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:
Our country stands less than two weeks away from the brink of an economic disaster.
For the first time in the more than 230-year history of our republic, we could potentially default on our credit obligations. Indeed, it would be the first time in global history that a country voluntarily chose to default on its credit.
What does this mean?
In the short term, we’d likely see a dramatic stock market crash, akin to the fall of 2008 when the first TARP proposal was rejected. The credit market could freeze again, making it even more difficult to borrow to buy a home or car, or to start or even run a small business.
In the long run, there’s no question that our country would have to borrow money at significantly higher rates, meaning we’d have to find many billions of more dollars of budget cuts and/or tax hikes to balance future budgets.
And this potential fiscal insanity is the result of the disease that is infecting our democracy at its core; in fact, the very reason we launched The Recovering Politician: Hyper-partisanship in American politics.
Indeed, many of the solutions that have been offered to the debt ceiling crisis have been strictly focused to meet partisan ends.
Yesterday, the House Republicans passed a “Cut, Cap and Balance” plan that cuts trillions from the budget; but, in the opinion of many (inlcuding me), strips the nation of much of the safety net that preserves our democracy. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell offered a plan to raise the debt ceiling while providing political cover for fellow Republicans — which is certainly more responsible than the Tea Party/credit default approach — but both sides of the partisan divide have criticized it as too ineffectual: simply kicking the can down the road for a few more years.
But yesterday, there was a glimmer of hope. The “Gang of Six” — three Democratic Senators and 3 GOP Senators — reconstituted after a brief “sabbatical” to offer a bi-partisan proposal that would slash $3.7 trillion from the national debt through a combination of spending cuts and tax hikes, many of which were recommended by The National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, co-chaired by Democrat Erskine Bowles and Republican Alan Simpson.
I’m confident — particularly as details of the Gang of Six plan begins to be defined more clearly — that everyone will find things in it that they dislike, even despise. But it is the country’s best chance both to emerge from the current debt ceiling crisis, as well as to make enormous reforms of the structural debt problems our nation is facing.
The extremes and special interests wil be placing extraordinary pressure on Congressmen — as they always do — to forego bipartisan compromise. It is essential that they hear from those of us from both parties who understand that it is sometimes necessary to reach across the aisle to have our voices heard. We need to reverse the current political dynamic — so that Members of Congress are afraid of the political impact should they act solely in the interests of their party, to the exclusion of the interests of their nation.
So, the time is now to contact your Congressman — by phone, email, mail, tweet, Facebook, Google Plus, homing pigeon, smoke signal, etc., etc. Let them know that you will have their backs should they make the tough political vote to support a bipartisan compromise such as the Gang of Six’s proposal. Let them know that you want a representative who serves you, not the special interests that dominate Washington.
The link above directs you to the No Labels effort to bring Americans together.
We are not a third party movement.
Instead, we are proud Democrats, Republicans, and Independents — liberals, progressives, centrists, and conservatives — all of whom recognize that sometimes we must put aside our labels to do what’s right for the nation that we love.
We cannot afford to remain divded as a country. As Benjamin Franklin famously said on the eve of revolution, “We will either hang together, or we will most surely hang separately.”
By Stephanie Doctrow, RP Staff, on Wed Jul 20, 2011 at 1:30 PM ET
Here’s an interview with Marissa Mayer, the woman who broke Google. [Newsweek]
Even if you won’t be in Los Angeles anytime soon, pretend you’re headed to the city’s Natural History Museum and its recently refurbished Dinosaur Hall. [NY Times]
Feeling under the weather? Check out these tips on keeping your career healthy, even when you’re not. [CNN Money]
Miss America 2011 Teresa Scanlan wants to be a Supreme Court justice someday… and she’s slowly overturning stereotypes of pageant culture. [NY Magazine]
As the debt ceiling deadline approaches, a last minute reconstitution of and proposal from the Senate’s “Gang of Six” (3 Democrats and 3 Republicans) has stirred up homes of a bipartisan compromise that addresses the nation’s long-term debt problems. The RP was interviewed by Michael Castner of Wall Street Journal’s “Daily Wrap” about the ongoing negotiations. Listen in:
By Robert Kahne, RP Staff, on Wed Jul 20, 2011 at 10:00 AM ET
The NL Central
No division in baseball is nearer and dearer to me than the National League Central, home to my St. Louis Cardinals, as well as the team geographically closest to me (the Cincinnati Reds). I grew up in Louisville, KY, which has been home to a AAA baseball team since before I was born that has been affiliated with three NL Central teams–the Cardinals, Reds, and the Milwaukee Brewers. I’ve followed this division as long as I can remember, and this year it is really shaping up to be a doozy of a race.
No division in baseball has seen as much upheaval as the NL Central–the 1994 realignment that created it pulled three teams from the old NL East and two teams from the NL West and put them together in a division. Old rivalries took a backseat (Cardinals-Mets, Reds-Dodgers), while new ones heated up (Cardinals-Astros in the 2000s, recently Reds-Cardinals). In 1998, the Brewers were added to the NL Central, and now the division exists as the largest in the league (6 teams, while most divisions have 5, and the AL West only has 4). The St. Louis Cardinals have essentially dominated the division, winning eight of the seventeen championships–and they account for the only World Series to be won out of the division. The Astros have won 4 division titles, the Cubs have won 3, the Reds 2, the Brewers have won one wildcard, and since the inception of the division, the Pirates have never been to the playoffs.
That all might change this year. While the Reds and Cardinals were expected to compete for the division title during the offseason, the acquisition of Cy Young award winner-Zack Greinke and the injury to Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright had people thinking this division might be a bit more competitive than previously expected–and when former Astro Lance Berkman started coming on strong for the St. Louis Cardinals, those predictions came true. The early season race was between those three teams, but a surprising thing started happening right before the All-Star Break–the Pittsburgh Pirates started coming on strong.
Joel Hanrahan--one of the best closers in baseball
As I stated earlier, the Pirates have never won the NL Central. But the story is actually much sadder than that–the Pirates haven’t had a winning season in 18 years, and have been the victims of terrible mismanagement in recent times. However, the Pirates managed to develop some great pitching, including a shut-the-door closer in Joel Hanrahan and some great team speed including Andrew McCutchen. No one expected them to win the division title this year–and honestly, no one even thought they would compete. But today, the Pirates are in 1st place–a full game ahead of the Milwaukee Brewers.
The race will be exciting. I don’t believe the Pirates have what it takes right now to win a division title–but I think they are in a great spot to end their 18 year drought of winning seasons. With the talent currently on the roster, this team will be very competitive in a few years. From what I have read and heard about their farm system, talent will continue to pour into this team, ensuring that Pittsburgh is the next Boston–the town all the champions call home. The biggest mistake the Pirates can make this year is trading some of their younger prospects–some of whom are all the way down in single-A ball and would need to put into a bigger package–for a big contract that the franchise couldn’t hold on to. It seems extremely mean to tell a team who has waited 18 years for a winning team to wait longer–but that is the smart move.
The Brewers and Cardinals are the most likely teams to take the division–but if the Reds can address the problems that their long-time closer Francisco Cordero is beginning to show, and start winning close games, they will be right back in the race. The Brewers biggest hurdle to the division title is their proclivity towards close games. Right now, everything is bouncing for the Brew-Crew–they have a aggregate run differential of -15 (in English: other teams have scored 15 more runs than the Brewers) even though the team is five games above .500. This means that the Brewers win close games–if they can continue to do that, it bodes well for them to win the division.
This Cardinal has shown up in a big way.
The Cardinals main issue changes daily. At the beginning of the year, starting pitching and the slow start of Albert Pujols was thought to be a big problem for the Cards. However, with the emergence of Berkman and the return of Albert, offense hasn’t been much of an issue. Furthermore, the starting pitching really stepped it up for the Cardinals. The bullpen was the next thing to break down, but with the addition of Fernando Salas as the every day closer and the emergence of Mitchell Boggs as a good long reliever, the bullpen hasn’t been so bad. The Cardinals have a chance to be great–but only if everything works at the same time. Which it hasn’t done yet this year. The Cardinals are an impossible team to predict, and as a fan that is both extremely engaging and very frustrating.
The Reds problem is with their bad luck–which I think they wasted during the previous season. Last year, when the Reds won the division title, they won nearly every close game. This year has been a different story. To mirror the Brewers, the Reds have a +26 run differential while being 3 games below .500. This speaks of a team that can blow some teams away, but fails to win the close games. The Reds have the talent to win–they proved that last year. Brandon Phillips is having a phenomenal year defensively, and isn’t doing too poorly offensively either. Joey Votto is MVP caliber, and they have a good-enough rotation. The chips just need to start falling for Cincinnati if they are to win the title.
Joey Votto--2010 NL MVP
So, the end of the regular season should be fun, but if recent history is to be any guide, whoever wins is doomed in the post-season. The NL Central is 1-15 in the playoffs since the Cardinals won the title in 2006, including sweeps over the Reds, Cubs, and Cardinals, and a 1-3 series where the Dodgers beat the Brewers. I usually don’t do this, but I think this year, I’ll cheer for the NL Central no matter who wins the division–just to restore some pride in my favorite division of all.
By Ronald J. Granieri, on Wed Jul 20, 2011 at 8:30 AM ET
Last April, the organizers of the annual “College-palooza” at the University of Pennsylvania invited me to participate in their series of “one minute lectures,” where professors had one minute to crystallize their approach to their subjects. I figured that it would be a challenge to say anything coherent in only a minute, but at the same time found the experience to be quite stimulating as I tried to make a point that I often hint at in my undergraduate lectures.
This is the complete text:
“I am often asked: What does History teach us?
History doesn’t teach us anything. Historians do. History is not some independent abstraction; it is the attempt by human beings to make sense of the past.
Viewing history with the ironic distance of the hip moviegoer breeds a dangerous sense of superiority over historical actors, and the equally dangerous assumption that simply identifying past mistakes will grant mastery over the present and guarantee future success. Remembering the human dimension can help us avoid those dangers.
Historical actors are human beings, not necessarily any smarter or dumber than we are. Their weaknesses are ours: the limitations of individual perception and the inability to see the future.
Read the rest of… Ronald J. Granieri: History, Mastery, Utility: Or, the Public Responsibility of Historians
By Robert Kahne, RP Staff, on Tue Jul 19, 2011 at 3:30 PM ET
The Politics of Film
Amazingly enough, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II won the box office weekend. WHO COULD HAVE THUNK IT? [Movie Web]
Sigourney Weaver wants to do another Alien film. Good idea or bad idea? I say good idea. [Toronto Sun]
Francis Ford Coppola (The Godfather, The Godfather Part II) is making a new film called Twixt, which is based on a dream he had. Starring in it will be Elle Fanning, who recently played the little girl in Super 8. /Film has some pictures from it. It looks crazy. [/Film]
The new, secret, Sarah Palin documentary came out this weekend. It grossed about $65,000. That’s not a lot of money, even for a documentary that opened in selected theaters. Is that because the film opened against Harry Potter, or because, you know, its about Sarah Palin? [The Atlantic]
Rupert Murdoch is in a lot of trouble. In addition to running newspapers, heading up Fox News, and wiretapping phones, he also makes a lot of movies. Here is a fun post that asks the question “What if we prosecuted Murdoch on the quality of his films alone?” [The Guardian]
The newest Quintin Tarantino film, Django Unchained, is coming into focus. We already know that it will star Jaime Foxx as a runaway slave, who is then trained by a German hitman (Christoph Waltz) on how to kill evil plantation owner (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his equally evil pit boss (previously unknown). That final spot is apparently going to go to Kevin Costner–who, as this piece says, could fill the same sort of role as John Travolta did in Pulp Fiction. [Film Junk]
Now that the Harry Potter series is over, what’s next for Emma Watson? Apparently she is attached to Guillermo Del Toro’s new adaptation of Beauty and the Beast. I wonder if Watson will learn a French accent, or if this will be another one of those pictures in which “European” is code for “British.” [IFC.com]
Ron Howard has been talking a big game about adapting the Steven King series The Dark Tower into a film/TV franchise for the better part of a year. Now, however, it seems like the deal is dead. Poor Ron Howard. He should just get to work on making the Arrested Development movie. [The Movie Blog]
By Sandra Moon, RP Staff, on Tue Jul 19, 2011 at 1:30 PM ET
The Politics of Faith
Gay marriage is legal in New York, but those against it are putting up a fight. One protester explains “…based on my Christian faith and my belief in God and what the Bible teaches, I cannot and I don’t support gay lifestyles.” (Disclaimer: Not all Christians follow these beliefs, and many Christians are in fact strong advocates for LGBTQ equal rights.) [New York Times]
A man who went on a post-9/11 race-motivated killing spree is scheduled to be executed on Wednesday. One of his victims, however, is fighting against the death sentence, citing his Muslim faith as the reason. [CNN]
The Dalai Lama’s visit to Chicago sparks unity among people from several different faith traditions. [Chicago Tribune]
By Stephanie Doctrow, RP Staff, on Tue Jul 19, 2011 at 12:00 PM ET
Sean Hoare, one of the first journalists to go on the record and allege phone hacking at News of the World, was found dead Monday. His death is not thought to be caused by foul play. [CNN]
Follow the rise and fall of British journalist Rebekah Brooks, one of the News of the World editors thought to be responsible for the recent phone hacking scandal. [Newsweek]
Speaking of Rebekah Brooks or Rebecca Black? See if you can tell the difference between these two newsmakers in a handy quiz (and if this is hard for you, we have a bigger problem). [Esquire]
Check out 21 up-and-coming reporters who are using technology and social media to tell important stories. [NY Magazine]
More bad news for Gannett: the media conglomerate reports a 22 percent drop in its second quarter income. [Poynter Institute]
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