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:
Google is just supporting who is in power. There is nothing wrong with supporting Republican members in the House, while at the same time supporting Democrat members in the Senate.
As for 2012, Google is just hedging its bets in the presidential race. They want to be behind the winner no matter who it is. The choice is to donate to both nominees, donate to one candidate, or donate to no one. Most companies will chose the former or the latter in a tight race. Partnering with Fox News on a debate is just a way to expand their brand and hit millions of more people (Republicans) that will be watching these debates. The political pendulum swings back and forth very quick these days.
This is a reality. Google just wants to make sure it is on the right side of the pendulum no matter what happens.
By Stephanie Doctrow, RP Staff, on Wed Sep 21, 2011 at 1:30 PM ET
Why does food look so much tastier when you have an empty stomach? [Time]
New research is helping athletes push it to the limit and beat their own highest racing times. [NY Times]
What makes some people believe they’ve been abducted by aliens? [Psychology Today]
More Americans are taking prescription drugs, meaning that more American children are accidentally overdosing on those medicines. [Wall Street Journal]
The forced weddings and honor killings common in some Middle Eastern countries are reportedly happening in England and the United States as well. [Newsweek]
Its football time!! There are so many of us who were so happy to hear those words a few weeks ago, but could they be detrimental to relationships? Does the amount of time men spend obsessing over their beloved teams have a damaging effect on their relationships? [US News Health]
We’ve all heard of gold diggers. Check out these D list celebrities that have used relationships to boost their reputations. [Huffington Post]
Hooking up is the slang term the younger generations use to describe more non-committal sexual encounters that occur outside of relationships. This is a generation in which sex is viewed as a much more casual than it had been in their parents’ generations, but just how prevalent is hooking up on college campuses? It may not occur as often as people think, especially the college students themselves. [Science Daily]
Could a relatively new form of birth control lower the risk of cervical cancer? [Chicago Tribune]
The moment you step onto a college campus, everyone around you is speaking a foreign language, namely college lingo. To begin bridging the gap between the outside world and college, here is an extensive “dictionary” explaining some of these strange new words that all college students are expected to know. [Her Campus]
Although those of us who are in the middle of our college days do not think twice about the details of weekend socializing, the different types of parties are not as clear to most. What do you wear? What does that theme even mean? Is there social etiquette that I may not know about? A brief 411 on college parties. [College Freshman.com]
Who says college students don’t want the dirty details too? These college newspapers do not hesitate in telling the truth in order to keep their student bodies well informed, earning them titles as “The Gutsiest Campus Newspapers of 2011.” [Mother Jones]
Are college students really incapable of operating without technology? The extensive incorporation of Facebook, Twitter, tablets and other technological advances into the classroom has resulted in new methods of reading, studying and contacting teachers. Make sure to check out the image at the bottom for interesting statistics (Who knew 70 percent of students now take notes on their computers? And 38 percent of students claim they cannot go for more than ten minutes without using an electronic!) [Media Bistro]
By Jonathan Miller, on Wed Sep 21, 2011 at 8:30 AM ET
For my column this week in The Huffington Post, I draw upon a seminal childhood memory — sparked by my recent trip to Europe — to comment on a subject of great personal and religious import: the security and survival of the State of Israel.
I also offer President Obama some advice on how to address President Mahmoud Abbas’ current efforts to force a United Nations vote on Palestinian statehood.
Here’s an excerpt:
As I gaze out my airplane’s window, across the runway of Munich’s International Airport, I flash back to my childhood, and am reminded of what truly is at stake today for my ancestral homeland of Israel.
Early memories can leave indelible marks. My teenage daughters, and many of their generation, will forever be influenced by the events of 9-11. Younger Boomers found their worldviews permanently transformed by the assassinations of the sixties, of Kennedys and King.
My seminal memory is of the 1972 tragedy that transpired on another runway in Munich. The halcyon harmony of the Olympic Village was ravaged by hooded terrorists who brutally murdered eleven Israeli athletes — nine of them on a Munich tarmac — through a hail of gunfire and grenades, as a global television audience prayed in vain for their rescue.
The 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich were supposed to be a transcendent moment for the Jewish people: A penitent Germany symbolically renouncing its Nazi past; while a proud American Jew, Mark Spitz, set standards for swimming that were only recently surpassed by Michael Phelps.
Instead, Jews around the world were vividly reminded of the fragility of their newfound security. And a young boy in Lexington, Kentucky began to understand what being Jewish really meant.
By Robert Kahne, RP Staff, on Wed Sep 21, 2011 at 8:30 AM ET
The Politics of Film
Lars Von Trier, director of the upcoming film Melancholia (which looks amazing), has un-apologized for his comments about sympathizing with Nazis. Probably not the best move. [/Film]
Clint Eastwood is directing a movie about J Edgar Hoover, which will star Leonardo DiCaprio as the head spook. There is a trailer for it now. [Guardian]
Netflix is splitting into two companies: Netflix, which will continue to manage their internet streaming service; and Qwikster, which will manage DVD rentals (and will add video game rentals). [Film Junk]
Ryan Gosling has made some great films recently, and is in two films this year which are sure to be hits: Drive and The Ides of March. But, he might hang it up for good after that. [IFC]
If you have never watched Arrested Development, you need to do that. Its a hilarious TV show, and has been floated as a movie for a long time. It looks like it might actually shoot next year. [Forces of Geek]
By Robert Kahne, RP Staff, on Tue Sep 20, 2011 at 3:30 PM ET
The Politics of Hoops
Conference alignment is the news of the week. Here is a great rundown about what the new conferences mean for college basketball. [Rush The Court]
Different coaches had different reactions to the realignment. Jim Boeheim, coach of Syracuse, gave Andy Katz a massive rant about the hypocrisy of such moves, saying: “there are two reasons we are doing this [moving to the ACC]: money and football.” Rick Pitino, coach of of Louisville, was much more introspective–preferring to compare this switch to The Godfather. [Pitino-Deadspin] [Boeheim-The Big Lead]
Mark Cuban, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks, has always been one to voice his opinion. He has a new blog post about being Patriotic. His view: the most patriotic thing you can do is to get obnoxiously rich, then pay lots of taxes and hire people. [blog maverick]
The NBA lockout is still happening. Here is some news about it. [ESPN]
People have speculated that NBA Players don’t have the desire for the lockout to continue for very long, because they need to make more money. Billy Hunter, the NBAPA leader, disagrees. In addition to being well prepared for the lockout, Kobe Bryant has apparently offered to loan players money who need it. Good for him. [USA Today]
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