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 Kristen Hamilton, RP Staff, on Tue Jul 5, 2011 at 10:00 AM ET
The Politics of Fashion
In case you were wondering, Paris is beautiful! I arrived a couple days ago and am still getting settled in, which means that, unfortunately, I have yet to explore the fashion scene. But, to make up for that, there is a special theme for this week’s Weekly Web Gem: French fashion. Hope you guys enjoy!
How perfect is this? Karl Lagerfeld maps out the ultimate tour for those traveling to Paris! While I currently take notes, you can check it out here: [Vogue.com]
During Paris Menswear Fashion Week a few days ago, Dior Homme debuted its Spring 2012 line at the Tennis Club de Paris: [Fashionista]
Lanvin Men’s also debuted its militant-inspired Spring 2012 line last week as well! Check it out: [Fashionista]
Well, would you look at this? You guys might get to shop at Zara after all! [SHEfinds]
Fashion=Tourism? In Paris and many other cities, the answer is yes! [Times Live]
By Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, on Tue Jul 5, 2011 at 8:30 AM ET
I recently attended an event for a group called Catholic Democrats in Indianapolis and then visited Thomas Merton’s monastery in Kentucky. In just a few days, I moved from the excitement of current politics to the more tranquil world of contemplation and theology. This inspiring week reminded me that Catholicism is not a narrow-minded religion but a universal church encompassing many ways to reach God.
The event I attended in Indianapolis was a joint fundraiser for Catholic Democrats and the Democratic candidate for mayor, Melina Kennedy (no relation). Now 16,000 strong, Catholic Democrats was founded by Patrick Whelan, a rheumatologist at Massachusetts General Hospital. Like me, he felt that Catholics who were focused on a single issue—abortion—were eroding the Church’s tradition of working for the common good.
For the past 20 years or so, it seemed that the Church hierarchy was in cahoots with the Republican party, insisting that good Catholics vote Republican. In 2004, some bishops came out and said it would be sinful to vote for John Kerry, given his pro-choice views. When I campaigned in Iowa during the 2008 presidential primaries, high school students told me that they felt they’d have to go to confession after voting for a pro-choice Democrat.
This inspiring week reminded me that Catholicism is not a narrow-minded religion but a universal church encompassing many ways to reach God.
Since then, a number of groups have begun to protest the hijacking of Catholic teachings by the conservative right. In May, when John Boehner gave the graduation address at Catholic University, more than 75 prominent Catholic academics sent him a letter that said, “From the apostles to the present, the Magisterium of the Church has insisted that those in power are morally obliged to preference the needs of the poor.” They added, “Your record in support of legislation to address the desperate needs of the poor is among the worst in Congress.”
Read the rest of… Kathleen Kennedy Townsend: America’s Progressive Catholics
By Stephanie Doctrow, RP Staff, on Fri Jul 1, 2011 at 12:00 PM ET
Girl power! Now we finally have scientific proof that women are more likely to succeed than men in certain areas because they don’t take as many risks. [Time]
The New York Times busts this popular myth: Working out on an empty stomach does NOT help you burn more calories. [NY Times]
Watch out, beachgoers! The Natural Resources Defense Council is now advising people to check water quality alerts to check for bacterial pollution in ocean waters. [Wall Street Journal]
Why do your fingers get pruney when you step out of the bathtub? You know you’ve always wanted to know the answer. [Huffington Post]
Not only can exhaustion make you cranky, a new study reveals that it can also make you unethical. [Washington Post]
In his latest entry for Politico’s Arena, contributing RP Jeff Smith answers the question as to whether President Obama’s support among the Jewish community is slipping:
It will probably depend on the alternative.
If, say, Huntsman is nominated and runs on a secular domestic platform that includes a strong pro-Israel plank, he could garner 35 percent or more of the Jewish vote.
If, on the other hand, Republicans choose a bombastic conservative like Rick Perry – someone with a history of appointing creationist state school board candidates and pushing other reactionary social causes – then Republican Jewish support will remain around 20 percent. A far-right evangelical Christian like Perry with a social agenda that is anathema to Jews will only attract those Jews who are already part of the Republican base.
On a side note, the choice of Debbie Wasserman-Schultz as DNC chair should help prevent some defections.
By Zack Adams, RP Staff, on Thu Jun 30, 2011 at 3:00 PM ET
The Politics of Speed
Rusty Wallace gives his take on the philosophy of wrecks and aggressive driving during road races from the perspective of a fan, car owner, and NASCAR analyst. [ESPN]
Tony Stewart has thrown down the gauntlet once again after the incidents with Brain Vickers this weekend – if you block me, I will dump you. It doesn’t sound like he’s going to change his stance on it any time soon either – “If they want to block that’s what is going to happen to them every time for the rest of my career.” [ESPN]
How do you respond to those people who will claim NASCAR is full or rednecks and appeals to the lowest common denominator? Patrick Reynolds has an answer. [All Left Turns]
A 100-mpg Honda Insight has been banned from rally car racing for supposedly being too fast. What? [inhabitat]
I could easily cross-post this article to my Tech Web Gems. Click through to learn about the new, hidden tech that is changing the way we drive. [Wired]
“The fight isn’t over . . .” Several weeks ago in the RP, we pointed out the difficulties of being gay, an immigrant and in love and wanting to stay with one’s partner through marriage. Hey, straight people do it all the time. The landmark New York same-sex marriage bill passed this week changes the game on many levels. No Deportation for Immigrant in Same-Sex Marriage.
Last week, the RP highlighted Pulitzer Prize winning and, as it turns out, undocumented immigrant journalist Jose Antonio Vargas’s “coming out” piece in the New York Times. The strongest backlash this week has come primarily from an unlikely source: his fellow journalists. The media deportation of Jose Antonio Vargas
But, lest we forget, Vargas is still at risk for deportation after telling his story and giving a “face” to undocumented immigrants. NPR, in partnership with the Nation, published an excellent piece yesterday on where things stand for Vargas and the impact his story has had on the public. The Other Face Of Illegal Immigration
By Ronald J. Granieri, on Thu Jun 30, 2011 at 8:30 AM ET
The news of late has been full of images of growing chaos in the “cradle of democracy.” This week in Athens, crowds of angry stone-throwing citizens chanting, “Traitors, traitors!” have confronted police in riot gear, who have responded with tear gas, while public employee unions announced a 48-hour general strike in advance of a crucial parliamentary vote. The protesters directed their rage both at the government and at international financial agencies, especially the European Union [EU], which have demanded a series of austerity measures in response to Greece’s debt crisis.
No one disputes that Greece has, after years of generous public spending and indifferent-to-incompetent tax collection, run up such enormous debts that investors no longer believe in the Greek state’s ability to pay them. This is nothing new in the history of the world economy, or even in the history of Greece.
What gives this Greek tragedy its greater significance is Greece’s participation in the European common currency, the Euro. As a Euro member, the Greeks are not completely masters of their own fate, unless they choose to leave the common currency, which could touch off an even bigger crisis of continental if not global proportions. Greece and its partners in the Eurozone are locked in a fateful embrace. The other Euro members, who last year already committed 110 billion Euros to prop up the Greek economy, are committed to bailing out the Greeks even more, while the Greek public faces a long period of austerity, which will force them to accept significant cuts in a generous welfare state. The Greeks have not taken this very well, to put it mildly. At the same time, the richer EU states, especially Germany, that will be expected to fund the Greek bailout (and potential bailouts for Portugal, Ireland, Spain, and someday perhaps Italy—collectively and colloquially the PIIGS) are facing a restive electorate that does not understand why they may have to pay higher taxes to fund bailouts for their profligate cousins.
Read the rest of… Ronald J. Granieri: Greek Myths; Greek Lessons
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