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 Chris Schulz, RP Staff, on Fri Aug 26, 2011 at 1:30 PM ET
Politics of the Planet
Some FAQ’s about the recent earthquake answered. [cnn.com]
New technology for fishermen can help to protect marine species while at the same time not hampering the fishermen’s ability make a living and put fish on our table. [nytimes.com]
Two interesting maps about the effects of climate change thus far. [latimes.com]
State Fairs across the country typically receive exposure for their unusual, deep-fried and unhealthy meals. Kentucky is one upping every other state by banning bicycles from the fairgrounds. Now you cannot even shed some calories on your ride home after eating the deep-fried Twinkie. [brokensidewalk.com]
We used to start our day in grammar school by standing up, facing the flag, and saying the “Pledge of Allegiance” TOGETHER, IN UNISON. It was a great way to start a day of working together, playing together, and learning together as American children with no hyphenated distinctions separating us.
Contributing RP and former GOP Congressman Sherwood Boehlert was recently interviewed by his local paper about the debt ceiling crisis. Here’s an excerpt:
Former Congressman Sherwood Boehlert didn’t mince words when asked about Congress’ handling of the recent debt crisis.
“I think it was an embarrassment to the country,” he said.
Boehlert, a Republican, retired in 2006 after serving the area for 24 years as a U.S. Representative from New Hartford.
During his time in office, he said, he’d never seen a situation like the possible default that plagued the debating heads of Congress the last few weeks. And, he added, he couldn’t have thought of a worse way to handle it.
“I think it’s an anomaly, and I hope it’s a temporary anomaly,” he said.
After a media uproar, many Members of Congress now are holding meetings and others are complaining that they always intended to. Check out the following story:
All well and good. The problem is that there are doubts about the accuracy of its survey finding that 60 percent of the representatives aren’t holding an open town hall where constituents can come and question them on the issues.
At least that’s the case if Oregon is any indication.
The group claimed that only one of Oregon’s four congressman — Democrat Peter DeFazio — is holding town hall meetings this month. But it doesn’t take much looking to figure out that isn’t the case.
Similarly, Republican Greg Walden, shows on his website that he held a town hall in Heppner on Aug. 11 and “community meetings” in Long Creek the same day and in LaPine on Aug. 10. David Sykes, publisher of the Heppner Gazette-Times said the event in his community was advertised beforehand, and Walden did indeed show up and spoke to about 30 people.
“We wrote a big story about it,” said Sykes.
Democrat Earl Blumenauer is arguably the one Oregon congressman who didn’t hold the kind of town hall that No Labels is looking for. One of his aides, Willie Smith, said Blumenauer did hold an open meeting with residents of the Mirabella retirement community in Southwest Portland as well as local businesspeople in the Multnomah and Sellwood neighborhoods.
Smith said Blumenauer prefers to hold meetings focused on a particular issue instead of general town halls. “Earl doesn’t think they are necessarily productive,” he said, adding that they too often involve “you yell a talking point, I yell a talking point.”
Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore.
Jonathan Miller, a former Kentucky state treasurer and a founder of No Labels, said his group believes the town halls are indeed important for building trust with voters. If nothing else, they show voters that members of Congress are actually working during the August recess.Miller said he was confident of the survey’s overall findings but conceded it could contain some mistakes.
What do you think? Should Congressmen hold town hall meetings, or was last summer’s experience an indication that they no longer serve a useful purpose?
By Zack Adams, RP Staff, on Thu Aug 25, 2011 at 1:30 PM ET
The Politics of Speed
Nissan has run into several problems as the drivers of its trucks and SUVs are reporting transmission failures. [New York Times]
High-MPG SUVs and trucks are the wrong answers to the question of improving fuel economy. At least according to this Prius and Leaf driver. [Huffington Post]
More on the demise of the Mazda RX-8 and the “nice” 2012 Toyota Camry. [Jalopnik]
Here the question is posed: is the Fiat 500 out of Italy New York’s new “It car?” [New York Observer]
It is official that the most expensive car ever sold publicly is a 1957 Ferrari Testa Rossa prototype that sold for $14.9 million on August 20th. [Jalopnik]
When I worked in Industry I was involved in rolling out a Statistical Production Control System for the department I worked in. I was very interested in being involved because, with a modest science background, I have always liked numbers. That overstates it a bit. I like good numbers, accurate numbers, numbers that can be verified. Good solid reliable numbers.
During the rollout of Statistical Production Control System I immediately ran into conflict with some of the management team. They liked charts and graphs. They wanted to see results. They especially wanted to see results that confirmed their preconceived notion of what, both, the problem and the solution was. I thought a better initial method would be to concentrate on getting the best possible data before trying to interpret what it means.
Ignoring the reliability of your input data to arrive at a pre-determined answer can only be done for one of two possible reasons, incompetence, or deception. The first reason speaks for itself and while damaging at least it is not malicious. To falsify science or analysis for your own purposes I think is especially damaging. By using the cover of reason to create perverted results for personal reasons you have not only presented false and misleading solutions but also the entire process of analysis has been badly used.
I was reminded of this when considering what actions an individual could take to try an counter the current political climate of partisan paralysis. I have been thinking how each of us has our own unique worldview, a way that we make sense of the world around us. It is shaped by our life experiences, our faith (or lack thereof), and countless other aspects of how we receive and process information. This is what I call an Ideological Filter. It is how we decide what we agree with, what we support, and how we think the world should work.
Read the rest of… Scott Land: Ideological Filters — Their Correct Use
Some 2012 candidates give out pies. Others label their speech location “the best place in the country”. All of them eat corn dogs and insist they’re not regular politicians. The cheese is getting thick in the presidential campaign.
So this week in on CNN’s “American Sauce” podcast they asked, “Can we take any of these politicians seriously?”
CNN looked to a recovering politician to answer this age-old question. Actually, The Recovering Politician.
By Stephanie Doctrow, RP Staff, on Wed Aug 24, 2011 at 10:00 AM ET
The neglected and often ridiculed Los Angeles River is now open for kayaking and canoeing. Could this be a new beginning for the butt of so many L.A. jokes? [CNN]
Read one reporter’s harrowing journey alongside a prisoner in Guantanamo…and their attempt to leave. [Esquire]
Keep yourself posted on news about Hurricane Irene; emergency officials say the storm could be the first one to seriously threaten the U.S. in three years. [NY Times]
Jaleel White, also known as Urkel, is making a comeback as the stylish star of the Cee Lo music video Cry Baby. [GQ]
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