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:
That’s the crew here at The Recovering Politician taking a deep breath after surviving an intense and unprecedented 36 hours or so.
Surviving, because the little essay written by Jeff Smith — on the subject of love behind bars — went, as the kids say, “viral.” Tens of thousands of readers came to the site for the first time. Thanks to the incredible support of our volunteer IT wunderkind, Justin Burnette, we limited the off-line time and have expanded our ability to enable more readers to come to our site and enjoy the experience in the future.
We deeply apologize to those of you who had troubles the past few days accessing the site, but we hope we’ve made it up to our loyal readers by developing an even stronger technological infrastructure for the future.
And for all of the newest members of the RP Nation, welcome. We hope you enjoy the ride.
The presence of fraternities and sororities on college campuses is a distinctive element seen at a variety of schools in America. What is the greek system all about? Why should you join one? [Petersons]
Greek life can vary widely in the type of presence it holds on campus, in which kinds of students join and in what the houses as a whole focus on (community service, parties, academics). There are many ranking lists of which universities have the “best” greek life. Consider one of the more comprehensive options here. [College Prowler]
Greek life has an impressive presence in our country’s history. Some interesting facts include that since the founding of the first fraternity, all but three presidents and two vice presidents have been fraternity men. Also, 85% of Fortune 500 company executives are greek. Read here for other interesting statistics. [UW Greek]
Despite the many positive benefits that Greek organizations can provide, the primary negative attribute associated with them is hazing. Throughout the past few decades, there have been intermittent stories of aggressive hazing techniques that have gone as far as leading to deaths of chapter members. Although it is not certain whether these practices are truly widespread, the instances which the media has picked up on clearly indicate some amount of excessive hazing is occurring. Anti-hazing rules have been instituted across the country, but it is difficult to measure how effective these actually are. Certain schools, such as Cornell, are now taking more extreme stances against hazing in the hopes of eradicating the practice once and for all. Read an article here written by the university’s president. [NYTimes]
While hazing has traditionally been associated with fraternities, a light is now being cast upon sororities. While the types of hazing are distinct from those experienced by fraternity men, they are troublesome nonetheless. Read about some experiences that have been documented in recent years. [ABC News]
As New Year’s Resolution Week continues at The Recovering Politician, The RP himself cross-posted his own pledges and promises at The Huffington Post.
As a recovering politician (6 months, clean and sober!), the RP has a lot of atoning to do. So in the spirit of the season, he offers his own half-Letterman list of New Year’s resolutions.
Click here to read “The New Year’s Resolutions of a Recovering Politician” at The Huffington Post.
By Sandra Moon, RP Staff, on Tue Oct 4, 2011 at 1:30 PM ET
My New Year’s Resolution is to embrace evangelism.
Shanah Tovah. I’ve been on the RP’s staff since the website’s launch, but this is the first long piece I’ve written for this site. I usually stick to short blurbs in the Weekly Web Gems on Faith and Food. In order to understand my New Year’s resolution, you need to know a little about me. I’m a progressive/liberal Christian, and a candidate for ordination in the Presbyterian Church (USA). I’m a person of deep faith who tries to respect the religious views of all people, but since I’m only human, I inevitably respect some religious view more than others. Many mainline Protestants, myself included, shy away from traditional evangelism. I don’t like to push my beliefs onto others. To me, the “E” word sparks images of angry Christians clad in sandwich boards with megaphones in hand, yelling at others about their sinful ways. Telling people that they are damned is contrary to my faith convictions and theological understanding of the Holy. That being said, this past week, I irreverently used evangelism as a weapon against a con artist, and the result was both bizarre and amazing. The lesson I learned is that while I will never agree with the evangelist I meet on a street corner, there may be some value in daring to share my beliefs with others.
One day last week, a man who went by “Tom” called the office where I work, stating that one of our employees owed his company money. We quickly became aware that Tom was nothing more than a con artist working a scam. Tom began calling our office incessantly, often becoming very profane and vulgar on the phone. He eventually told us that he would not stop calling until we sent him money. For two days, the phone calls continued, which interrupted our work and tied up our phone lines. While we tried to remain professional by simply hanging up, our patience eventually waned and we began return insult with insult. Near the end of the second workday, we came to the realization that nothing we were doing was working. To no successful end, we filed a police report and tried to get the number blocked. What we needed was an immediate solution because he was driving us crazy. We were getting desperate, so I told my co-workers to let me answer the phone and try something out. Since evangelical fundamentalists tend to grate on my nerves, I decided to try out my acting skills and take-on that role in hopes that Tom would get so annoyed that he would hang up on me, and never call back. I knew it was a long shot, but since no there were no better ideas, I went with it.
The next time Tom called, I answered, and my religious irreverence went something like this (in a loud, preacher-like voice): “Hi, is this Tom? I am so glad that you called. I’m extremely worried about your soul. I worry that if you continue on your dishonest path, you are headed towards eternal damnation. I believe that your phone calls are actually a gift from God because I now have the opportunity to save a soul.”
No, I didn’t really believe in anything that I told him, and he saw right through my plan. We were now at war. Who could outlast the other? Who would hang up the phone first? I persisted on by reading him passages from the Bible, praying for him enthusiasticall and asking him to give his life to God.
About 30 minutes into my extreme evangelism, however, something happened and things got real. I told him that he was obviously a hard-working determined person, and that he should use those God-given talents for good, rather than to steal money from others. I told him that I understand that he needs to make money to meet his basic needs, but that there were other, honest ways to do so. Tom responded by telling me about his childhood—his parents died when he was young, so he’s had to do whatever he could to feed himself. He asked me if I sincerely thought he could lead a different life. He asked me if I really thought there was a God who loved him. I had not expected our conversation to take such a turn. Luckily my seminary training came in handy and I was able to transition from my mocking tone to one of pastoral counselor. Yes, no matter how much this man had angered and harrassed me and my co-workers, I believe in a God of grace and love, and Tom too was a beloved child of God. Tom and I spoke for another 30 minutes, and I shared my faith convictions with him in a real way. At the end of our conversation, Tom apologized for all the hurtful things he has said to all of us in the office. Tom also thanked me—he said that no one in his life had ever spoken to him so kindly. I have to admit that I felt some guilt since my initial purpose in answering his phone call was to use religion as a weapon to get him to stop calling. In the end, I got what I wanted. Tom hung up the phone. He didn’t hang up out of annoyance as I had originally planned. He apologized again for what he had done. I told him that I forgave him and I wished him happiness in life, then we both said goodbye. We received no more calls from Tom.
My experience with Tom was the motivation behind my New Year’s resolution. Evangelism as a weapon may be effective to annoy con artists. Embracing an evangelism based in sharing genuine faith convictions, however, may be a way to offer hope to those who need it most.
This may be the most underrated place at which one may be naturalized as a United States citizen. [The Republic]
Have a few spare years? Check out the tax code. Have a few spare minutes? Call your Congressman and Senators and tell them to rewrite it. [US Government]
As Syracuse and Pitt bolt the Big East for the ACC, loyalty rues the day. Liberty – and university coffers – rejoice. [ESPN]
While lower forms of culture (and alleged outbursts of “humor”) are my forté; today, I will try to educate, inspire, and lift the RP Nation up out of the penis-joke muck by offering some high-brow pontification. So with nose raised high, hand firmly patting own back, and notifications sent to all of those whom I desperately am trying to impress with my erudition, I hereby and heretofore offer my list of the Top Five Art Museums to Place on Your Bucket List:
HONORABLE MENTION: The Tuska Museum, Lexington, KY
OK, it would be slightly disingenuous of me to lump this local fare into a group so rich in prestige and historic import. But as a disproportionate percentage of the RP Nation hails within driving distance of my hometown, I use this opportunity to strongly prod my neighbors into visiting this superb hidden local treasure. The Tuska Museum, a tribute to the life and art of John Tuska, Kentucky’s most celebrated 20th Century artist — housed within the late sculptor’s former off-campus home — features many of the legend’s greatest works. Tuska vividly captures the human condition through his exquisite draftsmanship, solemn paintings, and, most famously, extraordinary sculptures — in bronze, ceramic and paper. Check out the permanent collection here and sign up today for a guided tour, performed with great love and passion by the artist’s son, Seth.
OK…back to our shew…
5. The Picasso Museum, Paris
A few years ago, Mrs. RP and I were wandering through the shops, synagogues, and kosher restaurants of Paris’ Marais District, the heart of France’s Jewish community, when we stumbled upon the under-advertised tribute to the greatest artist of the 20th Century. La Musée National Picasso features the late Spaniard’s personal collection of nearly 3000 of his own beloved works, as well as his collection of other great artists, such as Cézanne, Degas, Rousseau, Seurat, de Chirico and Matisse. The gallery is housed in a building that itself is worth espying: The Hôtel Salé, is a 17th century architectural masterpiece. Of course, you are going to have to wait a little bit to check this museum off your bucket list: It is currently closed for renovations, and will re-open in the spring of 2013. So order your plane tickets early!
4. Vatican Museums/Sistene Chapel, Rome
The tour guides around Rome can only agree on one thing: Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is a d-bag. But they fiercely debate the value of the Catholic Church’s historical impact on the world of art and architecture. The guides at the Collosseum and the Roman Forum decry the Popes of the Middle Ages who robbed these historic sites of the art, architecture and majestic craftsmanship created at the behest of the Roman Emporers. But the Vatican guides ferociously celebrate how the Church maintained and preserved the best of the creativity of the pre-Renaissance Era. What’s indisputable is that in order to experience the greatest art of that age — and the greatest religious art of any era — you’ve got to head to the Vatican Museums. You are undoubtedly familiar with the Sistene Chapel’s iconic ceiling, painted laboriously for years by prone Michaelangelo — and you’ve got to experience the entirely sublime head-craning spectacle — but the Museum (and the Chapel itself) have so much more to offer. And don’t neglect to stay for a tour of St. Peter’s Basilica, the largest, most ornate, and most visually spectacular church you will ever visit. Just make sure to wear comfortable shoes on the most cobblestone roads and floors. I learned that one the hard way. Ouch!
3. Museum of Modern Art (MOMA), New York
Good news: You don’t have to travel halfway around the world to experience one of the world’s greatest art musuems. In fact, in my not-so-humble opinion, the MOMA features the world’s most spectacular collection of 19th and 20th Century artwork. Whenever I can squeeze a few hours out of a business trip to the Big Apple, I wander through the permanent collection on the fifth floor and give greetings to Van Gogh’s Starry Night and Chagall’s I and the Village and Rousseau’s Dream and Warhol’s Campbell Soup Cans and Cezanne’s Bather and Monet’s Water Lillies and Jasper Johns’ Flag and…and..and… The special exhibitions are always worth checking out as well, as MOMA works hard to include all of the visual arts, from film to electronic media, to architecture, to photography…the list goes on and on. If you are new to the world of art, this is a great starter museum — many works that you’ve seen via the pop culture — even if you can’t exactly explain them — surrounded by hundreds of other incredible works that will expand and fortify your art cred. And you don’t have to take six or seven planes to get back home.
Read the rest of… The RP’s Top Five Art Museums to Place on Your Bucket List
By Kristen Hamilton, RP Staff, on Tue Oct 4, 2011 at 10:00 AM ET
At 21-years-old, I am the proud owner of a Chanel bag. What is even more special is that I bought in Paris: the city of lights, the city of fashion, the city of love. If you don’t understand the significance of that, then we may just have a problem. There is something special about buying a Chanel in Paris. Maybe its because Coco Chanel once called Paris home or maybe it is just the city itself. Whatever it is, buying a Chanel in Paris is considered one of the ultimate fashion experiences that one can have, and at 21, I was able to live out my wildest dreams.
Read the rest of… The Politics of Fashion: Chanel at 21?
Last weekend, a horde of dignitaries and operatives gathered in Little Rock to mark the twentieth anniversary of Bill Clinton’s entry into the 1992 presidential race. The affair, which in substance and tone easily could have been dubbed “the Making of the Last Successful President”, will contribute to the wave of Clinton nostalgia that is alive in the Democratic Party. And well it should: the Clinton saga is one of triumph on multiple levels, from a victory that broke the Republican hold on the electoral college map, to a presidency that recharged the economy, balanced the budget, faced down Serbian genocide, and ended with a 65% approval rating.
All of this is still sensitive, touchy territory in some Democratic circles. The left of the party has not forgiven the deregulation of Wall Street or the retreat on health-care reform that happened on Clinton’s watch; Rachel Maddow’s jibe that Clinton was “the last great Republican president” resonated with the ideological rivals in his own party that Clinton thrashed but left embittered. And then there is the Barack Obama/Bill Clinton interpersonal dynamic, a dance laced with ambiguity, the mutual wariness of two self-made men with a strong sense of their own gifts. Sometimes, the tension spills into plain view. Clintonistas recall the pointed barbs—candidate Obama’s unfavorable comparisons of the “transformative” powers of the Reagan and Clinton presidencies—and the more subtle intimations. If you saw the glare in Obama’s eyes when Clinton stole the show at their White House press avail last December, you know what I mean.
How this story ends is indeterminate, and even when the political book is closed, historians will still pick over the bones. But it is undeniable that Obama’s presidency is at its lowest ebb, stymied in Congress and stuck around 40 percent in the polls. It is worthwhile, therefore, to reflect on exactly how Clinton wore down a Republican opposition that was as fierce and contemptuous as anything Obama has faced, and how he regained the center of the debate both substantively and politically—two events that have heretofore eluded his Democratic successor.
I have a theory that the most discernible distinction in the Clinton and Obama mode of leadership is rooted in their respective paths to the presidency. Clinton rose to power in Arkansas, a conservative state trending toward Republicans, and his survival depended on convincing a trove of Reagan and Nixon voters that he was neither the spend-thrift nor the permissive cultural elitist that they generally believed national Democrats to be. Obama climbed the ranks in Illinois, a state with a progressive tradition moving inexorably toward Democrats, and his ascension required him, principally, to win over liberal leaning primary voters. Clinton, on one hand, lost a statewide race to Republicans, and came uncomfortably close to losing another in his last campaign in Arkansas. Obama, in turn, lost one intra-party primary that nearly wrecked his career but was not even grazed in winning a laugher over a hapless Republican in 2004.
Read the rest of… Artur Davis: What Bill Clinton Left Behind
Blog this!
Have a few spare years? Check out the tax code. Have a few spare minutes? Call your Congressman and Senators and tell them to rewrite it. 
