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 Sun Jul 24, 2011 at 2:00 PM ET
Bipartisan meetings have failed to produce results on the debt crisis
After President Obama’s emergency debt talks ended following less than an hour of debt negotiations, Sen. Reid and Rep. Pelosi expressed frustration with Republican leadership being unwilling to compromise on a long-term debt deal. This gives the parties involved increasingly little time to put together a package before Asian stock markets open for business Monday. [NY Times]
Speaker Boehner told House Republicans in a conference call Saturday that he wanted to have a plan in place Sunday afternoon to avoid disrupting trading in Asia. He has said that the plan will be similar to the failed Cut, Cap and Balance plan and stay away from Sen. McConnell’s plan that would have allowed the President to raise the debt ceiling himself. President Obama, along with Congressional Democratic leadership, continues to assert that he will not sign a debt ceiling increase unless it extends through the end of the 2012 election cycle. [Politico]
Setting a conference call for 4:30 this afternoon (Sunday), Boehner has said he plans to release a debt ceiling plan that he is willing to advance without Democratic support. The plan, which bears some structural resemblance to one proposed by Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, would be a two-step process, involving a savings and tax cut package followed by entitlement reform. The parties are still in disagreement as to whether the debt ceiling should be raised enough to get through 2012, as the Democrats want, or in a two step process, which Boehner and other Republicans have suggested. [National Journal]
Stock and currency market watchers are on tenterhooks, waiting to see if and how recent progress (or lack thereof) in debt negotiations will affect financial markets, beginning in Asia around 5 p.m. on the East Coast. Secretary Geithner devoted time Sunday morning to warning of the possible repercussions of the lack of a deal, while some are accusing him of using scare tactics to back Republicans into a corner on debt negotiations. [Politico]
Although precise numbers are difficult to impossible to find, it is estimated that Republican-leaning groups are outspending their Democratic counterparts by a margin of between five and ten to one on television ads relating to the debt ceiling and deficit battles. Leading the pack is Crossroads GPS, the Karl Rove-founded conservative group that is spending some $20 million in July and August to run the ads. In comparison, Democratic group Patriot Majority USA is spending $225,000 to run ads in Nebraska, Missouri, and Montana. [Politico]
By Patrick Derocher, on Sat Jul 23, 2011 at 11:03 AM ET
The RP's Budget Crisis Update
In spite of the collapse of the most recent round of Obama-Boehner talks and the pursuant blame game, it appears that some major points of agreement have been reached, namely raising the Medicare eligibility age from 65 to 67 and slowing the growth of Social Security benefits. [Huff Post]
In related news, Pres. Obama has called an emergency meeting involving himself, Speaker Boehner, Sens. Reid and McConnell, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi at the White House Saturday at 11 a.m. Boehner has said that he needs to have a bill in hand on Monday (and passed in the House by Wednesday [Politico]…in order to get the debt ceiling raised by the August 2 deadline [National Journal]…
…which may in fact be an August 10 deadline. Researchers at Barclays, noting that the Treasury has taken in $14 billion more and spent $1 billion less than expected since July 13, may not run out of money until about a week after the currently anticipated deadline. [Huff Post]
This summarizes the he said-he said back-and-forth over the collapse of Pres. Obama and Speaker Boehner’s debt talks. The President blames the Speaker for not taking the plan (“the tough thing, but the right thing”) to his caucus because of revenue-raising measures, while the Speaker blames the President for having “moved the goal post” and requesting $400 billion in additional revenue toward the end of the failed negotiations. [Politico & Politico]
This is, of course, the sort of behavior House Republicans (especially the Tea Party set and the freshmen) wanted to see out of Boehner. [Politico]
In something of a repeat from 2010, House Republicans, especially the leadership, are on the lookout for primary challenges from the Tea Party wing of the Republican Party. The fear is that house primaries will be ignored by the party mainstream, allowing right-wing ideologues to win primaries in solidly Republican districts. This has, of course, made Speaker Boehner’s job rather difficult as he tries to work out a debt-response plan that will be accepted by the Senate and President without putting members of his caucus in electoral peril. [Huff Post]
Debt negotiations have claimed their first victims: thousands of employees of the Federal Aviation Administration will be furloughed or asked to work without pay after Congress failed to reach a deal that would either give them a temporary funding extension (the 21st consecutively) or a permanent funding scheme of some sort. [Washington Post]
In an interesting twist, Grover Norquist has said that Republican lawmakers should increase the debt ceiling to avoid the US defaulting on its obligations next month. Additionally, and perhaps more astonishingly, he has endorsed Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s “Plan B” legislation that would give President Obama the power to raise the debt limit as he sees fit. Norquist made news a few days ago when he said that letting the Bush tax cuts expire would not violate his anti-tax pledge that most Republican lawmakers have signed. [Roll Call]
In a reversal of their skepticism last week, Senate leaders have expressed willingness to consider the proposals made by the Gang of Six after Tom Coburn rejoined the group. Sen. McConnell: We wanted to give them an opportunity to make their suggestions about how their recommendations fit into the endgame here, and we had a good discussion.” Members of the Gang have expressed uncertainty about whether their plan will be the template for the eventual debt-reduction plan, but a willingness to work through the negotiations. [Politico]
To all of the newest members of the RP Nation, welcome!
To everyone, we promise much more excitement and education, and even a few laughs along the way next week.
Monday, we lead off with Part 3 of Rod Jetton’s stunningly candid “Success, Scandal & Change,” in which he addresses the scandals that received so much publicity in Missouri, and how he has recovered stronger than ever.
The RP later will interview, via video Skype, Jetton and his unlikely friend and fellow contributing RP, Jeff Smith, about their unusual relationship, and how the two have emerged from their own troubles to dedicate their lives back to the public interest. (We may have a surprise third guest as well if his schedule permits.)
And as mentioned earlier today, we will also launch a new feature next week: The RP’s Budget Crisis Update — our intrepid new Washington, DC staffer, Patrick Derocher, will provide timely updates on the goings-on in the nation’s capital to address the debt ceiling crisis.
We will also mix in a few laughs — for those of you regulars who’ve been clamoring — the RP’s latest top five list will appear: The Top Five Terrible TV Shows with Terrific Theme Songs. See if you can guess what will emerge as #1.
On Wednesday, the RP suggested that the budget proposal proposed by the Senate’s “Gang of Six,” was — while not perfect — the best opportunity for the country to escape the debt ceiling crisis with a sound plan to fix the nation’s structural economic problems.
He also encouraged you to contact your Congressman and advocate for a bipartisan solution such as the Gang of Six plan. (Click here to be heard.)
More details have emerged on the plan, and how it will slash the national debt by $3.7 trillion, through a combination of spending cuts and tax reform.
Beginning next week, The Recovering Politician will add a new feature: regular up-to-the-minute updates of the budget crisis. Our intrepid new Washington, DC staffer, Patrick Derocher, will be providing summaries of the key developments as they occur.
So if you are interested in staying on top of the latest news, come back to The Recovering Politician early and often.
By Stephanie Doctrow, RP Staff, on Fri Jul 22, 2011 at 2:00 PM ET
New studies show that the taller a woman is, the more likely she is to develop certain kinds of cancers. Being short might not be such a bad thing! [Time]
Think you’re brave? You’re not embarking on an 103-mile swim from Cuba to Key West through shark-infested waters. [NY Times]
Zumba and other giant fitness classes are the newest trend in wellness. [Washington Post]
Don’t trust the calorie counts on restaurant menus. You might be eating more than you think you are. [Wall Street Journal]
Check this out for a good laugh: 15 health-related headlines that make you say “duh!” [Huffington Post]
This morning, the RP appeared as the featured guest on “Wilshire & Washington,” a radio talk show focused on the intersection between politics, entertainment and technology. The RP is questioned about No Labels, and the role it is playing to influence the debate in Washington in favor of a bipartisan deal to solve the current debt ceiling crisis.
In my last post, I talked about some of my successes, and success can be a wonderful thing, but if you’re not careful, success can be your downfall.
It sure took a toll on me. I tried to hide my vanity and pride, but deep down in my mind, I started to believe all the things lobbyists, other members, donors and conservative activists were saying about me. When you are a public official with power over funding and other member’s bills — along with all the laws people live by — folks tend to tell you what you want to hear.
Everyone tells you what a good job you’re doing, how smart you are, how thankful they are that you are in charge, or that nobody else has ever done or could ever do as good as you.
Of course in politics not everyone is singing your praises. In Missouri the Kansas City Star and St. Louis Post Dispatch were not very friendly to a conservative Republican like myself. I received plenty of bad press. Liberals, labor unions, and trail attorneys opposed to my agenda sent me thousands of emails and letters, which were not always flattering.
Another item that made enemies and allowed the press to attack me was my campaign consulting company. By 2004, I was spending more and more time helping friends with their campaigns, so I decided to start my own campaign consulting business. I didn’t work for any House campaigns or HRCC, but I helped some of my friends who wanted to move up to the state Senate or Congress. I also was able to work on Mitt Romney’s presidential race in 2008.
Between my political activities, legislative duties and straightforward ‘tell it-like-it-is attitude’ I started picking up quite a few new enemies, and they never hesitated to start a nasty rumor or provide a negative quote about me when they could. Oddly enough, most of my attacks came from the Republicans.
You are probably asking why I didn’t listen to my critics or at least think about their charges. The simple answer is most politicians develop thick skins, because critics say such terrible things about them, and constantly mis-characterize their motives. For me it was easy to chalk up all the negative comments and criticism to enemy hacks that hated me, because I had either beat them in the legislative chess game or defeated them in a campaign. I told myself that no matter what I did they would complain.
My experience has shown me how easy it is for powerful leaders to listen to the flattery and discount their critics when they are under fire.
Another negative consequence to the flattery and criticism a leader hears is they start putting everyone into two camps. You’re either for them or you’re against them, and if you’re critiquing them or even questioning them, you fall in the latter category. They become a bit paranoid when friends or innocent bystanders try to be honest and tell them the truth. Unfortunately, I feel this sometimes happened to me and it damaged a few of my relationships.
But let’s get back to the flattery. It slowly started affecting me. Not in the beginning; I knew what they were doing and I told myself not to pay attention to them, but flattery has a way of slowly creeping up and changing your attitude. (Or at least it did me)
Have you ever heard the story about the frog that was placed in the pot of boiling water and immediately jumped out and survived?
If you have, then you know that same frog didn’t fare so well when he was placed in a pot of cold water while the heat was slowly turned up until he was boiled to death and never even knew it. It’s very embarrassing to admit that this happened to me. Looking back on my time in the legislature I feel a bit like the frog that was slowly cooked to death and just didn’t feel the heat rising. In fact the warm water feels kind of good after awhile.
But be careful, because the warm water will kill you.
What I needed was balance. Take a moment and think about the word: BALANCE.
It’s a simple word that makes the whole world go round. Balance is required for the sun, moon, and stars to work like they do. It takes balance for us to walk, drive and function as human beings. Most importantly it takes balance in your life to have healthy relationships with your wife, kids, family, friends, co-workers and fellow citizens.
The biggest mistake I made was not having balance in my life. I worked too hard at politics and forgot about my family, friends, community and sometimes, the whole reason I went to Jefferson City in the first place. I remember telling my ex-wife that when the first campaign was over I would be home more. Then session started and I said after session I will be home more. Then I was gone working on redistricting and when that was done the next session had started, and after that I was working night and day to win the majority, and I told her once we won I would be home.
Read the rest of… Rod Jetton: Success, Scandal & Change, Part 2-Flattery, Criticism and Bitterness
Blog this!
In my last post
