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:
After today’s focus on the debt ceiling debate, tomorrow, we look at the bigger picture — how is the American Dream surviving under our new economy paradigm, and what is the role of the individual citizen?
Tomorrow, two of our most well known contributing RPs — Michael Steele and Kathleen Kennedy Townsend (most from Maryland) — take a look at our country during this current economic downturn. Citing JFK, MLK Jr, and others, the two offer their distinctly different visions about America’s future.
And to make sure you know we aren’t taking ourselves too seriously, the RP offers another one of his Top 5 pop culture lists.
We think you will really enjoy it. So join us tomorrow!
By Zack Adams, RP Staff, on Mon Jul 11, 2011 at 3:00 PM ET
The Politics of Tech
A collab-oration that includes several large ISPs has recently been announced. The plan would call for the ISPs, including Comcast, AT&T, Verizon, Time Warner, etc., to slow down, redirect, or possibly even cut off internet access for people accused of copyright infringement. [Wired]
If you have never heard of Dropbox you should know they are taking the time to do right by their users. They recently updated their TOS to be explicitly clear: your stuff belongs to you. A direct quote from the new TOS: “You retain full ownership to your stuff. We don’t claim any ownership to any of it.” Companies like Facebook that intentionally write in vague and broad language into their TOS should take a page out of Dropbox’s book and realize that users appreciate honesty and privacy. [Dropbox Blog]
Bob Lutz, the former Vice chairman of General Motors, has stated that his way to get the economy going is to take the power away from the MBA’s and give it back to the engineers. Personally, I find his argument that consumers are best served by a product-driven philosophy very agreeable. [TIME]
A group of 90 law professors has banded together to oppose the Protect IP Act that is making it’s way through Congress on the grounds that it violates the First Amendment right to free speech. [ars technica]
By Jonathan Miller, on Mon Jul 11, 2011 at 2:30 PM ET
As part of today’s theme here at The Recovering Politician, the RP himself weighs in on the debt ceiling crisis consuming Washington. Here is his column, cross-posted at The Huffington Post:
For my maiden political stump speech, I faced a daunting challenge.
I had not yet turned 30 years old, looked 22, and was desperately trying to convince a group of good-ole-boy county chairs that I was qualified to serve in the US Congress.
I decided to address the 800-pound elephant head-on: I noted that my hometown’s (Lexington, Kentucky) favorite son, Henry Clay, was only 29 when he was elected Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives in the early 19th Century.
Of course, I simply was setting the crowd up for a joke. I pointed to my silver-haired friend in the front of the room, Terry McBrayer — a popular former state legislator, gubernatorial candidate, and state party chair — and told the crowd that Terry had warned me not to make the Clay comparison:
“Jonathan, I knew Henry Clay. I served with Henry Clay. And you’re no Henry Clay.”
= = = = = = = =
A few weeks ago, we celebrated the 200th anniversary of Clay’s ascension to the highest legislative position in the country. Three of Clay’s successors (Dennis Hastert, Nancy Pelosi, and John Boehner) flew to Lexington to pay tribute. Reflecting on Clay’s extraordinary domestic diplomacy in the decades prior to the Civil War — earning him the nickname “The Great Compromiser” — Speaker Boehner remarked, “There was no one person more responsible for holding our union together than Henry Clay.”
I reflected on Boehner’s comments this past weekend. Our Union today is much too strong to worry about the existential threat posed in Clay’s era. But as we stare into the oncoming tsunami of potential credit default for the first time in the nation’s history — and as we watch Democrats and Republicans so bitterly divided that they are making a seemingly impossible impasse quite plausible — we sure could use a Henry Clay right about now.
By Sandra Moon, RP Staff, on Mon Jul 11, 2011 at 1:30 PM ET
The Politics of Faith
Shopping for a new religion? The social enterprise group The Blood Foundation has a way for you to test-drive Islam in their “Muslim for a Month” program. [BBC News]
The United Church of Christ, a denomination that has been a long time advocate for gender neutral God language, updates its bylaws to replace the term “Heavenly Father” with “Triune God,” and in doing so, draws criticism from many Christian websites. [USA Today]
The last movie in the Harry Potter series premieres in theaters this week. While some religious groups condemn the series as promoting witchcraft, others have embraced the series as promoting the ideals of love, forgiveness, and grace. Here is one article that examines Harry Potter based on Christian theology. [Huffington Post]
(For those of you who need something to tide you over until Friday, click here to watch the official trailer of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2.)
By Will Allison, on Mon Jul 11, 2011 at 12:00 PM ET
On August 2, the United States of America is set to default on its debt obligations. I am not an economist, and would not deign to pretend that I understand the economic repercussions of such a move. However, I do have another important credential, and that is called a “survival instinct.” This instinct is stronger than I remembered.
I know this, because I am now up at 3am, scared right out my damn sleep from the horror movie that would be defaulting on our nation’s debt. I have read too many of these Freddy Krueger-themed articles not to believe it. Phrases like “global financial meltdown”, “financial apocalypse”, “the American economy dragging the global economy down the drain”, and “millions of unemployed joined by millions more” own me now, people. This is a cry for help.
The raising of the debt ceiling, typically a pro forma vote Congress takes every year to meet our rising spending obligations, has met a wall this summer with a newly emboldened, GOP-controlled House. This House is heavily influenced if not directed by the Tea Party, willing to risk default to deal with what it feels is our top fiscal priority: spending cuts. In response, the Democrats, true to their nature, have already offered massive concessions on spending, in return for some kind—any kind—of tax increase on the very wealthy. The GOP has replied with “no”. Despite their deficit-obsessed rhetoric, they are not interested in increasing revenues to lower the deficit. They only want spending cuts, and apparently are willing to allow our economy to collapse if they don’t get exactly that, only that, and on a massive scale.
And so it goes. The Republican Party’s “top negotiator” on the debt ceiling, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, has already walked out of the talks. Democrats, in return, have begun to urge the President to invoke a little-known clause in the 14th Amendment to the Constitution that may legally require our nation not to default on its debt. The President could simply say he’s not legally allowed to permit our nation to default, and instruct the Treasury to continue to pay the bills. The GOP’s response is to threaten impeachment if the president goes that route, claiming he will have superseded Congress’ power of the purse. I am going insane trying to keep up with this stuff, people.
Read the rest of… Will Allison: Watching the Ceiling Cave In
Historic moments define presidencies. For President Obama, that moment came in the form of a nation teetering on the brink of depression.
The President responded to the crisis by (while still Senator) supporting TARP and then, as President, spearheading a massive stimulus package.
This stimulus was very much unlike the federal “New Deal” spending that occurred under FDR during the depression, which included a primary focus on creating as many jobs as possible. Indeed, there are still many monuments to the WPA and related programs standing today (most notably, Hoover Dam, a primary energy source for the Southwest United States).
When you look at a breakdown on how American Recovery Act federal stimulus dollars were spent, you find that a big portion went to tax cuts, while the rest was spread scattershot over many programs. Much of these funds came in the form of aid to States, which supported essential programs (like Medicaid), but only long enough for States to put off most painful budget cuts until this year.
Today we struggle with a 9.2% unemployment rate, and a continuation of tax policies that redistribute wealth to the very top. Last December, President Obama arrived at a “compromise” with congressional Republicans to extend the Bush tax code designed to accelerate redistribution of wealth to those who are already very wealthy. Indeed, Reaganomics followed by W’-nomics have had their intended effect: over the past quarter century four-fifths of income gains have gone to the top 1% of individuals, while middle class wages haven’t kept up with inflation. Contrary to GOP rhetoric, trickle-down economics has defied gravity.
Many progressives, me included, were hoping last December the President would take the fight to an opposition that would allow all tax cuts expire in the name of keeping income tax breaks for the wealthiest 2% of Americans. Had no compromise been reached, we would’ve returned to President Clinton’s more progressive tax code, which may well have proven a best case scenario with the added benefit of eradicating much of our deficit problem. But Obama didn’t take this approach. Rather, the debate was between keeping 98% of Bush’s tax code versus keeping 100% of Bush’s tax code. Hence, the GOP would’ve “lost” this showdown last December by only getting 98% of what they wanted versus 100%. Seems to me, they would’ve won either way. They got their 100% regardless.
Read the rest of… Greg Harris: Obama’s Defining Moment
If you are in the dumps due to the doldrums of summer, you’ve come to the right place.
This week, The Recovering Politician is running on all cylinders, with dozens of new pieces by contributing RPs, Friends of RP, RP staff, and even the RP himself. Check in often for interesting, enlightening and funny takes on this week’s big stories.
Today’s focus will be on the biggest story of them all — the debt ceiling crisis that is consuming Washington and the nation. Tune in for takes from all sides of the political spectrum.
Enjoy your Monday. And don’t forget the sunscreen!
We have a huge week in store for you next week at The Recovering Politician. Dozens of fresh, new pieces by contributing RPs, Friends of RP, RP Staff, and the RP himself.
Stay tuned on Monday for some close analysis of the biggest story of the year — the crisis concerning the debt ceiling. You will hear, as always, from all sides of the political spectrum. And as always, we’d love to hear your views in the comments section.
Have a great weekend, and rest up for a big week ahead!
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