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:
There is a hard to miss media bias against the relevance of trends that start in Alabama. That partly explains why a popular, effective governor like Bob Riley received not a sliver of response to his nascent presidential ambitions, despite a record that compared well to Mike Huckabee and Rick Perry; and why the weirdness of the state’s teacher union linking arms with a conservative Republican in the last governor’s race drew no national coverage–despite an ad by the union (an arm of the liberal NEA) pillorying a more moderate Republican for backing “Barack Obama’s federal takeover of our schools”. The theory seems to be that the state is too self-consciously parochial, too doused in racial embers, for its politics to deserve much scrutiny. The state’s controversial immigration law and its perennial political corruption merit national mentions largely for the stereotypes they reinforce.
Spencer Bachus
No surprise, then, that one of the most striking primary races this cycle is a week away and entirely below radar. On March 13, the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, Spencer Bachus, faces a challenge from a state legislator who has cultivated Tea Party support and challenged the incumbent as a Washington enabler. The race is thought to be competitive and the 20 year incumbent could well lose.
The challenger, a state senator named Scott Beason, has the kind of tangled history that makes Alabama politicians so confounding for outsiders to understand. A few years ago, Beason was entangled in the same grassroots snare he has set for his current rival: a clumsy vote to raise legislative pay brought him the ire of conservative activists, and a reputation for being a Republican with vaguely moderate inclinations.
Read the rest of… Artur Davis: The Real Alabama Republican Primary
By Jonathan Miller, on Sun Mar 11, 2012 at 7:00 PM ET
Today, we kick off an historic week.
On Wednesday, March 14, “No Budget, No Pay” legislation — sponsored by Sen. Dean Heller (R-NV) and Cong. Jim Cooper (D-TN) — receives its first hearing by the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, chaired by Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT). The landmark bill, sponsored by No Labels, would deny Congressmen pay if they fail to pass a budget and spending bills on time. Read all about the bill here. I hope to see many of you at the important event in Washington, DC. (Click here for more information.)
Then, the very next day, Thursday, March 15, March Madness erupts — the first full round of the NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament begins play across the country.
This is a big event in the No Labels universe. My Kentucky Wildcats are the early favorite, followed closely by co-founder Nancy Jacobson’s alma mater, the Syracuse Orangemen. Co-founder Mark McKinnon’s Texas Longhorns are always dangerous, and contributing RP/No Labels co-founder Lisa Borders‘ Duke Blue Devils are always evil. (Sorry, folks, click here to relive my nightmare.)
To celebrate the convergence of these two monumental events, we at The Recovering Politician and No Labels are sponsoring our first NCAA basketball March Madness bracket challenge.
We are calling it…wait for it… “No Bracket, No Pay“. The RP Nation and No Labels activists across the country are invited to submit a completed NCAA bracket — for free — and the winning brackets (and perhaps some losers as well) will receive BIG CASH PRIZES.
(OK, full disclosure: The “BIG CASH PRIZES” don’t actually involve “cash.” But we will come up with some fun stuff to give away.)
Entering the tournament is simple and easy. Just click here and follow the directions. And you don’t need to be a roundball expert to play — in most office pools, it’s the clueless hoops-a-phobe that usually wins.
The deadline for entry is 12pm EDT on Thursday, March 15, 2012.
And remember, you can’t win if you don’t play — No Bracket, No Pay.
By John Y. Brown III, on Fri Mar 9, 2012 at 12:00 PM ET
Need help with advice.
Etiquette question..I can’t find an entry for this in Ms Manners and hoping there is a ready formula for dealing with this awkward situation.
OK, you walk into a social event and see someone you’ve known for several years and never had trouble recalling their name, but suddenly blank out.
You quickly run through the alphabet in your head as they are walking toward you but to no avail.
You have a family member with you and don’t have time now–after wasting precious seconds on the alphabet –to tell the family member to introduce himself first to this “good friend” bc you can’t remember his name. Or even the letter his name might begin with.
So, you quickly grab your Blackberry and run a check on what you think his first name is.
You are correct, look up, and eagerly greet and introduce your friend to your family member….just before your “good friend” glances down at your Blackberry to see his name staring back at him.
He pauses to ask, “Were you going to call me?” but then realizes what “probably” happened and starts to say something sarcastic but stops.
What is the socially appropriate thing to say in this situation?
By Zack Adams, RP Staff, on Fri Mar 9, 2012 at 9:15 AM ET
Reports indicate that Peyton Manning will choose which team he will play for within the week and that he is leaning towards staying in the AFC. So far the teams that have been in contact with Manning are the Arizona Cardinals, Seattle Seahawks,Washington Redskins, Miami Dolphins, Kansas City Chiefs, Denver Broncos and New York Jets. [ESPN]
By Kristen Soltis, on Fri Mar 9, 2012 at 8:30 AM ET
Following the 2008 election, I counted myself among those concerned Republicans who looked ahead to future elections and saw trouble. Many key voters groups — Latinos, young voters, independents — swung heavily toward Barack Obama and the Democrats, with potential long-term implications for American elections.
Since that time, Obama’s coalition has weakened. His job approval among these groups has fallen precipitously since the early months of his presidency. Central to Obama’s falling ratings is voter perception about his handling of the economy. In late February, Quinnipiac found that only 41 percent of voters approve of how Obama is handling the economy. As the economy tops poll after poll as the No. 1 issue to voters, it is no surprise why Obama’s numbers are struggling.
Given all this, why aren’t Republicans enjoying wide leads in the polls? Because for all that voters are disappointed in Obama, they don’t particularly love Republicans. In fact, polls show that Republicans have slightly poorer brand image than do Democrats. And while voters may not be thrilled with Obama’s handling of the economy, polls also show they don’t place greater trust in Republicans on the issue.
Read the rest of… Kristen Soltis: Is This the Last Gasp of the GOP?
By Zack Adams, RP Staff, on Thu Mar 8, 2012 at 3:00 PM ET
The Politics of Tech
Last week we read about Google offering a reward to hackers that were able to hack Chrome. This week that challenge was accepted and completed at the Pwn2own competition. [Gizmodo]
There has been a manufacturing snag for our favorite $25 PC the Raspberry Pi. [Raspberry Pi]
“Uncle Sam: If It Ends in .Com, It’s .Seizable” [Wired]
A plea for Netflix to avoid siding with cable companies at all costs. [The Atlantic Wire]
Mercedes has gone all James Bond and made a car blend into it’s surroundings. [engadget]
By Zack Adams, RP Staff, on Thu Mar 8, 2012 at 10:00 AM ET
The Politics of Pigskin
The biggest news of the week and probably of the entire offseason as well is the release of Peyton Manning by the Indianapolis Colts after 14 seasons, a Super Bowl win, and a Hall of Fame resume. [ESPN]
Here is a video of the press conference where the release was officially announced. [Yahoo!]
Obviously, the most pressing question is where will the future Hall of Famer play football next season? Or could he simply retire after multiple neck surgeries? He seems to clearly want to play next season and here are the most likely candidates. [The Big Lead]
The second biggest story making its way around NFL circles this week has been the revelation that the New Orleans Saints defense allegedly ran a bounty program aiming to injure opposing players. [CNN]
Here is a more in-depth look at the mastermind behind the Saints defense, Gregg Williams. [NY times]
Blog this!
