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 John Y. Brown III, on Wed Nov 14, 2012 at 12:00 PM ET
What can begin as a “Point of Resistence” can turn into a “Right of Passage.”
Which is a bummer.
Tonight I was with my daughter shopping for clothes. I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror wearing what were “Dad jeans.” And it was my moment to slink into depressive moment or rage against nature.
I asked for the “Jeans department” to regain my youthful dignity. After pawing through rows of Vin Diesel jeans, torn, ripped, stone washed, bleached and with cute button flys (for guys who would think having a cute button down fly is a good idea).
After refusing help several times from the sales clerk, I finally broke down and said, “Basically I am trying to find some, you know, jeans. That are ….um… ‘age appropriate.’ But not too obviously age appropriate.”
He asked me my size and said, he may have something in the back….like Lucky Jeans. He brought me three pair of what I immediately exclaimed were “Dad jeans.”
Another shopper about 5 years my junior started laughing and said, “Look, man, Lucky’s are OK.”
I said I would browse some more. I did but after 5 minutes felt the end of the “jeans phase” of my life ending.
Like when I was no longer able to get away with collecting Pop-a-Shot tickets at Gattilamd for a prize.
At 35. As I walked out the clerk shouted “Any luck?” “Nope!” I said. “Just gonna have to admit my jeans days are over.”
I paused. “Do up have white socks, sandals and plaid shorts in this section?” And I didn’t have to use the qualifier “age appropriate.”
By John Y. Brown IV, on Wed Nov 14, 2012 at 10:00 AM ET
I was as disappointed as any other Republican with last Tuesday’s election results. President Obama defeated Governor Romney soundly in the Electoral College while also defeating him, albeit by a lesser margin, in the national popular vote. Republicans also lost seats in both chambers of Congress.
This was a pivotal election. On Tuesday, we learned that the large expansion of the federal government that took place in President Obama’s first term will likely continue without a Republican president or more conservative House or Senate to intervene. Whether Republicans like it or not, Obamacare is here to stay. The same is true of Dodd-Frank Act and many other expansions of federal power that took place under this President.
Likewise, whoever was elected president in 2012 was destined to play a major role in the budgetary reforms that are needed to bring our country to long term financial solvency and short term fiscal sanity. With President Obama, we can expect to see heavier tax hikes and military cuts and much smaller domestic spending cuts than we would have under a President Romney. Entitlement reform will be hard to achieve in any meaningful way with a President who is already on the record as opposing raising the retirement age, cutting benefits (even for the wealthy), or having any sort of market based changes within the various systems.
The point here is that with so much on the line, my party lost big last Tuesday in an election that had huge implications for the future of public policy.
The easy impulse is to find blame (the devastating storms, the power of incumbency, an Obama friendly media, etc.) that will relieve us from the harder (but also more rewarding) task of asking ourselves honestly where our party came up short.
What was it that made swing voters break towards President Obama instead of Governor Romney in the final days of the campaign?
Most commentators tell us that it was because Republicans came off as too extreme on social policy like immigration, abortion and other hot button social issues. These extreme positions, the argument goes, caused republicans to lose critical support from minorities, women and youth. I believe there is more than a grain of truth to what those commentators are telling us.
Most minorities don’t support Republicans because of issues like immigration but more because they are drawn to the populist economic message that Democratic Presidents typically promote. These segments of voters generally support higher taxes (on the “rich”) and more public services.
Read the rest of… John Y. Brown, IV: Why We Lost — Republicans Need to Connect to Middle America
By Jimmy Dahroug, on Wed Nov 14, 2012 at 9:15 AM ET
The Consumer Federal Protection Bureau’s decision to regulate credit agencies is a significant step to protect consumers. Until now, there was no central entity in the federal government to oversee the major credit reporting agencies. The credit market affects just about every American family through car loans, mortgage applications, and more minor lines of credit, yet reporting system is flawed. For the average person, appealing a simple mistake on a credit report can be a long, onerous process.
The name Agency in Credit Reporting Agency almost connotes a sense of authority. It may even lend the impression to consumers that these credit agencies are quasi-governmental agencies, or that they are at least important enough to be regulated by the government. After all, an “agency” sounds pretty important and official. Surely, these “agencies” are accountable to consumers, aren’t they?
The truth is credit agencies are businesses. As consumer expert Clark Howard explained in an interview, we, the consumers, “are not [even] the customers.” Banks, credit card companies, and even potential employers are the ones who pay for our credit reports. They are the customers.
As a result, a consumer’s satisfaction with the accuracy of their credit reports is not one of the credit reporting agency’s primary concerns. As Clark Howard explains, credit agencies simply “slice and dice our credit information. Their only real objective is to package and sell, without an interest in [ensuring] that the information is wholly accurate.”
Read the rest of… Jimmy Dahroug: Oversight of Credit Agencies Long Overdue
Ayurveda, the 5,000-year-old healing system founded in ancient India, is derived from the Sanskrit words ayusmeaning life, and veda meaning wisdom. Ayurveda, the wisdom of life, offers a time-tested guide for a life of happiness, vitality, love and purpose.
From the Ayurvedic perspective, human beings are not viewed as mere thinking physical machines, but rather as fields of intelligence in dynamic exchange with the energy and information of the environment. Health is a state of vibrant balance in which all the layers of one’s life are integrated—the physical, the psychological, the spiritual.
In this system, the great elements of the universe, the mahabutas, are reflected in our own physical bodies and psychological make-up. The element of fire, tejas, in particular, plays a vital role here as it is the very force that enables proper digestion, integration of nutrients, emotions, ideas and experiences.
Based on the Chopra Center’s Perfect Health course, I’ll be teaching a free class at the Festival of Faiths in Louisville, KY this Sunday, November 18, from 11:30am-1:00pm.
Come and learn about your own mind/body constitution and discover how to help your tejas burn as brightly as it is designed. This session will be interactive and experiential including lecture, discussion, pranayama (breathing techniques), and meditation.
By Lauren Mayer, on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 5:00 PM ET
As in any election, there were some predicted results (Obama re-elected, Nate Silver fan clubs popping up), some lovely surprises (20 women in the senate, legalized pot and gay marriage), and some disappointed losers (including every senatorial candidate who mentioned rape . . . who’d’ve thunk?) I know some people feel the saddest for Florida, which ended up not even mattering this year. But my sympathy vote goes to Karl Rove. Whatever you think of him, he has to be a fundraising genius to have gotten $300 million from his donors, but of all the candidates he supported, not a single one was elected. I mean, I disagreed with him on almost every issue, but I never wished this much pain on the man. Not only did Donald Trump publicly shame him via tweet (I don’t know what part of that was more humiliating!), but now he’s even a joke on The Simpsons. What’s Rove supposed to do now? I seriously doubt he has much of a future as a political fundraiser, and after his election night meltdown on Fox News, his punditry career may be shot.
So while Rove sorts out his options, he can use this song as his soundtrack . . . (And after this last political song, I will be turning my musical attention to more general current events, the upcoming holidays, and the latest pop culture silliness that gives me an intellectual excuse to buy People Magazine.)
Fall always marks a great time of the year from the changing of the leaves, apple cider, pumpkin patches, (well, pumpkin everything) and for Hindus around the world the auspicious occasion of Diwali, the Festival of Lights. Diwali is the celebration of good over evil as people in the ancient Indian city of Ayodhya celebrated by lighting candles to welcome the victory of King Rama over the evil demon Raavan. On a deeper level, this is a celebration of our own inner light, expelling the evil of ignorance within ourselves and embracing a higher knowledge that we can achieve.
For Gujaratis (the state of India where my family hails from), Diwali also marks the end of the calendar with a New Year beginning the day after the celebration. Think of it like a New Year’s Eve, if you will and presents another opportunity to expel the old and bring in the new. What a fitting time to have the results of Election 2012! (Was it really just a week ago? It feels like it was much longer.)
First, my congratulations to President Obama! I find it so interesting that as you hear the pundits talk about the election, they frequently tell us the “minority vote” helped secure his re-election campaign. It reminds me of that unforgettable TIME Magazine Cover of the “Changing Face of America”, and if one thing is for sure, this election reflected that predicted change from 1993. Not only did minorities help decide this election, they were able to make an impact on the composition of our elected officials. We re-elected our first African-American President to a 2nd term. We elected the first openly gay politician, Tammy Baldwin from Wisconsin to the U.S. Senate. We elected the first Buddhist-American, Mazie K. Hirono from Hawaii to a seat in Congress. Finally, we elected the first Hindu-American, Tulsi Gabbard from Hawaii to a seat in Congress. For a minority in America in terms of religion and ethnicity, this victory was the most inspiring for me.
Read the rest of… Mona Tailor: Celebrating Diwali and Election 2012
By John Y. Brown III, on Tue Nov 13, 2012 at 12:00 PM ET
IPhone and paranoia.
For the past week my iPhone has regularly refused to send forward emails I have attempted.
Instead, I receive a message that the message is being stored because it is being rejected by the server.
At first I figured it was Apple just buying time to transmit messages. I realize they are busy and just had an avalanche of new messages after releasing the iPhone 5.
But by the third day of blocking my emails, I became suspicious that Apple had a detection device that refused to send emails not up to snuff.
I retread my dozens of “stuck” emails and although they weren’t my best work, they weren’t so poorly written that they should have been prohibited by Apple.
By the 5th day of blocked emails I began to wonder if all the people I email were complaining to Apple about my incessant emails and requested a a week moratorium.
And today, Day 7, as my first few emails are blocked, I am beginning to wonder if a lot longer than a week has been requested
The RP sent the following message to the 600,000 person army of Democrats, Republicans and Independents who comprise the No Labels movement. Please read, and if you agree, sign on to this important cause:
The election is over, and our leaders are talking about working across the aisle — but will they follow through?
The stakes have rarely been higher. Neither side has the numbers to push through an agenda without compromise, and the price of failure would be severe. Once again, they have no choice but to work together.
Speaker John Boehner said, “If there was one mandate that came out of the election, it was find a way to work together to address our problems.” President Barack Obama agreed, inviting congressional leaders tothe White House to work on a solution to the fiscal cliff.
More than a half-million Democrats, Republicans and independents have coalesced behind this cause. Washington can and will work, but only if the people demand it. That’s what we’re doing.
Blog this!
