, Feb. 28

WILLIE NELSON CONCERT, 7:30 p.m., Event Center, Harrah’s Cherokee Resort, Cherokee. Country singer Willie Nelson will perform in concert. For tickets, which are $53 to $85, visit www.Ticketmaster.com or call (800) 745-3000.

Tuesday, March 10

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Gregg Allman will perform at 9 p.m. Jan. 16 in the Event Center at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino in Cherokee.

Calendar Events

Continued from Page B3

Saturday, Jan. 31

“THE TEMPEST” PRODUCTION, 8 p.m., Diana Wortham Theatre, downtown Asheville. Aquila Theatre Company will perform “two plays in two days,” ending Jan. 31 with William Shakespeare’s “The Tempest.” The play is billed as being “imbued with magic, the supernatural and a heightened sense of theatricality in the experienced, nuanced hands of the Aquila Theatre actors.” For tickets, which are $35 for the general public, $30 for students, and $15 for children 12 and under, call 257-4530 or visit www.dwtheatre.com.

Friday, Feb. 6

NINA SIMONE TRIBUTE SHOW, 8 p.m., Tryon Fine Arts Center, Tryon. Award-winning singer Natalie Douglas will perform in the show, “To Nina: A Tribute to Nina Simone.” The show, which earned rave reviews in New York and London, is billed as bringing back “the power of Nina Simone with passion, nuance, fierce intelligence and her own infectious personality.” The show also tells Simone’s “history.” For tickets, call 859-8322 or visit www.tryonarts.org.

Saturday, Feb. 7

UMPHREY’S MCGEE CONCERT, 8 p.m., U.S. Cellular Center, 87 Haywood St., downtown Asheville. Progressive rock band Umphrey’s McGee will perform in concert. For tickets, which are $30 in advance and $35 on the day of the show, visit www.ticketmaster.com, or call (800) 745-3000.

Friday, Feb. 13

FRANKIE AVALON CONCERT, 7:30 p.m., Smoky

Mountain Center for the Performing Arts, 1028 Georgia Rd., Franklin. Singer-actor Frankie Avalon will perform in concert. Avalon has had a career that spans three generations of music, television and films, including an iconic cameo as the Teen Angel in the film musical, “Grease.” With a long string of million-selling singles and albums, Avalon’s music became one of the defining sounds of pre-Beatles pop music. He was honored with an induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995. For tickets, call 524-1598, or visit GreatMountainMusic.com.

Tuesday, Feb. 17

RINGO STARR CONCERT, 7:30 p.m., PeaceCenter, 300 S. Main St., Greenville, S.C. Ringo Starr will perform with his All Starr Band, which includes Steve Lukather, Richard Page, Gregg Rolie, Todd Rundgren, Gregg Bissonette and Warren Ham. VIP tickets, which include premium seating, a tour shirt and other commemorative items, are $250. For general admission tickets, which are $85 to $125, call (864) 467-3000 or (800) 888-7768, or visit www.peacecenter.org.

Saturday, Feb. 21

HEART CONCERT, 7:30 p.m., Event Center, Harrah’s Cherokee Resort, Cherokee. The rock band, founded by sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson four decades ago, will perform in concert. Heart has sold more than 35 million records worldwide, and is best-known for songs “Barracuda,” “Magic Man,” “Crazy on You,” and “Alone.” For tickets, which are $42 to 62, visit www.ticketmaster.com, or call (800) 745-3000.

See CALENDAR, Page B5

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                                                                                       

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Fabric Fabricby by bythe the the pound pound Fabric pound Fabric by the pound Fabric by the pound Fabric by the pound                                                          

AUTOMOBILE AUTOMOBILE AUTOMOBILE AUTOMOBILE AUTOMOBILE AUTOMOBILE              

                         3049 HENDERSONVILLE HIGHWAY      

   

I-26 Exit 44, North miles I-26 I-26 Exit Exit 13, 13,then then thenNorth North North miles 3 miles I-26 Exit 13, then 3333 miles I-26 Exit 13, then North miles

I-26 I-26 Exit Exit 13, 13, then then North North 33 miles miles

684-0801 684-0801 684-0801

GARRISON KEILLOR SHOW, 7:30 p.m., Thomas Wolfe Auditorium, U.S. Cellular Center, downtown Asheville. Performer-writer Garrison Keillor will perform in concert. Keillor, a bestselling author and host of NPR’s “A Prairie Home Companion,” delivers “hilarious anecdotes about growing up in the American Midwest — and the aging process... not to mention ‘late-life fatherhood,’” an event press release noted. “With a wonderful, dry sense of humor, he captivates audiences and delivers with class, charisma and humor.” Keillor has received numerous awards, including a Grammy Award for his recording of “Lake Wobegon Days.” Tickets, which are available at the U.S. Cellular Center Box Office or by calling (800) 745-3000, also may be ordered by visiting www. ticketmaster. com.

Friday, March 13

STYX CONCERT, 9 p.m., Event Center, Harrah’s Cherokee Resort, Cherokee. The band Styx will perform in

Asheville Daily Planet — January 2015 — B5

Way beyond hip and trendy

Asheville Daily Planet

concert. Styx, a rock band from Chicago, became famous for its albums from the mid-1970s and early 1980s. For tickets, which range from $37 to $69.50, visit www.ticketmaster.com, or call (800) 745-3000.

Friday, April 16

DAVID SEDARIS SHOW, 8 p.m., Thomas Wolfe Auditorium, U.S. Cellular Center, downtown Asheville. Following the release of his New York Times bestselling book “When You Are Engulfed in Flames,” author David Sedaris will visit Asheville for an evening of what are billed as engaging recollections and readings. He is the author of the previous bestsellers “Naked,” “Me Talk Pretty One Day” and “Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim.” Sedaris also is a regular National Public Radio contributor. For tickets, which are $33 to $50, visit Ticketmaster.com.

Cellist Shana Tucker will perform at 8 p.m. Jan. 17 at Diana Wortham Theatre in downtown Asheville.

B6 - January 2015 - Asheville Daily Planet

Special photos by DINO PERUCCI

Warren Haynes (left) and Caleb Johnson, both Asheville natives, perform Haynes’ megahit “Soulshine” as duo early in the Christmas Jam.

Christmas Jam

Continued from Page B5 Later in the concert, Jason Isbell, former member of the Drive-By Truckers, covered “Heart on a String,” originally by soul and gospel singer Candi Stanton. Playing its first ever full show, Billy & The Kids — former Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann’s new project with Aron Magner, Reed Mathis and Tom Hamilton — began with a string of Grateful Dead songs, including “Shakedown Street,” “Tennessee Jed,” “Crazy Fingers,” “Bertha” and “Deal.” Billy & The Kids then went into a surprising rendition of Phish’s “Chalk Dust Torture” before Col. Bruce Hampton joined for “Turn On Your Lovelight,” which then segued back into the end of “Chalk Dust Torture.” Haynes later joined the group on stage for a cover of The Beatles’ “Dear Prudence” and “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.” The set came to a close with The Band’s “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down.” Gov’t Mule treated fans to a special performance honoring Neil Young as well as Faces and Led Zeppelin with a number of guests. The set began with Jackie Greene joining Mule for takes on Young’s “Cinnamon Girl,” “Tonight’s The Night” and “For The Turnstiles.” Greene also stuck around for Young’s “Old Man,” which was then followed by a cover of “Helpless” featuring Jason Isbell and Neal Casal. Some crowd members expressed disappointment to this reviewer with Gov’t Mule’s Neil Young tribute, pointing out that a similar set had been played by the band

during its show on Halloween. But to those of us who did not follow Gov’t Mule to Ohio in October, it was quite a treat. Next, trombonist Danny Louis took the stage to assist Greene with a solo rendition of “After The Gold Rush,” after which Gov’t Mule returned for “Cowgirl In The Sand” and “Down By The River.” Greene made his exit as Audly Freed and Caleb Johnson appeared for a cover of Faces’ “Stay With Me,” that was dedicated to the late Ian McGlagan. The duo stayed on stage with Gov’t Mule for a rendition of Led Zeppelin’s “Trampled Under Foot” that ended the show. Before (or after) the Jam, on Dec. xx, Sierra Nevada Brewing pulled its 22-oz. bottles of Christmas Jam Session Ale, a beer brewed as a fundraiser for the Jam, in what was described as a “package quality issue.” “The beer itself is fine,” Sierra Nevada spokesman Bill Manley told the local news media. “Out of an abundance of caution, we decided to pull back all of the remaining bottles of beer that are in the marketplace. “We prefer to err on the side of caution,” Manley noted. He also recommended that anyone who has purchased the bottles should keep them refrigerated. The Christmas Jam Session Ale, which sold out at this year’s show, remains on sale on draft. The beer is only available in Asheville and Western North Carolina. The sales from Christmas Jam Session Ale benefit Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Western North Carolina.

Love Canyon Rangers, a fusion of the group Love Canon and members of the band Steep Canyon Rangers, perform bluegrass music at the Christmas Jam.

Ex-Mouseketeer Continued from Page B1 Alley recounted that he (Timberlake) was very nice; he asked about her life since the show, he asked about her family ... and then he asked for more green bean salad. But Alley asserted that these lows were no matter. ABC is sure run out of options one day, and then she, too, will have her turn on “Dancing with the Stars.” She dreamily painted a picture for the audience: “And won’t it be fun? Me, backstage in the green room, rubbing sequined elbows with Flo, the Progressive-ad lady, and Jared of Subway-fame.” The technical execution of the show unfortunately fell short of professional, as issues persisted throughout. Distracting the audience from the main event, several visual cues were missed, video reels were late to start — and can one of the stagehands please bring Alley her water bottle or make sure it is preset so she’s not walking backstage mid-act to find it? Being a seasoned performer, Alley improvised playfully through the mishaps, but certainly, a polishing of those aspects could lend to the show’s heightened sophistication. What this reviewer appreciates most

Lewis

Asheville Daily Planet — January 2015 — B7 about Alley’s show: she created work for herself. She stopped waiting for the “big break” and instead, constructed an original play-space where she is the star. In an interview with the Daily Planet following the performance, she explained that this personal project, along with earlier shows, “Lindsey Who?” and “Look Ma, No Ears,” allowed her to reclaim ownership of her craft. Alley said that, as an artist, in creating work for oneself, “you don’t feel so desperate. You don’t feel so powerless.” So maybe Lindsey Alley, ex-Mousekeeter, did make it after all. One might reason it depends on how you measure a person’s success. What is certain: she is doing what she loves, what she was born to do. After a standing ovation, Alley came back on stage and led the audience in singing, “I’ll be Home for Christmas.” And then, with heartfelt Mouseketears in her eyes, she closed the show, this time with a farewell Disney-esque reminder to us all: “Happily ever after,” she said, “is right now.”

Continued from Page B1 What really happened, according to Bragg, was that Presley had invited Lewis over. Before leaving and while on the way, Lewis imbibed a large amount of alcohol and accidentally crashed into the gate. He went to throw his bottle out the window except it was rolled up — the glass shattered around Lewis, gun innocently in hand (not, according to Bragg, an unusual stance for Lewis). The security guard called Presley, who said, “Call the cops.” The incident led to jail time and a mug shot printed in the Memphis Commercial Appeal for Lewis and it meant the end of the friendship between Lewis and Presley. Bragg sat in a rocking chair while Lewis, now Jerry Lee Lewis, aka “The Killer,” performs during his 79, lay in bed during the early days as a rock ‘n’ roll star. interviews and countless colorful anecdotes came to – they went to The Orange Peel – Jerry Lee light, including the conflict during a rock Lewis is a man of contradictions” and roll package tour as to who should Lewis also is a man in poor health, Bragg close the show. Chuck Berry won, forcsaid. “He has crippling arthritis in his back ing Lewis to play second to last. It was the and complications from a compound leg fracusual kick out the piano bench and pump ture and shingles. He lives now on his small the keys with foot, elbow and buttocks, ranch with current wife Judith and recently while wailing out the lyrics, but this time, released a CD of instrumentals.” Lewis poured lighter fluid on the piano and, As for Bragg, in addition to his writing, he for a grand finale, he set the instrument on teaches writing at the University of Alabama. fire. After that, no one wanted to follow “It’s a hard job – students come in not know“The Killer.” ing what a period is – they think it’s just what Following the reading and his comments, you use at the bottom of the page.... Bragg fielded questions. “Pretentiousness has killed a lot of good Audience member Dave Hogan spoke writing,” Bragg said. “Write what you know.” up first, noting the he was working as a disc jockey in the early ‘70s and was backstage with “The Killer” during his heyday as a Write a Letter to the Editor mainstream country artist. The Asheville Daily Planet print letters “He spent the whole time between shows to the editor, preferably less than 150 at (Asheville’s) Thomas Wolfe Auditorium listening to Luke the Drifter – the pseudonym words in length. All letters must be signed and include a daytime telephone Hank Williams used for gospel songs and number for confirmation purposes only. recitations. Send your opinions to Asheville Daily “A clergyman was on hand for a prayer Planet, P.O. Box 8490, Asheville, N.C. before Lewis and his band before they went 28814-8490 or e-mail them to letters@ back on stage. “Then afterwards, they all went out to party AshevilleDailyPlanet.com.

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