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 May 11, 2012 at 9:30 AM ET
One year ago today, I came out for gay marriage.
In my inaugural column for The Huffington Post, I revealed that I had always supported marriage equality, but that it was impossible to advocate for the cause and remain a viable statewide politician in my Bible Belt state.
Announcing my support for gay marriage was one of the proudest moments of my political recovery.
Today, I celebrate my anniversary with a new column at The Huffington Post. Here’s an excerpt:
The President’s announcement is indeed the tipping point for the most important civil rights cause in a generation.
Because Obama made his voice heard, many other Americans will feel more comfortable in proclaiming their support for marriage equality. Still others will take another close look at the issue. When they understand that most of the counter-arguments are simply illogical — gay marriage doesn’t threaten traditional marriage; it doesn’t lead to bigamy and bestiality; it doesn’t undermine family values — they will join our cause as well.
And when support for marriage equality grows from a small majority today to an overwhelming majority in the coming months, there will be no stopping the momentum in state legislatures across the country into making marriage equality a reality for all Americans.
In the 24 hours since the President’s announcement, I’ve already been surprised by some who’ve joined the gay marriage bandwagon. While I knew that Dick Cheney was on board, I had no idea about Bush speechwriter David Frum, or even that my friend, fellow No Labels co-founder, and Bush-Cheney campaign manager Mark McKinnon was a marriage equality advocate. Mazel Tov, Mark!
And today, I also ask you to join me. If you are so inclined, in the comments section below, please indicate your support for marriage equality. And then using all of your social media tools — Facebook, Twitter, Google +, email, etc., please share your message with the world.
Harvey Milk, perhaps history’s most influential gay rights advocate, was right: When more gays and lesbians came out of the closet — and the rest of us began to realize that friends and even loved ones were gay; that gay men and women too can do “heroic things” — the stigma wore off, and it became politically and personally unacceptable to preach gay hatred.
Similarly, when more people discover that those they respect support gay marriage, it will help lead us on a path to full equality.
Now that the President is on board, I urge you to join me today. Together, we can make a real difference.
As a former state senator who served prison time for lying about a campaign finance violation involving approximately $10,000, I unfortunately have a unique perspective on the imbroglio surrounding former Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C. — a case in which campaign finance law, selective prosecution, and budget priorities in a time of scarcity happen to intersect.
The media attention surrounding my own guilty plea, resignation and prison sentence was extremely painful. Yet it was nothing compared with the widespread ridicule Edwards has received. His public image is ruined, and he faces a real possibility of prison. Even so, prison is not an appropriate punishment for someone who conceals an affair.
Edwards is now being prosecuted in federal court because one of his campaign backers pitched in to support his mistress and their love child, at a time when the public was unaware he had either. To the layman’s eye, such payments may not look like campaign contributions at all, let alone illegal ones. But according to prosecutors, they helped Edwards’ 2008 presidential campaign by concealing his infidelity and preserving his public image as a devoted family man.
Read the rest of… Jeff Smith: The Wasteful, Adrenaline-filled Case against John Edwards
By John Y. Brown III, on Thu May 10, 2012 at 12:00 PM ET
I know some people swear by the value of “Product Replacement Plans.” (PRPs)
You know those 15-20% of the sale price insurance policies that if the product breaks shortly after you buy i you get it replaced easily?
I don’t care for them, personally.
They suggest to me either that somebody is layering in another layer profit margin (since products sold new are supposed to work) or are we are making products so poorly that customers need to buy insurance against the product breaking in the first few months. Neither seems an appealing conclusion.
Do other countries push PRPs like we in the US?
It seems more a sign of clever sales gimmickry, in my view. But subconsciously sends the message that “We don’t make things well.”
Imagine if McDonald’s tried to sell us a PRP at 20% of each meal to protect against food poisoning? And people bought it!
Or the next time I bought a watch paying an extra 15% for PRP against the watch not telling time?
I just left office supply shop and was asked about a PRP for a technology item. I asked, “Why? Is something wrong with it? Should I expect it to break in a few months?”
The salesperson laughed and so did I….but I was sort of serious, too.
Although I didn’t say anything more I wanted to add “If you don’t have more confidence than that in this product, I don’t want to buy it. Is there another product that works well enough that it doesn’t need insurance against breaking right away?”
Maybe I will add that the next time. Or tell them I’ll come back when they are selling products that won’t break so easily.
By Zack Adams, RP Staff, on Thu May 10, 2012 at 12:00 PM ET
The Politics of Pigskin
The harsh reality of life after football for many former pros. This time it’s Terrell Owens. [ESPN]
Robert Griffin is getting a jump on things by trademarking his name. [NFL.com]
Can Terrelle Pryor make a career for himself in the NFL after a great run at OSU? Could he take Carson Palmer’s starting spot this year? He certainly thinks he can. [Sports Illustrated]
The Vikings are inching closer to that new stadium the franchise and fans have wanted and needed for so long. [1500 ESPN]
More on the Vikings: Are they wasting Adrian Peterson? [ESPN NFC North Blog]
Quin Hilyer of the Center for Individual Freedom published an article about Artur Davis’ rise as a proponent for ballot integrity:
A new right-leaning star was born last weekend at the True the Vote summit in Houston, while the dynamo who heads True the Vote simultaneously achieved multiple goals related to ballot integrity. For a single 24-hour conference to achieve so much is remarkable, and deserves more attention than one meager column, alas, can give it. But let’s try.
First, what is True the Vote? Despite leftist propaganda to the effect that it is some sort of partisan (or even racial) attempt at vote suppression, True the Vote is a growing, bipartisan, multi-racial, national movement to ensure that elections are conducted with integrity and without polling-place antagonism. The idea is to place and train poll watchers, as per existing law, in every precinct in the country – so they will know exactly what they can and can’t do to stop and report voting irregularities without causing a stir that could in any way intimidate, much less suppress, legitimate voters….
But the surprising star of the show, according to many observers including this one, was former Rep. Artur Davis, the Alabama Democrat who gave one of the key nominating speeches for Barack Obama at the 2008 Democratic National Convention. In recent months, Davis has written numerous times for the conservative National Review, and he strenuously opposed ObamaCare while in Congress, so it was already clear that on at least some issues he leans right of center. It was already known that he supported voter-ID laws: Last October 17 he wrote a column in the Montgomery Advertiser saying as much. Of fraudulently manufactured votes, he wrote then, “If you doubt it exists, I don’t; I’ve heard the peddlers of these ballots brag about it, I’ve been asked to provide the funds for it, and I am confident it has changed at least a few close local election results.”
But that was child’s play compared to the tour de force of a speech he made last weekend. Holding up a photo-ID, he ridiculed those who say it is too great a burden to require one – especially those who have said such a requirement is a violation of civil rights and human dignity.
“This is not a billy club,” he said, recalling violent civil rights battles of the past. “This is not a fire hose…. This is not Jim Crow…. My parents and my grandparents can tell you what a colored-only water fountain tasted like. They could tell you what a colored-only bathroom smelled like.” It certainly, he said, was nothing like his ID card: “this tiny little thing that doesn’t wound, that has no sharp edges.” And: “To call photo ID a degradation of human rights is not only something that is so fundamentally wrong, but is something my parents would not even recognize…. That [claim that ID requirements violate human rights] is the old tactic of telling us the very opposite of what it true.”
Also blasting the establishment media for waking up in tony enclaves and driving to offices in prime real estate while telling the rest of us that we are out of touch with America, Davis lumped those media folks together with the political ruling class that willingly looks away from (or tacitly condones) vote fraud. “You cannot let the insiders run this game,” he thundered.
By John Y. Brown III, on Wed May 9, 2012 at 12:00 PM ET
Just in case anybody out there has pull within the clothing industry, I would like to put in a request for a tuxedo that doesn’t take an engineering degree to put on.
I don’t understand how clip-ons got such a bad name. What’s not to like?
And those cufflinks and studs? I’m sure whoever came up with the idea was doing the best they could within the time period they lived in.
But we have since invented buttons, zippers and Velcro. Even button fly jeans. Cufflinks and studs should have faded about the same time knickers went out of style.
I would support a new line of male clothing that is all about ease of use and functionality. Men today should be able to dress for “black tie” without needing two or more people involved.
I might even go for a reversible tuxedo. As long as the reversed side isn’t powder blue.
For every wing-nut who would’ve stayed home in November without Bachmann’s endorsement, or simply voted for Romney without volunteering for him, there is at least one swing voter who is turned off by her.
But these effects are so marginal.
Endorsements mean precious little in general elections, and endorsements from failed presidential candidates who are forced to drop out the night of the caucus they were originally supposed to win mean even less.
By Jonathan Miller, on Tue May 8, 2012 at 3:00 PM ET
There’s yet another casualty in the Obama/Liberal/Democratic/Socialist War on Christmas: The National Christmas Tree Has Died. Read about the tragedy: [The Daily Beast]
Former RNC Chairman and MSNBC contributor Michael Steele didn’t mean to intrude, but when he saw “Glee’s” Darren Criss and Matthew Morrison at Saturday night’s MSNBC after-party at the Italian Embassy, he needed to get a picture.
“I love ‘Glee’ because it takes me back to a time when I was in Glee club,” Steele explained to Yeas & Nays after the quick photo session and chat had wrapped up. “And it opened a lot of doors for me and introduced me to musical theater, which I love.” Steele played Harold Hill in “The Music Man” in college. He was also in “Anything Goes,” and performed Shakespeare’s Macbeth “cowboy style.” “With boots and everything,” he laughed.
These days he identifies himself as a “Gleek.” “Yeah, I do, I do, I’ll admit it, I’ll admit it and, of course, seeing a lot of the stars here tonight from the show is kind of cool,” he said. “I record it every it every Tuesday cause usually I’m out doing stuff so I usually get to watch it over the weekend — I love it.”
Blog this!
