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 Wed Nov 16, 2011 at 12:00 PM ET
JERUSALEM: My people — the Jewish people — have the reputation of being both opinionated and cantankerous. Israel’s founding father, David Ben-Gurion, once remarked that “for every two Jews, there are three opinions.” When his successor as Prime Minister, Golda Meir, was confronted by President Lyndon Johnson — who complained that he had to satisfy 150 million voters — Meir responded that she had to placate two million prime ministers.
How is this consensus possible? Upon first glance, the trade seemed highly imbalanced and unfair. And many analysts have complained that such a deal only encourages further hostage taking. Remember the maxim, “Never negotiate with terrorists”?
Yesterday in Jerusalem, I learned the powerful lesson why.
The first clue came in a visit to an Immigration Absorption Center in the Jerusalem suburbs. I had the extraordinary opportunity to meet with dozens of recent immigrants from Ethiopia, a small representation of the more than 120,000 Ethiopian Jews who have emigrated to Israel in recent decades, most dramatically in two covert military operations, Operation Moses (1984) and Operation Solomon (1991). With their lives in danger due to famine and political unrest, thousands upon thousands were airlifted to Israel to enable them to begin their lives anew, free to worship their God. And in the intervening decades, Israel has spent many millions of dollars to educate, feed, clothe, shelter and prepare these immigrants for modern life.
Read the rest of… The RP: Why did Israel Trade 1000 Prisoners for Galid Shalit? I Learned the Powerful Answer in Jerusalem
Our own contributing RP, Jeff Smith, once again is hitting the international public airwaves, the subject of a lengthy interview on National Public Radio on his jail experience and recovery.
Collegiate athletics have an enormous presence on many college campuses across the country, and the effect continues to grow annually. See here for a list of the “Elite 50” schools, or those that rank the highest when considering both US News’ Ranking and the number of Top-15 Ranked Sports. [Stack]
College football remains a point of avid interest for many citizens across the country. Which team can claim it has the biggest fan base? Where do they live? How does that make sense? [NYTimes]
Despite the great strides that have been made for women in college athletics, there has been extensive maneuvering around equality laws. One is example is Title IX, which made discrimination against women in any aspect of education illegal. Some colleges have attempted to meet the bare minimum laid out by this law, while really maintaining their focus on male athletes. [NYTimes]
The differences between men and women’s college athletics is staggering, primarily as a result of men’s football and basketball teams. In particular, large disparities are seen between both men’s athletic expenses and revenues and women’s. [Matlab Geeks]
By Stephanie Doctrow, RP Staff, on Tue Nov 15, 2011 at 1:30 PM ET
Two media legends in one article? Jerry Seinfield interviews Regis Philbin as the morning host nears retirement. [Newsweek]
Here’s a surefire sign newspapers aren’t what they used to be. As less people are subscribing to newspapers, more resources are being put into the publications’ Sunday editions. [Poynter Institute]
Did CBS give Michele Bachmann the short end of the stick in last week’s Republican presidential debate in South Carolina? She seems to think so. [CNN]
Speaking of CBS, the network is revitalizing their morning Early Show program… with Gayle King and Charlie Rose? [NY Magazine]
New findings from the Pew Research Center shows that mainstream news outlets are using Twitter… to promote their own content, and not to interact with readers. [Pew Research Center]
By Jonathan Miller, on Tue Nov 15, 2011 at 12:30 PM ET
I'm placing a written within the cracks of Jerusalem's Wailing Wall, a centuries-old tradition
Meandering yesterday through the cobblestone streets of Jerusalem’s Old City brought back some poignant memories of my first trip to the Jewish homeland — a precocious and often obnoxious 11-year-old — traveling on a community family mission in 1978.
I most vividly remember the reaction of many Israelis to my yarmulke (skull cap) — specifically the stitching of my first name translated into Hebrew: Yonatan.
They’d flash a proud smile, point to my head, and shout “gibor,” the Hebrew word for hero.
After some initial confusion — I couldn’t figure out why so many Israelis knew about my junior tennis exploits — I learned that I wasn’t the subject of their compliments.
Instead, it was my fellow Yonatan, Jonathan Netanyahu, who two years earlier had led the successful Raid on Entebbe, a hostage rescue mission at the Entebbe Airport in Uganada, in which all 102 hostages were rescued unharmed. Indeed, the only casualty of the mission was Netanyahu himself.
It was a great time to be a Yonatan. And I would never forget the surname.
A few decades later, I became aware of a new Netanyahu. Yonatan’s baby brother, Benjamin — better known to Israelis as “Bibi” — made a dramatic splash on the international stage in the mid-1980s, as Israel’s representative to the United Nations.
Of course, I was intrigued. Bibi was smooth, polished, charismatic, and spoke the best American-ized English I’d ever heard from a native Israeli. I was proud to be connected to him; even though the association was mostly in my imagination.
But then came the bad news. Bibi was a card-carrying member of the Likud party, the dreaded right-wing of Israeli politics. A proud, progressive Democrat, I couldn’t associate myself with the Israeli GOP equivalent. And when Bibi’s first foray as Israel’s Prime Minister in the 1990s concluded unsuccessfully — and his personal reputation grew more controversial — my heart hardened further; the Entebbe narrative dissipated further into childhood fantasy.
As Newt Gingrich rises in the polls, you may want to read “Protecting Life and Religious Liberty” platform. I don’t really see anything new…have all the issues in this category been tapped out? [Newt.org]
Here is a speech on liberty given by Abraham Lincoln in Baltimore on April 18, 1864. Read a few lines of the speech and then close your eyes and think of Lincoln. When I do that, I can see the gears churning in our beloved Abe’s head. [Lincoln in 1864]
By Patrick Derocher, on Tue Nov 15, 2011 at 12:00 PM ET
Rick Perry’s debate performance up until that point was not horrible. Every candidate has lapses at some point, its human. However, the fact that Perry has been bad in earlier debates and the fact that he forgot the Department of Energy puts his White House viability on life support. Throughout the campaign the governor has championed what he has done with energy issues in Texas. This is why the lapse is even more troubling. At this point of the primary race, Perry needs to put most of his emphasis and resources on Iowa. He has the money and organization to stay in the race for the time-being, but this misstep could and probably will prove to be the knockout punch for Perry 2012.
By Kristen Hamilton, RP Staff, on Tue Nov 15, 2011 at 10:00 AM ET
Politics of Fashion
BREAKING NEWS: Two days ago, Gwen Stefani’s Harajuku Mini Collection debuted at Target. Check out the whimsical commercial that will be sure to have your kids wanting to rock Target’s latest collection: [Racked]
In case you are in need of a good laugh, check out this video of Snooki debuting her goodies on HSN – you know you want to! [The Cut]
While some may say that repeating an outfit is a fashion faux pas, especially if one is in the public eye, First Lady Michelle Obama does so anyway (flawlessly, might I add)! [The Cut]
Did you miss Versace and H&M’s runway show or the Victoria Secret Angel’s show? Check out FabSugar’s fashion recap! [FabSugar]
Walmart may have to forego the store’s fashion endeavors, because frankly, it just ain’t working. [Daily Finance]
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