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:
1) to put it diplomatically, has traditional views on gender relationships, and earlier vaulted to frontrunner status a woman who advised other women to “submit” to their husbands;
2) finds any item about a conservative politician originating in the MSM to be dubious; and
3) has appeared to penalize candidates only when they do or say anything that receives MSM plaudits (i.e., Perry’s position on in-state college tuition for immigrants, almost anything Huntsman has said), I’m not so sure this episode hurts Cain.
That doesn’t mean I think he’ll get the nomination. At some point, common sense will prevail.
By Zack Adams, RP Staff, on Thu Nov 3, 2011 at 3:00 PM ET
The Politics of Tech
Could the Blacklist Bill effectively kill user-generated content on the Internet? If so, would Twitter, Youtube, and similar sites die? [Demand Progress]
There is also the Stop Online Piracy Act, as “Congress has declared war on the Internet.” [gigaom]
One more – this one is called the E-PARASITES Act (renamed from the PROTECT IP Act). Ugh. [Tech Dirt]
There is a White House petition to stop the E-PARASITE Act. Check it out and sign it if you agree with its goal. [WhiteHouse.gov]
Google was asked by a U.S. law enforcement agency to remove a video of police brutality from its search results. Google refused. Put one in the win column for the good guys. [Huffington Post]
On a lighter note – Heads-up navigation display for cars. Yes please! [PHYSORG]
A few of our very thoughtful readers have shared their insights on the David Williams/Hindu comments controversy covered here at The Recovering Politician. Please read below.
From Jack Burch, in his personal — not professional — capacity, submitted to the Lexington Herald-Leader:
What part of the word “respect” does Senate President and gubernatorial
candidate David Williams not understand? His attack on the participation by the Governor and Elizabethtown Mayor in the dedication of a new manufacturing plant by an Indian company was mean-spirited, disrespectful of the faith of a company and people creating jobs for Kentuckians, and, a blatant disregard for one of the most fundamental principles our nation’s founders adopted when creating a secular government.
Read the rest of… More on the Williams Controversy from the RP Nation
By Jonathan Miller, on Thu Nov 3, 2011 at 12:30 PM ET
As I travel across the country on business, I’m constantly asked what my much-smarter and much-more-popular sister, Jennifer Miller, is up to.
Of Jennifer’s many projects, one is soon coming to fruition. Over the past year, she served as Co-Producer for “Hitting the Cycle,” a baseball-themed film that was written and directed by her high school classmate Richey Nash, and co-starring the legendary Bruce Dern.
I’m excited to report that the film’s trailer has just been released. Watch it below and let me know what you think:
The RP strongly supports efforts to protect all of our children from bullying. Accordingly, he is highlighting his anti-bullying efforts this month at The Recovering Politician through the ad banner to the right and a series of articles. Our first piece below comes from the leader of the RP’s hometown fairness organization. Links to local and national anti-bullying campaigns are posted below.
If you’d like to share your thoughts and/or personal stories for publication this month, please send them (500-1500 words) to staff@therecoveringpolitician.com- RP Staff
With hard decisions to be made in each of our lives, the ability to provide support to others becomes difficult. Our nonprofit organizations are suffering due to reductions in philanthropic giving. However, the need of those who depend on their services continues to increase. There are few nonprofits basking in the glow of unlimited donations; my organization, Lexington Fairness, is no different.
Our outreach involves a commitment to preventing bullying in our schools. It has become clear youth bullying is directly affecting not only the ability to learn, but the emotional and physical well being of our students. Although this problem is not new, recent media coverage exposes the impact school bullying has on children. Too many students, especially lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) students, live in fear of taunt, harassment, and physical harm while attending school.
According to the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network’s (GLSEN) 2009 National Climate Survey, the prevalence of bullying is clear.
85% of students were verbally harassed at school because of their sexual orientation
89% of students heard “gay” used in a negative way frequently or often at school
72% of students heard homophobic remarks frequently or often at school
61% of students felt unsafe at school because of their sexual orientation
When bullying becomes too much to handle, tragic results can occur. According to a 2002 US Secret Service Report, harassment and bullying were linked to 75 percent of school shooting incidents. When bullying becomes too much, some students feel they must end their lives. According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, LGBT students are two to three times more likely to attempt suicide. It is not acceptable to have students turning to suicide as the escape from pain of harassment and abuse by peers.
Read the rest of… Craig Cammack: Support Project Speak Out
For the 27 years of my life, I have been proud to call myself a Kentuckian and a Hindu.
My parents immigrated in 1980, and in a state that had never seen Indians before, it was not the easiest at times. I remember as a first grader in the early 1990s, when other kids foundout I was Indian, they would ask me what tribe, and start dancing around me in a tribal dance, placing their hands over their mouth and chanting the stereotypical Native American songs we had only seen in cartoons. However, if they did assume the right country, the next followup question would be “Do you eat monkey brains like they did in Indiana Jones [And the Temple of Doom]?”
As I became older and India and the Indians in the community became more recognized, I could see the difference. I did not get asked these silly questions anymore. They knew where India was and what I meant when I said I was Indian. These questions lead more into religion by this point when I got older. Thankfully my parents had shared a lot of Hinduism with me as I grew up, so I was no stranger to the topic. As a child we watched the Indian epics of the Ramayana and Mahabharata, which taught principles of Hinduism but also the right moral values we should have. I learned more about Hinduism from the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita, a revered book of the Mahabharata where Lord Krishna speaks to Arjuna to encourage him to fight on the battlefield, which is just a larger metaphor for fighting in the battlefield of life.
Read the rest of… Mona Tailor: A Hindu Kentuckian’s Perspective on Senator Williams’ Comments
By Patrick Derocher, on Thu Nov 3, 2011 at 9:15 AM ET
Puppies! The City of Los Angeles has recently instituted enormous fines for these guys barking excessively in that city.
Okay, maybe not puppies, per se, but the City of Los Angeles has instituted rather steep fines for “excessively barking dogs,” including $250 for a first offense, $500 for a second, and $1,000 for a third. City Prosecutor Dov Lesel defines “excessive” as happening for 10 minutes or more continuously or intermittently for 30 minutes or more during a three-hour period. One wonders how this will change the public relationship so many celebrities have with their small, loud dogs. [AZCentral.com]
By Jonathan Miller, on Thu Nov 3, 2011 at 8:30 AM ET
Yesterday, Jack Brammer, the dean of Kentucky’s political reporters (and one of the nicest guys in Frankfort), revealed GOP gubernatorial nominee David Williams’ “November Surprise”: The Senate President would overcome incumbent Steve Beshear’s 30 point lead in the polls by exposing the Governor’s participation in a traditional Indian ground-blessing ceremony for a new India-owned, 250-American-jobs-creating, manufacturing plant in Elizabethtown, Kentucky.
“He’s there participating with Hindu priests, participating in a religious ceremony,” Williams said during a campaign stop in Shelbyville. “He’s sitting down there with his legs crossed, participating in Hindu prayers with a dot on his forehead with incense burning around him. I don’t know what the man was thinking…If I’m a Christian, I don’t participate in Jewish prayers. I’m glad they do that. I don’t participate in Hindu prayers. I don’t participate in Muslim prayers. I don’t do that…To get down and get involved and participate in prayers to these polytheistic situations, where you have these Hindu gods that they are praying to, doesn’t appear to me to be in line with what a governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky ought to be doing.”
After this coming Tuesday’s election, we will learn if the anti-Hinduism strategy works. If Williams can grasp victory out of an almost-assured landslide defeat, expect a whole new arsenal of Indo-phobic attacks in time for 2012. Consider these questions:
Will old photos of political candidates be scoured for evidence of forehead dots and/or smelled carefully for traces of incense?
Will the birther community find new life by exploring Barack Obama’s exposure to “polytheistic situations” during his childhood years in Indonesia? (Which sounds a whole lot like India, doesn’t it? Well, doesn’t it?)
Will Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” initiative finally be scrutinized for its promotion of yoga poses that reflect the idolatry-minded principles of their Hindu teachers?
And will anybody discover an old Joe Biden quote referring to Ghandi as “articulate and bright but a bit disheveled”?
Blog this!
