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 Tue Aug 21, 2012 at 12:00 PM ET
Your Inner Jack?
Yeah, c’mon….admit it.
Every guy, deep down, has an inner-Jack Nicholson wanting to get out.
You know what I mean. Some prefer to call it the “wild man” or the “id” (those who fear it call it less flattering names) —but it’s there and is a vital creative life force in all men that is better to be embraced and let out for exercise than contained, condemned, suppressed and ignored.
To hate it is to hate ourselves.
To kill it is to kill an essential part of ourselves.
So, go for it. Give in –at least once this weekend–to your inner Jack.
At long last, thanks to the folks at ESPN, WSOP.com, Caesar’s, Veetle.com, and our extraordinary Webmaster, Justin Burnette, we are now proud to share with you video from The RP’s impossible journey to the final table of the 2012 World Series of Poker, $1000-buy-in no limit Texas hold ’em event. (Click here to read his full account.)
Specifically, the video below shows the final twenty minutes of The RP’s four day, 40 hour marathon in which he finished in 8th place out of the original 4,260 entries.
The folks at ESPN obviously knew The RP’s best side, so most of the video of the final table is shot from behind our erstwhile blogger, who sits in front center of the screen, back to camera, in a white shirt with blue sleeves and a tan No Labels hat — which unfortunately, had no label on its back. So we miss his poker face — and the naive surprise in his eyes for having the extraordinary luck to be where he was.
But, we do get to see some entertaining hands in these 20 minutes: The RP surviving two all-ins in which he was the big underdog; an opponent with a much larger stack getting eliminated, thereby earning The RP an additional $14,000; and the final hand in which The RP gracefully exits the stage.
By Zack Adams, RP Staff, on Mon Aug 20, 2012 at 3:00 PM ET
The Politics of Pigskin
There was some hooplah recently regarding the leaked college transcript of Julius Peppers. Watch out UNC. [Sporting News]
After losing 50 lbs. to get into shape DT Shaun Rogers is out for the season with a blood clot. [ESPN]
The Titans have named sophomore QB Jake Locker as their starter. Locker beat out the veteran Matt Hasselbeck who looked rejuvenated last year when he has several good games. [PFT]
If you haven’t seen any of SI’s training camp postcards just follow the link. [SI]
The Onion always nails it. This time they target T.O. as he decides which Seahawks QB he should undermine. [The Onion]
Check out this goofy hand-off from Cam Newton. [.gif]
Here’s the picture to the left in .gif form. [.gif]
Lisa Miller…yes, Mrs. RP herself…has launched a new health and wellness Web site for women called LisaMillerBeautifulDay.com.
Her mission?
As a Women’s Mind/Body Health Specialist, I’ve learned that several ingredients contribute to a dazzling recipe for optimum health, happiness, and balance. Each of us feel nourished by a different combination of those ingredients in the form of practices, or lifestyle habits, that nourish our bodies, spiritual core, our emotions and intellect. This custom-tailored medley is the unique prescription for vitality and wellness, for each of us.
It’s this multi-faceted approach to health and happiness that serves as the foundation for all of the women’s workshops and retreats I lead. They are designed to be explorative and educational, lighthearted, deeply relaxing, soulful gatherings for women that deepen intuitive abilities and foster personal transformation. And I have found that the support and laughter from these women’s circles is profoundly healing in itself!
And don’t miss learning about her Women’s Circle Retreat in Costa Rica, from February 17-23, 2013. An incredible experience for our female readers, and a perfect gift from husbands in the RP Nation!
By John Y. Brown III, on Mon Aug 20, 2012 at 12:00 PM ET
Parenting can feel like a basketball game.
My 18 year old son leaves home this Tuesday for Centre College. I am as proud as can be…but also very sad.
The first 13 years of parenting come naturally and the rules and roles are easily understood. It’s easy for us to feel good about the job we are doing. The next 5 years, however, are a “different kettle of fish,” as they say–a muddled and awkward affair. And we are running out of parenting energy as the relationship changes from parent -child to adult–adult.
I can’t help feeling like I have been in a basketball game that was tied at half-time –where I held my own as a parent—but by the end of the third quarter became a blowout for the opposing team. And for the fourth quarter our job is just to finish the game without the other team running up the score.
And yet, in some bizarre twist of logic, I am wanting this game to go into overtime even though I know my son is dribbling out the final seconds of the clock and I am not trying to steal or foul since it won’t matter.
And when the clock runs out he won’t throw the ball triumphantly into the stands but rather, like a gentleman, let the ball dribble itself for a few seconds before rolling away as he walks off the court.
And I will stay standing on the court looking up at the scoreboard and trying not to cry.
By Bradford Queen, Managing Editor, on Mon Aug 20, 2012 at 10:00 AM ET
The Politics of Media
While networks plan to keep hours they devote to the GOP and Dem conventions in primetime slim, networks will continue to offer gavel-to-gavel coverage – but online. [WSJ]
The selection process for moderators of presidential debates is nearly as secretive as a papal conclave. Here’s a look at the politics behind the choosing of this cycle’s moderators. [NYT]
Local TV news and ’60 Minutes’ received the top ratings in a new credibility poll by Pew Research. Fox News and USA Today ranked lowest in believability. [Pew Research]
The White House has granted Michael Lewis, author of “Moneyball,” almost exclusive access to the President for the coming days. Lewis will pen an article for the October issue of Vanity Fair. Neither the White House nor the magazine will comment on the topic of the article. [NYT]
C-SPAN’s political editor, Steve Scully, previewed the cable channel’s convention coverage plans:
Some at NBC’s ‘Tonight Show’ are getting pink slips. Jay Leno himself is taking a pay cut to “save jobs.” [Deadline]
Our prolific contributing RP, former Congressman Artur Davis, who recently switched from a Democrat to a Republican, was announced last week as a featured speaker at the upcoming Republican National Convention. Here is David Fahrentold’s profile from The Washington Post:
This is Artur Davis’s job now, the work that he hopes will resurrect his political career. Wear a suit. Speak to strangers. Explain that what had been some of the most important causes of his life — a political party and a president — turned out to be mistakes.
“How many of us believed, four years ago, that Barack Obama was not just a politician?” Davis, a former four-term congressman, asked Mitt Romney supporters in Arlington County’s Ballston neighborhood on Wednesday. The Romney people said nothing, but Davis kept on: This was his story, not theirs.
“We may not have the power to stop it,” Davis said of President Obama’s campaign. “But the American people have the power to punish it.”
Four years ago, Davis was onstage at the Democratic convention: a fast-rising congressman from Alabama, so close to Obama that he provided the official “second” for Obama’s nomination.
On Thursday, the Republican Party said he would be a “headliner” at its convention in Tampa, where he will be one of Obama’s most prominent African American critics.
By Bradford Queen, Managing Editor, on Fri Aug 17, 2012 at 10:00 AM ET
The Politics of The Screen
On the TV ‘screen’, the head of PBS is “extremely disappointed” by Mitt Romney’s suggestion that the federal government would slash federal funding for the programming service under his administration. [WaPo]
Warner Brothers has shuttered Warner Premier — it’s direct-to-video publishing arm — citing shifting business models and priorities. [THR]
Dale Olson, one of Hollywood’s most iconic publicists, died this week. He represented the likes of Rock Hudson, Shirley MacLaine, Steven Speilberg, Gene Kelly, and Joan Crawford. [NYTimes]
Movie etiquette changing? Some theaters are now welcoming heckling and cell phones and more. [Chicago Daily Herald]
Actor-turned Governor-turned actor again Arnold Schwarzenegger makes his first appearance in a film since leaving office in ‘The Expendables 2’, opening this weekend. [NYPost]
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