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:
As the nation celebrates the miraculous recovery of Congresswoman Gabrielle “Gabby” Giffords, who was grievously wounded just over a year ago — and who has decided to retire from Congress today — The RP spoke to the Washington Times about Gabby’s legacy:
For Ms. Giffords, civility had been an issue well before the shooting.
Even before she won her seat in Congress, she was part of the inaugural class of the Aspen Institute’s leadership program, designed to foster better sharing and cooperation on ideas among elected officials.
One of her fellow classmates was Jonathan Miller, then the treasurer of Kentucky, who would go on to co-found No Labels, a group that pushes elected officials to move past partisanship and who said Ms. Giffords has become a symbol of “a return to civility and a return to developing relationships.”
“That’s what Gabby’s career is all about,” he said.
His group and Third Way, a progressive-leaning think tank, want to institutionalize the bipartisan State of the Union seating, which Third Way and some lawmakers came up with in the wake of the Tucson shooting.
“There was that very temporary surge [in civility], and it was quickly forgotten it seems,” Mr. Miller said. “But I think in that temporary surge there were a number of efforts that got their germination, including No Labels, that really have picked up a lot of steam and a lot of energy.”
The RP additionally was quoted yesterday in the National Journalon last night’s bi-partisan seating at the State of the Union address, also a legacy of Giffords’ service:
Part of the push for bipartisan seating comes from independent groups like Third Way and No Labels, which took out a full-page ad in the New York Times earlier this month. But are they really expecting Republicans and Democrats sitting next to each other to solve partisan gridlock?
Last year’s State of the Union included bipartisan seating in response to the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.). But that didn’t exactly lay the groundwork for a productive and cooperative 2011.
“It won’t have any dramatic short-term effect,” admitted Jonathan Miller, a co-founder of No Labels and the former treasurer of Kentucky.
But, Miller said, if bipartisan seating gets institutionalized, it could make a difference. And he said that “it’s a signal to the public that [lawmakers] are taking their demand for less hyper-partisanship seriously.”
No Labels has also been tracking the announced bipartisan seating pairs.
Thank you very much for all of your responses to my first update from New Hampshire. I will eat crow and admit I was too quick to anoint Romney the GOP nominee, but then again, most did. Now, with no clear front runner, we’ve finally got some real excitement on our hands. Sitting on a train to Washington, DC from where I’ll leave for Florida tomorrow, I wanted to send out a few thoughts post-South Carolina and pre-Sunshine State.
-Everything changed in Myrtle Beach last Monday night. Sitting in the debate hall that night felt like being at the Palestra for a Penn-Villanova basketball game back when both teams consistently won games. The seating arrangement made for an interesting dynamic — the back risers were like the bleachers at Yankee Stadium, and the front seats were like the corporate boxes. You heard golf claps from the front, and booing, jeering, and hissing from the back. But when Newt Gingrich hit back at moderator Juan Williams’ race-baiting, suggesting young people get a job to learn the value of a hard-earned dollar, both sections erupted. Until that night in South Carolina, there had not been a standing ovation at a debate since 1980. And that standing ovation, well-deserved or not, lit the fire under Gingrich that he hasn’t felt since December. Something I found fascinating that wasn’t shown on TV was the candidates’ interactions during the commercial breaks. Santorum, Gingrich, Paul, and Perry (still a candidate at the time) would hurry down into the audience to glad-hand, take pictures, and chat with supporters. Mitt Romney didn’t follow suit. Instead, he walked off the stage and stopped at the bottom of the steps, where his wife Ann quickly met him. Romney spoke to nobody but her during the break, effectively cordoning himself off from anybody who wanted to shake his hand and say “Go get ’em.” His seclusion during those five minute breaks was a microcosm of his interactions with the voters during this election cycle — disinterested, unengaged, and lacking energy.
By Robert Kahne, RP Staff, on Tue Jan 24, 2012 at 3:00 PM ET
Sundance Film Festival is going on AS YOU READ THIS. /Film has been killing it with the coverage. I’m linking their front page, as there will be plenty of stuff for you to read there. I seriously might as well just shut the post down after this one link, this is plenty to read. [/Film]
This isn’t really about film, but the BBC television program Sherlock is perhaps the greatest item which involves film being made right now. Anyone who has managed to keep up with the show (its only out in Britain right now) is surely wondering about the possibility of a third season. I am happy to report that it will happen. And the two main guys will be back! [Deadline]
They are making a film about Linda Lovelace, the porn actress-turned-anti-porn-vigilante. (Surely porn will make it into one of these debates Jonathan is keen on soon, right?) Amanda Seyfried is playing Linda Lovelace, and there are now some pictures of that happening. [Movie Blog]
Spike Lee is making waves at Sundance with comments regarding the lack of diversity in cinema. I have to say, I agree with him. [WaPo]
By Stephanie Doctrow, RP Staff, on Tue Jan 24, 2012 at 1:30 PM ET
It looks like there’s hope for the media after all. New data reveals that sales for tablet computers and e-readers were up this holiday season. [NY Times]
More news in the U.K. phone hacking scandal. News International is now facing an FBI investigation after it was discovered that the organization was hacking actor Jude Law’s phone while he was on United States soil. [The Telegraph]
Spin magazine tries something a little different: reviewing music through Twitter. [AdWeek]
Some moviegoers in Liverpool are asking for refunds for The Artist, an awards season frontrunner, because they didn’t realize it would be a silent film. [Time]
The Poynter Institute analyzes the Twitter coverage surrounding Joe Paterno’s death. [Poynter Institute]
By John Y. Brown III, on Tue Jan 24, 2012 at 12:00 PM ET
Desire for Self improvement fades with age.
Maybe completely.
Younger version of me: Was obsessively trying to improve myself.
I used to spend a lot of time trying to pinpoint faults, flaws and quirks in my personality and try to correct them. I’d scan the Web reading up on a variety of mild but annoying maladaptive behaviors, take online tests, reading up on how to eliminate such unwanted traits and try to seek to remove them from my personality. And often having some success.
Older version of me (now): It’s hard to describe but basically I don’t …… I dunno know….really care much anymore about self-improvement.
I am still all for improving myself but only if it doesn’t take any real effort or concentration.
If I identify some weakness, bad habit or maladaptive behavior, it’s not from taking an online quiz. I tried recently and didn’t even finish reading question #2 before quitting and mumbling to myself, “Really?! You really want to do this now?”
And if I do become convinced I have some undesireable traits, instead of working mightily to be rid of them, I find myself saying things like, “It’s all good.” What does that even mean? I think it means, “I’m too lazy to do anything about whatever you’re complaining about. Here’s a quarter. Call someone who cares. I’m cool with my little quirks.”
And get this! A younger friend asked me about a bad habit he had to give up and asked me what would I do. I gave it about 2 seconds of thought and said, quite seriously, “Instead of fighting it….or trying to “stop” doing it, why don’t you try ’embracing it.” I was serious.
I wish I cared enough about self-improvement to finish this paragraph on an interesting and perceptive note, but I really don’t.
By Jonathan Miller, on Tue Jan 24, 2012 at 11:45 AM ET
Kudos to LEO Weekly News (Louisville) political reporter Joe Sonka for the headline on his story of U.S. Senator Rand Paul’s encounter yesterday with the TSA: “The Glitch Set Me Up!”
For those of you too young to get the pun, click here.
Blog this!
