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 Patrick Derocher, on Tue Aug 2, 2011 at 9:30 AM ET
The surprise return of wounded Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was a high point of yesterday's successful debt ceiling vote in the House.
The Obama-McConnell compromise debt deal passed the House of Representatives, receiving 269 Ayes and 161 Noes. Prior to the Monday evening vote, there were concerns that the bill might not pass in that chamber, given resistance it was encountering from both sides of the aisle. However, a late endorsement by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi helped push it through, with about one-half of Democrats, including Pelosi, Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, and Assistant Minority Leader James Clyburn all voting yes. [CNN]
Additionally, Arizona Democrat Gabrielle Giffords made an unexpected return to the House floor to vote “Aye” on the compromise bill. Representative Giffords has not been to the Capitol since sustaining a gunshot wound to the head in a January shooting in Tucson that left 13 wounded and 6 dead. Ushered in by her husband, astronaut Mark Kelly, and applauded by her colleagues from both sides of the aisle, Giffords was reportedly alert and engaged with her fellow lawmakers, greeting many of them by name. [The Atlantic]
The House of Representatives website has a list of the “Ayes” and “Noes” recorded for the Obama-McConnell debt deal. Those in italics are Democrats, those not are Republicans [House.gov]
Perhaps proving that the deal was passed on the support of relatively moderate (and willing to compromise) member of the House, both far-right and far-left groups have taken issue with the compromise. Right-wing, usually Tea Party-affiliated, groups are complaining that cuts did not go far enough, while left-wing groups such as MoveOn.org have expressed concern that the deal has been made by placing burden on middle-class and elderly Americans. This is in spite of the fact that cuts are set to be completed in November while no cuts have been made in Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid. [Roll Call]
Some are questioning the real power of Tea Party groups in debt negotiations after fully half of the members of the House Tea Party Caucus voted in favor of the Obama-McConnell deal in spite of vows that they would not vote for an increase in the debt ceiling under any circumstances. This comes on the heels of a poll that said that 53% of self-identified Tea Partiers supported a debt deal that included some combination of spending cuts and tax increases. [NY Times]
With the Obama-McConnell compromise bill passed in the House, it now moves on to the Senate, where it is expected to pass, but needs to do so in time to have the bill on President Obama’s desk by the end of Monday to avoid a default. The bill is set to be voted on at around noon, and though it is expected to pass by a wide margin, there needs to be unanimous consent. [NY Times]
Brookings Institution Fellow, former advisor to Bill Clinton, and No Labels Founding Leader Bill Galston has a piece in The New Republic detailing how President Obama could have better handled the budget crisis, including how it could have been avoided and better managed, especially during talks with Speaker Boehner. [The New Republic]
Let’s get the obligatory observations out of the way first: avoiding a default on the debt ceiling was a necessity for an economy that in many respects is already lifeless. That economic reality, and the refusal of House Republicans to budge on their priorities, tied the hands of both President Obama and congressional Democrats.
But politics grades results by who won and who lost, and on that core question, this is not close: The “compromise” reached Sunday night is a full-throated Democratic concession. It is a stunningly good deal for Republicans and the opposite for Barack Obama.
To take inventory, Republicans secured their most cherished priority by averting a rollback of corporate deductions or the expiration of the Bush tax cuts on the wealthy. Ten days ago, one or the other appeared to be within reach of Democratic negotiators. In addition, John Boehner and Mitch McConnell have installed a “trigger” for future cuts that will muddy the Democrats’ message on Medicare.
In fairness, it shouldn’t: There is a vast difference between handing over Medicare to the private insurance market, as all but four House Republicans voted to do earlier this year, and trimming the growth of provider subsidies. But Democrats failed miserably at making that case during the healthcare debate, when cuts to Medicare Advantage subsidies were ruthlessly, and effectively, turned against Democrats and there is no particular reason to think they will do better next year.
Republicans have also stripped Democrats of the additional discretionary spending they need to shore up their domestic priority list, including job training, education, and infrastructure. Nor did Republicans have to make a tradeoff by giving ground on extending unemployment benefits or the payroll tax cuts. It should gall Democrats even more that Republicans have had to pay no political price for their hostility to middle tax class tax relief and extra assistance to the unemployed–both deeply unpopular GOP stances that Democrats have utterly failed to exploit.
Read the rest of… Artur Davis: A Breathtaking Comeback for Conservatism
Another wild, wild day here at The Recovering Politician.
A hearty welcome to all of our new readers from the Show Me State who heard about us from the AP’s story on Rod Jetton, and to all of our neighbors from the Great White North who watched the RP on CTV.
If you are one of the many Americans (or Canadians!) who are disappointed in the final budget deal — or furious that it took so long to be reached — be sure to click here to watch this video. And stay until the last five minutes — I guarantee that Rod Jetton’s imitation of Jeff Smith and Jeff Smith’s imitation of Rod Jetton will give you a laugh. Or three.
By Zack Adams, RP Staff, on Mon Aug 1, 2011 at 3:00 PM ET
The Politics of Tech
Back in May I wrote about the Blackberry Pi, a fully-functioning computer that could fit on a USB stick. Now, developer David Braben has announced that his brainchild will enter alpha production and would cost $25, with the possibility of $35 model. How exciting! [Geek.com]
In another update of a previous story, Google has begun construction of their 1 Gbps fiber network in Kansas City. They hope to offer the high-speed service in early 2012. We should all hope for a solid and efficient launch so Google can start rolling these out in more places! [Google Blog]
It’s becoming more and more clear that ISPs are giving us, the consumers, the raw end of the deal. Everything indicates that their costs are dropping and yet, we continue to pay ever-increasing costs. Many ISPs are also eyeing the possibility of capping the data/bandwidth they offer. Internet speed, availability and cost are areas in which America lags behind many other industrialized countries (namely Japan and South Korea). This is something that needs to change. [TechCrunch]
A great concept: Google+ Venn Diagrams. The solution to when you want to share something with people in two different circles. [Techno-anthropology]
After many self-inflicted wounds, Rod Jetton’s life is healing, he says.
Approaching two years after accusations surfaced of an assault on a Sikeston, Mo., woman during a sexual encounter with her, the former Missouri House speaker wrote a blog about his personal and political free fall at therecoveringpolitician.com. It appeared July 22 and was the first time Jetton had addressed the issue publicly.
Jetton pleaded guilty May 27 to a reduced charge of misdemeanor assault with the admission he struck a woman in the face and choked her during sex at her Sikeston home in November 2009. The victim had previously testified in court that after finishing one glass of wine she started to drift in and out of consciousness.
Attorneys for the victim and for Jetton said they were ready to move on once the guilty plea was reached. That appears to be the case for Jetton, in some respects. While he still carries a tattered reputation, he says his life has become much more content recently.
Jetton, divorced about a month before the assault, has married again. He now works at a growing civil engineering company in Poplar Bluff, Mo., where he helps with sales, marketing and public relations plans.
A tumultuous era began, according to his blog, once he was elected as a state representative. Over time, his political pursuits and self-indulgence ruled, and ruined, his life.
Rod Jetton says he is turning his life around after what he called self-inflicted wounds.
Jetton was a rising Republican star, ascending to speaker of the Missouri House. But in May, he pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of misdemeanor assault, admitting he struck a woman in the face and choked her during sex at her home in Sikeston.
The Southeast Missourian reports that Jetton used a blog at therecoveringpolitician.com to make his first public comments about the issue. He says he has married again and now works at a growing civil engineering firm in Poplar Bluff.
By Jonathan Miller, on Mon Aug 1, 2011 at 12:00 PM ET
Thanks to the magic of Skype, RPTV introduces a new feature today, “The RP’s Great Debates.”
Our very first installment features a debate between two former Missouri state legislators, from opposite sides of the political spectrum, who somehow found a way to become good friends: contributing RPs Jeff Smith and Rod Jetton. In this interview, Smith and Jetton discuss their relationship, debate the debt ceiling crisis, and — best of all — do pretty accurate and very funny impressions of each other.
If you are new to The Recovering Politician, you probably should read the following pieces by the two men:
Rod Jetton’s 3 part stunningly candid essay on his rise, scandal and renewal: Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.
Thanks to his internationally (!) well-received piece last week in The Huffington Post, “Debt Ceiling for Dummies,” the RP has been on a virtual international tour of radio and TV talk shows.
Blog this!
