Please sign the petition below to remove the statue of Jefferson Davis currently in Kentucky’s Capitol Rotunda, and replace it with a tribute to Muhammad Ali, “the Louisville Lip” and “the Greatest of All Time.”
I just heard from the Ali family: It is the Champ’s belief that Islam prohibits three-dimensional representations of living Muslims. Accordingly, I have adjusted the petition to call for a two-dimensional representation of Ali (a portrait, picture or mural) in lieu of a statue.
UPDATE (Tuesday, December 2, 2014)
In this interview with WHAS-TV’s Joe Arnold, Governor Steve Beshear endorses the idea of honoring Muhammad Ali in the State Capitol (although he disagrees with removing Davis). Arnold explores the idea further on his weekly show, “The Powers that Be.”
Click here to check out WDRB-TV’s Lawrence Smith’s coverage of the story.
And here’s my op-ed in Ali’s hometown paper, the Louisville Courier-Journal.
UPDATE (Saturday, June 4, 2016)
In the wake of the 2015 Charlestown tragedy, in which a Confederate flag-waving murderer united the nation against racism, all of the most powerful Kentucky policymakers — U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell, Governor Matt Bevin, Senate President Robert Stivers and House Speaker Greg Stumbo — called for the removal of the Davis statue from the Rotunda. Today, as we commemorate last night’s passing of Muhammad Ali, there is no better moment to replace the symbol of Kentucky’s worst era with a tribute to The Greatest of All Time.
UPDATE (Wednesday, June 8, 2016):
Great piece by Lawrence Smith of WDRB-TV in Louisville on the petition drive to replace Jefferson Davis’ statue in the Capitol Rotunda with a tribute to Muhammad Ali.
UPDATE (Thursday, June 9, 2016):
Excellent piece on the petition drive by Jack Brammer that was featured on the front page of the Lexington Herald-Leader.
Highlight of the article:
Miller said he has received a few “angry comments” on his call to honor Ali.
“One of them encouraged me to kill myself,” he said. “You can quote me that I have decided not to take their advice.”
UPDATE (Friday, June 10, 2016)
The petition drives continues to show the Big Mo(hammed): check out these stories from WKYU-FM public radio in Bowling Green and WKYT-TV, Channel 27 in Lexington:
UPDATE (Saturday, June 11, 2016):
Still not convinced? Check out this excerpt from today’s New York Times:
By Jonathan Miller, on Wed Mar 13, 2013 at 5:00 PM ET
Lexington’s alternative newspaper, Ace Weekly, dedicates its issue this week to speculation on an Ashley Judd U.S. Senate candidacy. Here’s an excerpt from The RP’s contribution: “Ashley Judd Makes Joke. Film at 11.”
As Judd has maintained a low profile while she considers challenging Minority Leader Mitch McConnell for his U.S. Senate seat in Kentucky in 2014, the media has applied Talmudic scrutiny onto every rumored utterance by the actress. When she finally spoke publicly, many national and local news sources latched onto one phrase she used to explain why she hadn’t participated in a particular anti-poverty trip. Reported CNN:
Some of her not-so-politician-sounding moments didn’t go unnoticed by her would-be competition. Brad Dayspring, a strategist at the National Republican Senatorial Committee, jumped on a comment Judd made about how she once told the musician, Bono, that she and her then-husband would travel during the winters.
“We winter in Scotland,” she said. “We’re smart like that.”
Dayspring wasted no time: “A true woman of the people,” he posted on Twitter, referring to her comment.
“I wonder if Ashley Judd will ‘winter in Scotland’ this year,” he also wrote. “Tough to run a #KYSEN campaign from the UK.”
Political Wire posted the offending clip, claiming that Republicans argue it is damaging.
And Politico seized on the anecdote — mentioning the quote in the lede of its article about the event — in a piece originally entitled, “Judd Talk Bizarre, Poignant.” (Editors ultimately changed the headline to read “Ashley Judd Gives Poignant Talk at DC Forum,” although the word “bizarre” remains in the URL link.)
Was the reference to “winters in Scotland” a “bizarre” rookie slip-up by a Hollywood icon already being pilloried by the GOP as too elite for Kentucky?
Of course not. It was a joke.
Had Judd referred to winters in St. Bart or the Cayman Islands, perhaps there might have been a political cause of action.
But as anyone who’s looked at a map — or watched the British Open — understands, Scotland’s weather stinks, much worse than even its infamous cuisine of haggis, neeps and tatties. However, since Judd’s soon-to-be-ex husband, IndyCar series driver Dario Franchitti, hails from the Land of Scots — and spends his spring through fall months on oval tracks around the globe — naturally, the couple would take some winter vacation time with his family in the British Isles. ”Wintering” in Scotland is Judd’s absurdist reality, much like “summering” in Phoenix, or de-toxing in Las Vegas.
Admittedly, “winters in Scotland” isn’t LOL funny. But it was a clever, self-deprecating remark from a trained humorist, mocking both the celebrity culture of consumption, as well as the over-the-top scrutiny of an obsessed media.
I’m confident that her political opponents and the media scolds will continue to take jokes like this out of context to further illustrate their narrative that Judd is out-of-touch with the needs of real Kentuckians. And perhaps her political team will give her the same advice that I received to tone down the humor.
But I hope that’s not the case. And knowing Judd a little, I’m pretty sure that this actress could never be scripted like the talking-point-reciting automatons who dominate American politics.
Indeed, I don’t think she needs to be concerned. As I argued recently in The Daily Beast, Judd’s celebrity — and the media circus that will follow her — offer the actress a unique opportunity to transcend the current political construct of 30-second paid commercials and meagerly parceled out, 15-second, free media soundbites. As the cameras chase her — unlike the reverse with typical politicians — Judd will have the opportunity to engage in detailed, nuanced discussions of complex issues and will enjoy more than sufficient opportunity to share her comprehensive vision with voters. Critically as well, the abundance of free media will also provide Judd a wealth of opportunities to explain her past statements or any of her jokes that had been taken out of context.
At a time when Americans are fed up with politics and politicians — when Congress’ approval is at all-time lows, even below that of Brussels sprouts, and only a tad higher than root canals — we all could use a little more intentional humor mixed in with our policy debates. And I for one hope that Judd is never discouraged to keep her humor held high when all the world around her is losing theirs.
By Patrick Derocher, on Wed Mar 13, 2013 at 3:00 PM ET
The seagull sitting on top of the Sistine Chapel has become an unlikely celebrity during the ongoing Papal Conclave.
We’ve moved into the second day of voting for a new Pope in Rome. If you’re looking for a last-minute primer on the process, here are some good places to start.
– An American Pope? There are two possible contenders (both, admittedly, longshots): Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York, and Cardinal Sean O’Malley, Archbishop of Boston. Cardinal Dolan is already a fairly public figure, gaining attention as the media-savvy leader of the country’s largest diocese–last fall, he appeared alongside comedian Stephen Colbert in an event at New York’s Fordham University. (Go Rams!) Cardinal O’Malley has received less attention, but has his own interesting story: his communication, Terrence Donilon, is the younger brother of National Security Advisor Tom Donilon (his second brother, Michael, is an aideto Vice President Joe Biden). Though unlikely, the prospect of the Donilons working for the most powerful political and religious leaders is certainly an interesting one.
– Cardinals Dolan and O’Malley aren’t the only possibilities for Pope, of course. NBC News has a good overview of just about everyone who’s received pre-conclave buzz.
– Something to stump your friends with on Obscure Trivia Night (which may or may not exist outside of my immediate family): While multiple Cardinals, most notably Ghana’s Peter Turkson, have been talked up as a potential first African Pope, that title in fact belongs to Pope Victor I, who was the Bishop of Rome from 189
– In case you ever wanted to know what it’s like to partake in the Papal Conclave (don’t lie; you know you have), CNN will tell you. (Hint: It’s actually not all that intriguing.)
– Rome is between 5 and 8 hours ahead of the US (more if you don’t live in the Lower 48), so the new Pope may well be selected while you’re in bed. If that happens, you can count on the Pope Alarm to let you know when the white smoke rises out of the Sistine Chapel.
By Jonathan Miller, on Wed Mar 13, 2013 at 2:15 PM ET
At a time when our political system seems broken at the national and statehouse level, this newly found picture of the final day of the 1988 Al Gore for President campaign (h/t to my friend Jackie Shrago) brought me back to a time when politics was fun — when political debates were spiced by good-natured exchanges (and often Kentucky-brewed spirits), when campaigns were the stuff of young people with big dreams and unmuddied ambitions.
I don’t mean to mythologize 1988. A few months later, the world would learn who Willie Horton was; Lee Atwater would be revered as the premier practioner of the political black arts; and Democrats would draw a lesson from the unsuccessfully “soft” Dukakis for President campaign that we had to hit back with two fists when we were punched with one.
But despite the fact that I’ve been involved in dozens of campaigns since Gore’s aborted run — some much more successful, a few with my own name on the ballot — I will always remember my first as my favorite, and remember these as the halcyon times of my American politics. Just check out the goofy smile on my face (I’m two rows directly behind the broad-shouldered guy with the purple tie standing to Tipper’s left.)
Indeed since I posted this piece on Friday that commemorated the 25th anniversary of the Super Tuesday Southern 1988 primaries — which were both Gore’s coming out party and his ultimate undoing — I started an email chain that has grown to over 100 fellow alumni of that seminal campaign. We’ve shared a lot of fun stories and fond remembrances — ranging from hilarious to R-rated to quasi-criminal — and have begun making plans to hold a live, in-person reunion this year. Of course, as the youngest Gore 88 staffer (my fellow No Labels co-founder Nancy Jacobson calls me the “campaign mascot”), I’ve had the pleasure of trying to put the band back together again; as Elwood Blues would have said: “I’m on a mission from God.”
Can politics ever be fun again? Maybe not for this burned-out middle ager. But this picture — and our Gore 88 virtual reunion — reminds me that when young people join to try to change the world, good things can happen, great memories can be made, and enduring friendships can be started — that will all last a lifetime.
By Jonathan Miller, on Wed Mar 13, 2013 at 1:30 PM ET
If you haven’t yet subscribed to The Recovering Politician‘s KY Political Brief (click here RIGHT NOW to do so — It’s delivered daily to your inbox FOR FREE!), here’s what you missed over the past few days about the potential epic 2014 U.S. Senate battle between Ashley Judd and Mitch McConnell, as well as the potential 2016 presidential bid of Rand Paul:
MITCH McCONNELL to air reelection ads – POLITICO’s James Hohmann – “Mitch McConnell plans to begin running television commercials in Kentucky on Thursday, 20 months before the election. The Senate Minority Leader, who polls suggest is perhaps the most vulnerable Republican incumbent up in 2014, is targeting women older than 25 in Louisville and Lexington with a six-figure buy. A source that tracks media buys told POLITICO that McConnell will be up for one week. The McConnell campaign confirmed the buy, saying they will run a positive spot and noting that there is an accompanying radio component.” [POLITICO]
—McConnell’s wife leads start to 2014 campaign, blasts offensive tweets – WHAS-TV’s Joe Arnold – Mitch McConnell’s first television ad of his 2014 Senate re-election campaign cites racially charged Twitter messages against his wife as an example of political attacks against him. McConnell’s wife, former U.S. Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, appears in the 30 second commercial two weeks after Progress Kentucky, a Democratic Super PAC, apologized for the offensive tweets which said Chao’s Taiwanese heritage and link to McConnell “May explain why your job moved to #China!” [WHAS]
ASHLEY JUDD ‘a great candidate’, says Trump – “Donald Trump thinks actress Ashley Judd would make a “great” Senate candidate, the real estate mogul tweeted on Tuesday. … “All reports indicate Ashley Judd will be running for Sen. McConnell’s seat,” Trump wrote. “She’s going to be a great candidate. …Re: Ashley Judd: Keep @KarlRove away. He already made her a viable candidate.”” [POLITICO]
—Ashley Judd Is a 30-Second Ad Waiting to Happen [National Journal]
—Matt Wyatt: Some Advice for Ashley Judd From a Kentucky Political Consultant [HuffPost]
—Can Ashley Judd win? HuffPost Live discussion, featuring Jonathan Miller [Video]
RAND PAULto Millenials: “I believe in a Republican Party that is more tolerant,“ writing in op-ed today published by PolicyMic: “Last week, a Senate colleague of mine said that when I questioned whether or not the President could order a drone strike on American citizens on American soil, that I was just catering to “libertarian kids in their dorm rooms.” Standing up for the Bill of Rights and the Fifth Amendment was not a political stunt designed to appeal to certain audiences. I took an oath to protect the Constitution and it is an oath I intend to keep.
‘I believe a Republican Party that is more tolerant and dedicated to keeping the government out of people’s lives as much as possible would be more appealing to the rising generation … Most young people I encounter simply have no desire to tell other people what to do or how to live.
‘Young Americans — conservative, libertarian, independent — are as fed up with big government as their parents and grandparents. A Republican Party willing to address their unique concerns could build a new majority that might finally turn this country around.” [PolicyMic]
ASHLEY JUDD : Eastern Kentucky Coal Clouds Potential Judd Senate Bid – Roll Call – “Ground zero for Judd will be places such as Pike County, a rural area with a population of about 65,000. Voters in the largest county in the Bluegrass State by area are mostly registered Democrats who are socially conservative and pro-coal. Democratic Gov. Steven L. Beshear and a handful of other statewide Democrats easily won Pike County in 2011. But President Barack Obama lost it in 2012 by more than 50 points. And the county’s top elected official said he has deep doubts about Judd. … “Ms. Judd would have to change her stance on coal to win any of the eastern Kentucky coal-producing counties in a statewide election. She needs these counties to win,” Pike County Judge-Executive Wayne T. Rutherford, a Democrat, said in statement to CQ Roll Call.” [Roll Call]
AL MAYO: Judd is in – Time for Democrats to get it together, writing for KY Political Brief: “All signs are now pointing to a certain Ashley Judd candidacy for the U.S. Senate, and if that is truly the case, Kentucky Democrats must figure out a way to avoid an extended primary battle. How they go about it, is the key to whether Judd–or any Democrat–actually has a chance to unseat Republican Mitch McConnell in 2014.” [KPB column]
McCONNELL Stands With (and Raises Money Off) Rand Paul – NYTimes – “After opposing his bid for Kentucky’s Republican Senate nomination in 2010, Senator Mitch McConnell is ready to Stand with Rand, Paul that is. Oh, and he’d like you to join Team Mitch while you’re at it. In a fund-raising e-mail from Team Mitch, Mr. McConnell’s 2014 re-election campaign, the Republican leader showered praise on Mr. Paul, the junior senator from Kentucky, for his 13-hour filibuster last week of President Obama’s nominee to head the Central Intelligence Agency, John O. Brennan. Mr. McConnell, of course, had to slip in his own role in helping Mr. Paul through the ordeal, a brief appearance in the guise of an extended question that gave his fellow Kentuckian a break.” [NYTimes]
‘RAND PAUL 2016’WATCH — Cathy Bailey hosts “meet and greet” for Rand Paul in Florida that brings in $25k – CN|2’s Nick Storm – “Cathy Bailey, the former U.S. ambassador to Latvia under President George W. Bush, held a “meet and greet” for Kentucky U.S. Sen. Rand Paul at her Palm Beach, Fla., home over the weekend. Those attending made some “spontaneous donations” to Paul’s political fund, according to an advisor within the Paul camp. Many of the donations were inspired by Paul’s 13-hour filibuster last week on the nomination of John Brennan to be head of the CIA until Paul got more information on the administration’s drone policy. The adviser, who declined to be named, said the gathering brought out three or four times the number of people staff was expecting. Paul collected about $25,000, although the advisor couldn’t say whether the donations went toward Paul’s 2016 campaign or RANDPAC, which is Paul’s leadership PAC that he used to spread to political allies as well as to the Kentucky Industrial Hemp Commission.” [CN|2 Politics]
By John Y. Brown III, on Wed Mar 13, 2013 at 12:00 PM ET
Random, scattered and not very deep –and sometimes ridiculous —thoughts.
If people from “past lives” really exist, what do they do all day? Except wait for one of us to try to talk to them? That’s got to drive them bonkers –if you are one of those past lives people. Especially if you have (had) ADD and are not being treated with meds.
Do they watch reality TV shows like us “current lives” folks? And if they do, do they watch reality TV starring only “past lives” people of do they tune in to the same shows we watch?
If it’s the latter, I think it would be nice to have a few “past lives” characters show up in some popular new TV series.
And maybe even have at least one series—a sitcom—about a loveable, endearing past lives family. Sort of a “Modern Family” but set in the late Depression era–and in the show (a story reference within the story) there will be yet another “past lives” family with their own storyline from the 1890s.
“I’m not eating this weekend because the girls at school want to be skinny.” Emily, 9.
Click here to review/purchase.
In 2004, after years of processing my own body image issues, and with a determination to have things be different for my daughters, I didn’t expect my own child to begin that steep slide into dieting misery so soon, if at all.
I took a few hours to recover from my little girl’s statement of deprivation, and then I came to the conclusion that if I really wanted things to be different, I would need to take action myself, and fast.
===
The conversation and research that followed opened my eyes to several truths:
Kids talk. And they are all affected by media messages (billboards, commercials, print ads, Hollywood glamour) about protruding stomachs, fat thighs, and jiggly arms.
Women talk. We do, and it’s a lot of self-criticism about protruding stomachs, fat thighs, and jiggly arms. And, we talk about other women in relationship to all those things, and about how she looked in that outfit. Constantly, constantly, constantly.
Conversations overheard about appearance become messages about what is acceptable, desirable, worthy of love, and they are more potent than any billboard costing 1,000’s of dollars to print, because they are personal—about real people we know—about ourselves. And, our girls are listening closely, all the time.
The seeds of self-esteem and self-image are planted long before girls approach puberty. Though criticism may be directed at others, and even if we only ever complement our little girls, they grow on the reality that criticism is just around corner if they grow into women of stomachs, thighs, and arms, of any type.
So what’s a mother to do? I wasn’t certain, but I was sure that I wouldn’t allow one more generation of women in my family to struggle with the self-hatred that comes from a legacy of criticism, peer pressure, never ending dieting, and debilitating low self-esteem.
I did have a hunch that in order to help make changes for my daughter and her friends, I needed to help make cognitive and emotional changes for moms, too. Because after all, we were all once girls who grew on those very messages. No one ever told us to stop listening.
And so, with mother-bear determination, I called health and wellness professionals in my Lexington community who seemed to carry some authority: pediatrician; nutritionist; psychotherapist; police-officer. And I asked them to become a part of the community that would influence and help raise healthy girls.
With professionals on board, Girls Rock!: Workshops for Girls and Moms, was born. We would all come together, pre-teen girls, mothers, and professionals, for a big empowering day of programming that would make all of us responsible for healthier language, relationship to self and friends, and habits at home.
But still, the kids in attendance would need real, up-close and personal role models to emulate—people they could think of as big sisters—the ultimate role models of omniscient authority to a girl.
So I recruited a diverse team of teenagers with leadership potential who seemed to defy what Mary Pipher identifies as one of our culture’s greatest tragedies, “Adolescence is when girls experience social pressure to put aside their authentic selves and to display only a small portion of their gifts.”
Something profound happened in our very first workshops when the Girls Rock! Teen Mentors spoke. They stood with confidence in front of girls, mothers, and professionals and said, “We are all different sizes, shapes, and ethnicities—this is what normal looks like—this is what pretty looks like”.
The young audience of girls listened closely, but the mothers and professionals were moved to tears.
And then it was clear. Hearing for the first time from people who represented our own youth, that beauty was never meant to be one-size-fits-all, opened the blinds and let the sun shine on the truth that we always were, and are right now, pretty enough and good enough, and that we are so much more.
Isn’t that what we really want for ourselves?
It is exactly what we want for our daughters.
One workshop led to another, and another, and we became a non-profit and published a book (Click here to order), and I can report that my daughters now teens themselves, are Girls Rock! Mentors, today. Hallelujah.
Looking back now, it’s amazing to me that I could have pulled this off—recruiting and training teen leaders, finding passionate professionals and generous keynote speakers, and reaching out to other mothers and girls who would attend.
Technically, I didn’t know anything about running this kind of thing—I was driven intuitively, and I found that women both young and old could relate, so I kept going. I prayed that my daughters and their friends would benefit, and that I could send my girls to sleepovers knowing they would be influenced in positive ways.
Year after year, Girls Rock! continues to be one big community of volunteers and families showing up just because we have all been affected, are still affected by a ridiculously unfair standard. But most of all, we gather because we care about the development of self-esteem in girls.
Though there is undeniable power in pervasive cultural messages especially saturated by media today, there is something more powerful about women coming together to educate, heal, and find inspiration together. As girls and women we are a part of something that is much bigger—it’s called Sisterhood, The Women’s Lodge, the Feminine Divine.
This is a place anywhere and everywhere on this planet where females of every age, status, and background can gather to nurture one another with acceptance. It’s simple and it’s a magical thing to be a part of. It makes us grateful to have been born as girls.
So, it turns out that my years of healing before motherhood were just the very beginning for me. My young daughter’s fateful entry into self-doubt felt like familiar territory—I couldn’t have imagined it would provide me the drive to heal more deeply, nor to help find a solution for my community.
While the distance travelled to arrive to a place of peace is never easy with these issues, I’m feeling it’s been worth the journey so far.
Most of all, as my daughters grow into adulthood with perspective, confidence, self-esteem, I will say that I wouldn’t have had it any other way.
Prayer has helped a lot too.
To invite Lisa to speak at your gathering, contact her directly:
By Lauren Mayer, on Tue Mar 12, 2013 at 3:00 PM ET
With last week’s Dow Jones record high, most pundits tell us that the recession is over. Various economists might debate the specifics, whether the deficit is still a problem, why unemployment numbers still matter, but no matter whether you follow Fox, MSNBC, or Uncle Sol, things are definitely looking better. Which is great news – but a little sad for me.
My husband and I are both musicians, which means we clearly married each other for our money. (Cue rimshot) (What’s the difference between a T-bill and a musician? Eventually the T-bill matures and makes money . . . . ) Our income has always lagged behind our neighbors, we rent instead of owning a home, and when people start to complain about the hassles of remodeling their kitchen or how hard it is to decide where to go on vacation, we just smile weakly and hope someone changes the subject.
But during the height of the recession, everyone we knew was in the same boat – my designer-savvy friends were shopping at TJMaxx, families couldn’t plan vacations around their next stock windfall, and high-earning high-tech dads were getting laid off. Don’t get me wrong, we weren’t happy for anyone else’s misfortune, but it was really nice to have company. Now when friends would ask us where we should meet for dinner, we didn’t feel like the poor relations when we suggested the cheap cool Burmese restaurant instead of the casual-but-pricy bistro.
Now that the stock market seems to have rebounded and things are coming back to normal, at first I was afraid we’d be alone again in our financial struggles. But it turns out not everyone is feeling the joy – in fact, many middle-class families are still having a hard time – and I’ve heard that from Fox, MSNBC and Uncle Sol.
Many terrific blues songs came out of The Great Depression, so here’s a modern-day blues for those of us who feel a bit left out of the latest economic good news . . .
Ashley Judd might be taking on Mitch McConnell for his U.S. Senate seat. Everyone will ask if she’s ready for the Senate. But is the Senate ready for her?
Originally aired on Huffington Post Live March 12, 2013
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