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:
I think Krystal pegs the psychology of Newt perfectly when she suggests that no one in the country will be happier with a Romney loss in November, with the possible exceptions of Jeb Bush, Chris Christie, and Bob McDonnell. As the old Janis Joplin song goes, Freedom’s just another word for nothin’ left to lose. And Mitt won’t be quite so enamored of the concept of “freedom” when he sees how Newt uses his in the the next few weeks. Rather, he’ll be urging his Jewish bundlers to call Adelson and beg him to stop (assuming he hasn’t already done so.)
I also agree with her smart observation that Newt has leveled much harsher critiques of Mitt Romney’s time at Bain Capital than Democrats would be able to pull off. Even more importantly than the attack is that Romney’s takeaway from the attacks will be, I think, that his response was effective. But I don’t think it will work in a general to proclaim, “I don’t apologize for my success” without expressing some empathy for all the people who lost jobs when companies went under after Bain sucked them dry.
Regarding Artur’s analysis, I’m not sure how Democratic losses in all of the states cited signify a victory of ideology over personality. Knowing both of the candidates in Missouri last cycle, for instance, I would say just the opposite: Republican Blunt was an affable, indefatigable campaigner who disarmed urban Democrats during intimate meetings while retaining his rural conservative base. Conversely, Democrat Robin Carnahan was widely seen even by Democrats as inaccessible and icy, and even after ostentatiously moving towards the middle proved utterly incapable of connecting with center-right voters. I don’t think ’10 was an ideological election any more than ’06 or ’08 were ideological elections favoring progressives; it was merely one more lurch back by an unsettled, anxious electorate pounded by job losses and economic insecurity.
I agree with Krystal on the basics: Romney has been undercut by Gingrich’s attacks, and most of the Gingrich line of attack will resonate even better in the general. I agree that Romney’s unfavorables are disconcertingly high right now; if they continue, they would be the worst any nominee has carried into the general since 1984 (that path does not end well). I even share the premise that Obama has found a fairness based frame for this election that discomfits Republicans, and is broadly, if not deeply, popular.
There is, however, an overestimation of Obama’s reelection prospects that is taking hold in Democratic circles, and it is worth rebutting. First, at the same time consumer confidence is at its peak level in the past nine months, and the unemployment rate is at its lowest point since 09, its striking that the president’s approval ratings still appear stuck around 46-47-48 percent. Its just as revealing that at the same time Gallup recorded Obama’s best approval numbers since June, its polling gives him no better than a tie with Mitt Romney in swing states. While there is some variance, most battleground state by state polls still put Obama and Romney in a dead heat.
In other words, an incumbent who is defining the race in much the way he wants, who is receiving generally good economic news, and whose likely opponent has stumbled prominently still has over half the country expressing its disapproval and nearly as many voters inclined to reject him as to support him. That’s textbook vulnerability that in polling terms, has not gotten much better.
Read the rest of… The RPs Debate the GOP Mudfest: Artur Davis Rebuts
Over the past month, we’ve launched a new tradition at The Recovering Politician: a great virtual debate on the issues of the day among our recovering politicians; with provocations, rebuttals, responses, and defenses. Our first discussion focused on presidential leadership; our second on legalizing marijuana; our third, Tim Tebow; and our fourth, expanded gambling.
This week, the RP stirs up the mix with another controversial subject: the morality of gambling The RP starts off with his provocative article from The Huffington Post. Tune in every half hour to read what other RPs have to say.
SPOILER ALERT: There will be fireworks.
Krystal Ball’s Provocation
Whatever loyalty former House Speaker Newt Gingrich had to the Republican establishment was destroyed when it dropped the anvil on him after his South Carolina victory. Whatever goodwill Newt had toward former Gov. Mitt Romney evaporated in the blitz of negative ads that stole his chances for a win in Iowa. Now what’s left is Newt’s utter contempt for Mitt Romney. Newt will not be vice president. He will not be in the administration. He will not be fawned over by the Republican establishment like Gov. Mitch Daniels or Rep. Paul Ryan. All that’s left for him is a deep desire for revenge. This is not a happy state of affairs for the GOP.
I attended Newt’s rally with Herman Cain in Tampa this week. While it’s true that the blunt, Gadsden flag-bearing crowd at the rally go together with Mitt Romney about as well as ice cream and anchovies, they are ultimately Republican base voters who will come back into the fold. It is independent voters who may turn away from Mitt Romney and never look back. While Newt may not have the money that Mitt Romney does, he knows how to use the media and is a master at framing negative attacks. Already he has leveled much harsher critiques of Mitt Romney’s time at Bain Capital than Democrats would be able to pull off and it has been effective. Governor Romney’s business experience, supposedly his strongest selling point, is now as likely to be viewed favorably as unfavorably by independents. This is an attack that is less resonant in a Republican primary, but is plenty effective among swing voters.
Read the rest of… The RPs Debate the GOP Mudfest: Krystal Ball Provokes
Our own contributing RP Jeff Smith recently appeared on The Brooklyn Politics Show to offer some advice to former New York State Senator Carl Kruger, who was recently sentenced to a hefty prison term for bribery.
Formerly incarcerated Missouri State Senator Jeff Smith appeared on The Brooklyn Politics Show to talk about his time in prison, and he offered a piece of advice to soon-to-be-sentenced Kruger.
“My main piece of advice for him would be to just go there and be positive and finds way he can help other inmates. There’s lots of ways you can help people and burnish your reputation in there so that you have an easier time and you can continue doing good,” said Smith. “I’m sure when he first got into public service, he did it probably for the right reason and then things got mixed up a little bit”…
Check out the interview – Smith is an entertaining speaker with insight into an experience few of us (hopefully) will share.
By John Y. Brown III, on Fri Feb 3, 2012 at 12:00 PM ET
“Happiness is knowing who to blame,” a friend of mine used to facetiously joke–especially when he was trying to nudge me into taking responsibility for a situation I was complaining about–and trying to blame someone else for creating.
I thought he was right then…and still think he’s right.
What he was really saying is that seeking to resolve frustration by blaming others only creates the temporary illusion of happiness–or relief. It’s not real and won’t last.
A better approach is thinking hard and honestly about what role I played–so I can own my part in an unpleasant predicament.
When I do that, I at least have some hope of changing things.
f it truly is another person’s fault, chances of changing that person—and then of that person changing the offending situation– leaves chances of things improving looking pretty bleak.
So, it seems, the more I am focusing on finding my role in displeasing areas of my life (instead of seeking out others to blame), the more hopeful I feel.
So maybe the saying should be “Hopefulness is knowing where I am to blame.”
By Zack Adams, RP Staff, on Fri Feb 3, 2012 at 9:15 AM ET
If you came here expecting to see some news regarding the Super Bowl on Sunday I apologize for disappointing you. The biggest news in the world of football is that Peyton Manning has been medically cleared to resume play by two doctors, including the incomparable Dr. Robert Watkins. The question now becomes what will Manning’s future with the Indianapolis Colts look like? This should become much clearer after the Super Bowl. Stay tuned. [ESPN]
By Jonathan Miller, on Fri Feb 3, 2012 at 8:30 AM ET
In the wake of his notorious call to legalize marijuana, the RP is now taking up a much less controversial cause — that of legalizing the production and sale of pot’s non-narcotic cousin, industrial hemp. Because of public misunderstanding and stereotypes, a product that could be an enormous economic boon for America — and especially the RP’s home state of Kentucky — is the grossly unfair victim of the overreaching war on drugs.
In this week’s edition of , the RP challenges the Kentucky business community to get behind bipartisan legislation to put the Commonwealth at the forefront of hemp legalization efforts. Here’s an excerpt:
When new Agriculture Commissioner Jamie Comer—a rising star of the Kentucky Republican Party—and State Senator Joey Pendleton—a long-time and well-respected Democratic leader—joined last week to endorse a major public policy proposal, political insiders took notice of the much-too-rare instance of bipartisanship.
But when the two mostly conservative politicians revealed that their common objective was the legalization of industrial hemp, the halls of Frankfort let out a collective gasp.
That’s because the subject of hemp legalization, while discussed and debated for decades, has been mostly seen as a cause célèbre of the political margins, either the “hippie” Far Left or the libertarian Far Right. And the politician most associated with hemp’s advocacy was the perennial candidate and courthouse jester of Kentucky politics, the recently deceased Gatewood Galbraith.
But as the Comer/Pendleton alliance reveals, public support for industrial hemp legalization—particularly within the agri-cultural community (both men are active farmers)—is reaching a tipping point.
And it’s time for Kentucky’s business community to shoulder-pad-up and push legalized industrial hemp across the goal line.
It does bring him closer to the nomination, due in no small part to his uncanny good fortune. Let’s review.
The woman who rose meteorically to take the Iowa straw poll collapsed upon the entrance of a governor who offered the veneer of tea party rhetoric as strident as hers, but had the backing of mega-donors from the state with more Republican money than any other outside California.
That governor, who was thought to be his leading conservative opponent, turned out to have spent about as much time preparing for the campaign as my students spend preparing for pop quizzes.
When the governor’s lack of preparation became obvious, he was replaced briefly as the national frontrunner by a former pizza executive who made the governor look like Thomas Jefferson.
Read the rest of… Jeff Smith: Is Romney the GOP Nominee?
By Zack Adams, RP Staff, on Thu Feb 2, 2012 at 3:00 PM ET
The Politics of Tech
If you have not yet heard, the file sharing site MegaUpload has been taken down by the FBI. Seems like they didn’t need SOPA and/or PIPA after all. [TechCrunch]
Users of MegaUpload are planning on suing the FBI as the feds are planning on deleting all the data associated with the file sharing practices of the website. [TorrentFreak]
Universal Music Group has abused Youtube video takedown powers because it seemingly stopped a rap group from uploading its own songs. [The Hollywood Reporter]
Neil Young has waded into the piracy debate stating “Piracy is the new radio.” [The Verge]
Here is a pretty interesting report that includes that IM chat of Mark Zuckerberg in which he hashes out his ideas for Facebook. It’s amazing that this was only in 2003. [Business Insider]
Finally, a cool article on why e-books cost what they do. [MSN Money]
By John Y. Brown III, on Thu Feb 2, 2012 at 12:00 PM ET
Thought for the day.
This comes from a story I’ve retold many times. It’s a good story and may or may not be true. I just can’t recall clearly. But it’s plausible it happened the way I recall.
But, as the saying goes, “Never let the truth get in the way of a good story.”
So, here goes…
When I was a boy I collected baseball cards. The cards had quotes by the players on the back. My favorite was a quote be Bill ‘Spaceman’ Lee, outspoken and colorful pitcher for the Boston Red Sox. Lee was quoted as saying,
“Sometimes I pitch myself down 3 balls and no strikes, just to make it interesting.”
I was fascinated by that quote. I loved it and saw something in it that was profound–yet funny.
Do you do this in your life? Out of boredom, create a difficult situation you must extricate yourself from–just to “make it interesting?” Just for the adrenaline rush?
I have to admit I do on occasion. And I regret it…and am going to try not to do that today.
Blog this!
