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 Feb 22, 2012 at 12:00 PM ET
Great moments in Biblical interpretation.
When my daughter was young–around age 5–I read to her a children’s Bible.
It was great. The stories were condensed and easy to understand and discuss after reading.
Our first reading (and discussion) was a memorable one.
Adam and Eve. Maggie was intrigued by the story and got the “big picture” lesson….but she got hung up on something that really bothered her.
The nakedness part.
“Dad, do you mean they wore no clothes? As in no clothes at all? Weren’t they embarrassed?”
I explained that wasn’t quite the case. There were fig leaves, albeit not terribly fashionable by themselves, but they did do the trick of covering up important parts.
I said, “Well, remember, this is right at the beginning of things so maybe clothes hadn’t been invented yet.” I was trying to get Maggie to think for herself and asked, “What to you think may explain it?”
A light bulb went off with Maggie and she offered up her own explanation for why it was OK to run around naked back in the day.
“Maybe, Dad, they just hadn’t invented looking down yet.”
We decided to go with that explanation. It was simple, clear and made perfect sense to both of us.
So, if you–like Maggie and me–have ever wondered about this question, now you have a possible explanation.
And as a rule, I prefer the clear perception of a 5 year old on issues like these.
Yesterday, the RP appeared on “The Craig Fahle Show” on WDET in Detroit, to discuss “No Budget, No Pay,” the important new legislation supported by No Labels that would withdraw the pay of Congress if they fail to pass a budget on time.
It appears as though they should consult with someone who has an online accounting degree because it looks as though they can’t do it on their own!
JFK revisionism is always jarring, but no longer surprises. The disdain toward John Kennedy in conservative intellectual circles seems borne out of contempt that he was what the right suspects about Barack Obama – unaccomplished, stylistic rather than substantive, a media darling who rose on the wings of a star-struck press.
In my college years, it was the left-wing that was just as fierce – to them, Kennedy was a cold warrior who dug our grave in Vietnam and almost postured and bluffed into a nuclear war. To younger African American intellectuals, he was too passive on civil rights, too much of a follower to deserve the spot on the wall next to Dr. King in the grandparent’s living room.
There is something that is meaner, though, in this week’s round of coverage of Mimi Alford’s tell-all regarding an affair between herself and Kennedy during her stint as a White House intern. Timothy Noah, at the New Republic, tops it off with a headline, “JFK: Monster”. But he only goes where others have gone this week: a condemnation of Kennedy as a psychological torturer, a crude user of a 19-year-old, and a voyeur.
Read the rest of… Artur Davis: Covering the JFK Affair
By Stephanie Doctrow, RP Staff, on Tue Feb 21, 2012 at 1:30 PM ET
Prepare to be terrified. The New York Times investigates how companies like Target can know everything about you, even things you want to hide, from your social media account. [NY Times]
The Women’s Media Center released its annual report on the state of women and the media, and the results are worse than you’d expect. [Good]
AMI’s new magazine about reality shows, Reality Weekly, isn’t doing as well as expected. Are Americans finally developing some taste? [Adweek]
Despite the controversy surrounding The Sun after this summer’s hacking scandal, Rupert Murdoch says the tabloid will continue to thrive… and even launch a new Sunday edition. [Time]
By Jonathan Miller, on Tue Feb 21, 2012 at 12:30 PM ET
As the world awaits the March 6 release of Bruce Springsteen’s latest album, “Wrecking Ball,” another sing has hit the Internet: “Shackled and Drawn.” Listen below, and understand why this appears to be one of the Boss’ most politically charged albums:
By John Y. Brown III, on Tue Feb 21, 2012 at 12:00 PM ET
Arrived at airport this morning shortly after 5am and about everything that could have gone wrong with parking, ticketing, security, etc, did go wrong.
As I arrived at my gate to board my plane I was told the doors had been locked “one minute ago” and it would be “impossible” to re-open the door.
The thought ran through my mind, “What would Alec Baldwin do in a situation like this?”
I remembered Alec likes playing “Words with Friends” on his cell phone when faced with airline issues but I didn’t have the app on my phone and wasn’t sure that would be helpful anyway.
I then asked myself, “What would Kayne West do?” I looked around but didn’t see Taylor Swift anywhere.
Stumped….and exasperated I resignedly asked myself “What Would Delta Have Me Do?” They were nice enough to get me on the next flight and now I have time to download the app for Words with Friends as well as Taylor Swif’ts latest single.
I think it kinda all worked out.
Thanks Alec. Thanks Kayne. And thanks Delta. Especially Delta.
At 10:45 AM on “The Craig Fahle Show” on WDET in Detroit, The RP will be discussing “No Budget, No Pay,” the important new legislation supported by No Labels that would withdraw the pay of Congress if they fail to pass a budget on time.
This morning at 8:50 AM ET/7:50AM CT on KMOX radio in St. Louis, the RP will be discussing “No Budget, No Pay,” the important new legislation supported by No Labels that would withdraw the pay of Congress if they fail to pass a budget on time.
Happy Presidents’ Day! I thought a good way to celebrate our forty-four presidents and fifty-six presidential elections would be to send a quick update to satisfy your political appetites.
Appetizer: So much of what we do is finding the right words for the right time. Last e-mail, I talked about how Romney should promote “economicfreedom” rather than “capitalism” — he’s getting better, but Chairman of the House Budget Committee Paul Ryan does it best. Here’s a few more tricks of the tongue…Ask people if they think Washington bureaucrats should “tax” millionaires more than they already do, and the response is overwhelmingly positive. But if you change just one word and ask if Washington should “take” any more money from millionaires, nearly 75% say no. The best way to use this language: “We shouldn’t let Washington take one extra dime from hardworking taxpayers until they hold themselves accountable for all of the waste, fraud, and abuse.” Likewise, a politician who “fights for hardworking taxpayers” will win significantly more support than one who talks about “protecting the middle class.”
Main Course: Romney or Santorum, Santorum or Romney…The Michigan primary is February 28th, and Santorum leads Michigander Mitt by a few points. Santorum does have a legitimate chance to win Michigan. The state’s more socially conservative than people realize, and Romney’s been as bad at building momentum as Sisyphus pushing the boulder up the hill. Romney is still the odds-on favorite to win the GOP nomination. He has outspent Santorum 12 to 1 on television advertising, has raised considerably more money, and has a much larger ground operation both in numbers and scale. Here’s what’s holding Romney back…1) Santorum isn’t Gingrich – Romney and his SuperPAC “Restore Our Future” are kings of the negative ad, as we saw in Florida with the full-scale war waged on Gingrich. But, on what is Romney going to hit Santorum? That he is too socially conservative? Santorum has plenty of negatives that would make him absolutely unelectable in a general election, but Romney can’t do anything about it now because he’s trying to prove to Republican primary voters that he is just as conservative as the former senator from Pennsylvania. 2) Philosophy Matters – Agree or vehemently disagree, at least you know what Santorum believes in. And, at an even more fundamental level, you know Santorum believes in something. I wouldn’t go so far as to call Romney a technocrat, but I wouldn’t hesitate to say that he treats everything like a Harvard Business School case study. Accordingly, when the focus shifts from the economy to social issues, as we’ve seen the last few weeks with gay marriage matters in CA and NJ, and birth control provision mandates from DC, Romney gets flustered. That leads him say things like he is “severely conservative,” contributing to his image as the phony, stiff politician for which he is rightfully criticized. 3) Every Person Gets One Vote – Santorum treats all of his potential voters like they’re important to him. He doesn’t do it like Bill Clinton could — nobody can — but you talk to him and feel like he is listening to what you say. At the Conservative Political Action Conference, Santorum stationed himself in one of the hotel ballrooms and let anybody get in line to shake his hand and take a picture with him. Romney’s approach was a microcosm of his entire persona. Romney instead invited only the highest donors and conservative movers and shakers up to a presidential suite to talk about fundraising. That’s a bad visual, and frankly, a bad strategy.
Blog this!
