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 Fri Mar 8, 2013 at 10:00 AM ET
Today marks the 25th anniversary of this Jewish pischer’s baptism into politics.
I’d been working for then Tennessee Senator Al Gore’s underdog bid for President for months, but March 8, 1988, “Super Tuesday,” was considered the potential game changer, two decades before “game changer” became a political cliché.
Since Lyndon Johnson’s 1964 landslide, Democrats had been wandering in the Electoral College desert, only winning one Presidential election in 1976, in the aftermath of the GOP Watergate meltdown. Our problems had been identified by LBJ himself when he prophesized that Democrats “have lost the South for a generation,” upon his courageous signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Many blamed a leftward lurch by the party during the final years of Vietnam and the emergence of its George McGovernite wing, unfairly stereotyped as a bunch of hippies favoring “acid, amnesty and abortion.”
I had signed up for the 39-year-old Gore’s campaign because of his thoughtful and progressive views on arms control and the environment. But I also believed that as a more moderate Southerner, he could help the Democratic Party end its losing streak and take back control of the White House.
Behind the scenes, party moderates and pragmatists had been working on a plan to facilitate the election of a more electable nominee. At the core was the creation of “Super Tuesday” — a day with 21 primaries taking place, including all of the Southern states. The theory was that a Democratic nominee who could win the Southern primaries could win the nation in the fall.
As the returns came in 25 years ago today, I excitedly sat in the campaign war room — a 20 year old surrounded by a veteran group of 20- and 30- somethings. (My great friend from that campaign — and No Labels co-founder, Nancy Jacobson — calls me to this day the “campaign mascot.”)
I was in charge of keeping track of the vote tallies on the war room chalkboard. (Yes, this is before whiteboards and erasable markers, kids.) Things looked very promising when Al Gore steamrolled through the Upper South: his home state of Tennessee, Arkansas, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and best of all, my old Kentucky home. (Side note: The Kentucky state director for the campaign is to this day, my best frenemy, George Phillips (read about him here). This is the only time in history George has ever celebrated a Kentucky victory — he is, natch, a Dukie.)
But, we were losing everywhere else: Jesse Jackson took the Deep South, while Mike Dukakis took the big prizes, Texas and Florida, where liberal voters dominated the primary electorate. While Gore stayed in the race a few more weeks, he was after “Super Tuesday” dead man walking. Dukakis ultimately won the nomination, but as many of us feared, was branded too liberal, and lost in the fall to the first George Bush. But not for a lack of me trying:
Well, we heard from Gore later, when he joined a fellow Southerner on the 1992 Democratic presidential ticket that finally turned the party’s fortunes around.
So while March 8, 1988 ended up on a sour note, it was a day that changed our country for the better.
And it began my love affair with politics, which continues to this day, albeit from outside any war rooms.
A lot of what I hear from new clients is a desire for what I call “Next Level Style”. Next Level Style is the development of a look that is uniquely one’s own, one that will make others sit up and take notice (but only to the degree wanted, of course!). One of my favorite things to do as a stylist is to seek out clothing and accessory items that will create that affect. No more walking into your office and seeing another guy in the same exact Brooks Brothers shirt and Ferragamo tie. With that goal in mind, today I’m shining the spotlight on stingray, a material you’ve possibly never heard of in relation to style.
Stingray leather (also known as “shagreen”) is extremely durable and has been used throughout history for everything from swanky armored clothing to sword handle wraps. Today in the fashion world, stingray is used on items ranging from wallets to shoes. One of the nice things about this skin is that stingrays aren’t threatened by extinction, so its leather can be sourced easily, which also contributes to its relatively low pricing. In fact, stingrays are found in abundance in the shallow, warm waters of the Pacific Rim and are fished commercially as a primary food source.
Here are my 6 favorite stingray items currently available that I hope will inspire you to get some new hides into your rotation.
Read the rest of… Julie Rath: Try a New Hide — Stingray
By John Y. Brown III, on Thu Mar 7, 2013 at 12:00 PM ET
At the coffee shop this morning and I notice the subtle difference in how women and men communicate with the same sex when meeting for business purposes. Each table seems to have two people talking away with files and laptops and tablets and legal pads covering up the table leaving a few inches open for their coffee and pastries.
At tables where women are ta…lking to women, they each listen while the other is talking. They are “connecting” and fully engaged with each other.
At tables where men are talking to men, they each are pretending to listen but primarily preparing what they will say next. They aren’t really in connecting mode but rather “transacting mode.”
What is most interesting is that at tables where a man and a women are are having a business conversation the man listens and is trying to “connect” and the women is thinking about what she is going to say next —and trying to pretend like she is connecting.
And here’s the irony: The same man who when talking business with another man knows his colleague isn’t really listening (even though his colleague is pretending to listen), when talking to a women believes they are really connecting (even though his female colleague is only pretending to connect.)
By Jonathan Miller, on Thu Mar 7, 2013 at 10:00 AM ET
What a long, strange week it’s been. A few highlights:
I Stood with Ashley Judd: The week began with my appearance on Kentucky Newsmakers debating my friend, Democratic political consultant Dale Emmons, about the viability of an Ashley Judd candidacy for the U.S. Senate. But days after celebrating the strong comments of support for Judd by State House Speaker Greg Stumbo, I was lamenting a very disturbing column in the state’s largest newspaper that gave a platform to a spouter of anti-Semitic conspiracy theory to launch a rant against the actress/humanitarian.
I Stood with Israel: I had the pleasure of attending the 2013 Policy Conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), with over 12,000 of my closest friends. I have been participating in this annual event, off-and-on, for two decades, but I am always impressed by the growing number of evangelical Christians with whom we’ve made common cause, as well as the thousands of college students who are on the front lines of the battle against anti-Zionism. Unfortunately, Israel’s biggest enemies in recent years have come from the so-called “Left” who conveniently ignore the extraordinary advances the Jewish State has made for women, the LGBT community, and a more compassionate capitalism. (Shameless plug time for my e-book, The Liberal Case for Israel).
I Stood for Hemp: I proudly joined James Comer, Kentucky’s young, Republican Commissioner of Agriculture as he won yet another battle to push the state closer to a regulatory structure for legalized industrial hemp, a cash crop that could create hundreds, if not thousands, of jobs in the Bluegrass State. I find myself on the other side of some of my Democratic friends on these efforts, just as I am opposed to state Senate Republicans as they try to water down a good piece of legislation sponsored by young Democratic Secretary of State Allison Grimes to ease the burden for our overseas military to vote, and to add a poison pill to important legislation drafted by young Democratic Auditor Adam Edelen that would promote transparency and ethics for state’s special taxing districts, that have grown into a billion dollar shadow government.
I Stood with Rand Paul: OK, admittedly I was prone during much of the latter parts of the more than 12 hour fillibuster waged by Kentucky’s junior Senator. And I usually disagree with Rand Paul when he is critical of the President that I supported in both elections. However, I think Paul’s stunt yesterday highlighted a real civil liberties problem in this country, and I strongly support his efforts to discourage the use of drones and promote the American system of justice whenever possible.
And now, a few conclusions:
I’m so glad to be a recovering politician: It’s weeks like these that make me so happy and relieved to be outside the center of the political arena. The hyper-partisanship in Frankfort and Washington is suffocating, and consistently killls important pieces of legislation for all the wrong reasons. Additionally, there is no way an active politician can find himself straying from his party establishment on so many critical issues without paying a severe political price. While I am sure this very post will piss off several of my friends, I no longer have to worry about the impact on my career of expressing what I truly believe.
I’m so proud to be a No Labels co-founder: When I helped launch No Labels two years ago, I couldn’t anticipate how much lower our system of government would sink in such a short period of time. The very antics I decry above, as well as the unusual bi-partisan alliances I experienced just this week, further convince me that the No Labels’ priority of problem-solving over hyper-partisanship is the only thing that can fix our broken politics.
Red and Blue are overrated: I am a proud progressive Democrat. But the days of doctrinaire partisanship and ideology are behind us. In the past week, I found myself, depending on the issue, allied with liberal Democrats, moderate Democrats, conservative Republicans and Tea Party Republicans/Libertarians. That’s the way it is for most Americans, particularly in my generation and younger. And that’s the path for future progress for our nation.
First things first, I am not an endocrinologist (only play one on TV J) and I am not a registered dietician. I like to think of myself as a problem solver, a MacGyver of sorts. Because in all reality that’s what we do as trainers, we solve problems with the knowledge base that we have, no matter how unconventional it is. With that said, there are a lot of theories out about people lose and gain weight. With the rise of obesity at an unparalleled high, people are trying to get healthy and lose body fat in record droves. From Atkins diets to the Zone diet, to the weird tropical fruit diet and my favorite the carrot stick and apple diet (holy cow!), people are trying to find the quickest way to lose weight. The fact is there is no easy way, if it were easy the obesity rates would not be where they are now. We would not be spending billions of dollars on medications that control weight related diseases. This is not an easy process by any stretch of the imagination. However when I look at weight loss books and these fad diets, I rarely see anything about a person’s hormones. When in fact it is your hormones that decide where and how much fat you store. That’s a fact. Throw the calories in vs calories out out the window, your hormones are in the driver’s seat. Lets take a look at them:
Fat Burning Hormones- hormones that when present in your body, will help you burn body fat
From Janet Patton of the Lexington Herald-Leader (who has been doing some incredible reporting on the industrial hemp issue):
A week after a first attempt, a hemp bill made it out of the Kentucky House Agriculture Committee with a nearly unanimous vote. But the bill still could die if House Speaker Greg Stumbo, D-Prestonsburg, blocks a vote on the House floor.
Committee chairman Tom McKee, D-Cynthiana, said he hoped that the bill would move forward for the sake of farmers and for the jobs that he said hemp could bring to Kentucky.
“I expected the bill to pass,” McKee said afterward. “In talking with members over the past week, I think a lot of people got some of their concerns relieved.”
McKee said he thinks the bill could pass easily in the House if a vote is allowed.
“That’s up to the speaker. I favor taking it to the floor,” McKee said. “He knows I would like to see it on the floor.”…
Stumbo said Monday that he isn’t for the bill. Late last week, he requested an opinion from Attorney General Jack Conway on whether the hemp legislation is needed, because state statutes require Kentucky to mirror federal law.
“It is my contention that Kentucky is already poised to adopt the federal hemp growing rules as soon as they come into existence and that Kentucky has no need for additional state bureaucracy involving permits issued by a state hemp czar,” Stumbo wrote.
In response, Comer has written Conway to say that the statute also requires the Kentucky Industrial Hemp Commission, which Comer leads, to “recommend legislation with respect to policies and practices that will result in the proper legal growing of industrial hemp. … By recommending SB50, the KIHC honored its obligation under existing Kentucky law.”
Hemp commission member Jonathan Miller, the former Kentucky treasurer and a Democrat, also has written Conway and planned to meet with him Wednesday to discuss why the hemp commission recommended the language in SB50.
Miller said that if President Barack Obama’s administration removes the restriction on growing hemp or issues a waiver, Kentucky might not be considered eligible without the licensing framework.
Miller also said that if the federal bill sponsored by U.S. Sens. Mitch McConnell, R-Louisville, and Rand Paul, R-Bowling Green, and others in Kentucky’s Washington delegation passes, federal rules might not address the concerns brought up by Kentucky State Police.
Measures to address those concerns, such as requiring the GPS coordinates of all hemp fields, have been incorporated into Senate Bill 50, Miller said, but they might be part of a “one-size-fits-all federal regulatory scheme.”
By John Y. Brown III, on Wed Mar 6, 2013 at 12:00 PM ET
When I was 21 I saw an attractive and vivacious young lady who I had briefly dated at the end of high school. (Actually, I sat behind her taking the SAT and got her phone number. The most impressive work I displayed that entire morning–as memory serves)
Anyway, I got her number again 3 years later and asked her on a date. And we went on a date. I asked her on a second date. This time on a Friday night. She called to say she was running behind and so I watched LA Law for the first time. And liked it.
She called again saying again she was running even later and I watched another show I can’t remember but didn’t like as much as LA Law. And then I watched the early news before getting the call that tonight wasn’t going to work out but asking about Sunday evening for a rain check. I said OK.
But got stood up again Sunday.
We made another date for Wednesday for which I got stood up a third time.
Saturday was The Police concert in Lexington and I got two tickets and invited my SAT friend but ended up only needing one ticket that night. For me.
We tried for a rain check again Sunday but something came up and she had to cancel because she was simply “over-extended.” I was irritated but hadn’t heard the word “over-extended” used in that way by someone my own age and was impressed.
And started using the word often in the same context and still do 30 years later. So, I am appreciative for learning that from her.
We tried for a lunch date Wednesday but it got cut short due to something “beyond her control.” I had heard that excuse before but wasn’t as impressed as I was with the excuse of being “over-extended” and rarely use it myself unless I really am truly desperate and can’t come up with a legitimate reason. Which I remember thinking is what she must have been thinking that day.
Friday we had a date but she explained she couldn’t make it. Without any excuse or apology. Standing me up had gone from being a rude and unexpected surprise to the equivalent of a yawn.
I had heard “boundaries” recently and even heard there was a book out I should read about them. I didn’t know a lot about boundaries but knew they had something to so with being more assertive and were a theory for not letting people take advantage of you.
And so since I had been learning new vocabulary words from my friend, I decided it was my turn and I invoked my own new vocabulary word “boundary.” And the fact that I had them. At least one boundary anyway. Or so I said. Or was at least trying to start having a new boundary. With her anyway.
I calmly explained that she had essentially stood me up for dates 6 times in two weeks and that was “not acceptable” to me. strong words that only emboldened me. I continued that because “I had boundaries” that (and I was very delicate but still deliberate in explaining this part) that there would not be a 7th opportunity to stand me up.
Boundary-wise, I had to be this way because “I respected my self.”
And we hung up and never spoke again.
That’s the end of the story.
I never actually saw with my own eyes the boundaries I created and announced that night. But they must still be there. Since that time I have never let anyone stand me up in business or other (non-dating) areas of my life.
By Jonathan Miller, on Wed Mar 6, 2013 at 10:00 AM ET
As this is a bi-partisan site, and as yours truly has been using this space to air my support for an Ashley Judd for U.S. Senate candidacy, I feel it is critical to give Team Mitch (McConnell) some equal time.
With that in mind, here is the latest McConnell for Senate campaign video:
h/t to Joe Sonka, liberal columnnist/blogger for Ace Weekly (Louisville) who tweeted:
We can finally credit McConnell for bringing some progress to America: The Harlem Shake is officially dead: youtube.com/watch?v=VMp_yz…
It’s so easy to forget that we are so powerful, but it is the truth and it is an inherent quality of the human spirit. I was a walking, breathing example of a girl, who out of trauma and struggle dreamed a different life for herself, and made it happen. Today I understand the grace and the quantum mechanics behind this, but living it came first—it always does.
A funny thing happened yesterday. Funny interesting, and strange, that is. And, kind of awesome (an experience leading to awe).
After planning for months that several days at the end of February would be dedicated to the specific and serious de-cluttering of my home space, and after very painful procrastination during designated well-planned days, I unexpectedly ran into a colleague who offered up an identical story, strangely.
While waiting in line for our lattes, he recounted his story of scheduled organizing, in the final week of February, and a lack of giddy-up in the GO.
My antennae picked up the signal with maximum alarm.
Inside my head it sounded like this: What?! Beeeeeep! Beeeeeep! Beeeeep! What?!
I knew immediately that this encounter wasn’t just about the random coincidence of a mirrored situation from someone I rarely see and who never discloses information about his personal life. Nor was it about the unbelievable story of what was happening in the latte line.
Nope, much bigger, much, much bigger, and I became consciously, thrillingly aware of it in its unfolding this time. Right there, in that informal setting surrounded by average people and beverages, I recognized the inter-relativity of everything, and, that I create my own reality whether I realize it or NOT.
And this is what it look like:
Read the rest of… Lisa Miller: Synchronicity & Intention
Blog this!
