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 Ronald J. Granieri, on Thu Jun 16, 2011 at 8:30 AM ET
Syracuse University Professor and Friend of RP Ronald J. Granieri tackled an important subject recently for The American Interest magazine: Henry Clay, the Great Compromiser and — more importantly — the namesake of the RP’s high school. Here is his fascinating take on the legend from Lexington and how he has come between two GOP politicians in Kentucky today:
This past February, Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) used his maiden speech on the Senate floor to attack one of his home state’s most cherished historical heroes. Standing at Henry Clay’s Senate desk, Paul criticized the legacy of the Great Compromiser. “Henry Clay’s life story is, at best, a mixed message”, Paul said. “Henry Clay’s great compromise was over slavery. One could argue that he rose above sectional strife to carve out compromise after compromise trying to ward off civil war. Or one could argue that his compromises were morally wrong and may have even encouraged war, that his compromises meant the acceptance, during his fifty years of public life, of not only slavery, but the slave trade itself.”
Paul admitted that there were no questions before the Senate with the same moral force as slavery; he nevertheless went on to pose a series of rhetorical questions about whether America’s current national debt problems might not be best solved by strong attachment to principles rather than compromise.
Paul’s speech raised eyebrows not merely because of its aggressive tone, unusual for freshman Senators, but also because his apparently abstract references to Clay were to many a sign of tensions between Paul and his senior colleague, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. McConnell had favored a different candidate in Kentucky’s Republican primary and, more to the point of Paul’s message, he has often counted Clay among his political role models. A portrait of Clay adorns McConnell’s Senate office, and he once told an interviewer that Clay “understood the need for compromises that were truly important for the country. . . . I think that remains just as true today as it did in 1820 or 1850.”
No Labels is a new grassroots movement of Democrats, Republicans, and Independents who are united in the belief that we do not have to give up our labels, merely put them aside to do what’s best for America. No Labels Radio will offer a weekly dose of news and interviews with the policymakers who are working to find bipartisan answers to the otherwise intractable problems our country faces.
Our primary guest is U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ), who will discuss the work being done to forge a bipartisan solution to the nation’s fiscal problems.
Here’s your chance to suggest a question for one of the most prominent politicians of the past decade.
Want me to ask him about the budget debate? The 2008 election? His service in Vietnam? His choice of Sarah Palin? His appearances on Saturday Night Live?
Make your suggestions in the comments section below. And then tune in tomorrow to see if I used it.
I finished my first year of law school in May. The grind-it-out days of 1L behind me, I jumped on the first flight I could out of my “home” in Philadelphia to my “home-home” outside Los Angeles. Having studied out-of-state as an undergraduate as well, I have grown accustomed to the cross-country flight, just as I know exactly what to expect from my two weeks of vacation back in California. I’ll play some golf with Dad, see some of my oldest friends, watch the L.A. Dodgers (now a team of minor leaguers, without the minor league prices or the minor league promo nights) with my brother, and see a movie with Mom.
I love those two weeks. I love them because I can power down and skip the morning coffee for fourteen days. I love them because the best times are the ones spent with those who know you best, who love you deepest, and who you trust the most. It was a great two weeks.
Much to my Mom’s dismay, we bypassed the matinee of The Hangover 2. Just thinking about watching that movie with her makes me uncomfortable. Instead, we saw Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris. In the movie, Gil, a hack screenplay writer, is stuck in a rut while vacationing in Paris. He has to deal with his relentless wife Inez, who chomps at the bit to experience the highbrow Paris of 2011. Gil is also a daydreamer, a middle-aged writer caught in a quasi-romantic affair with the literary legends of 1920s Paris with whom he magically makes contact. Each night, Gil is whisked away to the older decade that he fantasizes about constantly. And each day, he remains entranced by his nighttime rendezvous with the past.
Read the rest of… The Politics of Gen Y: Making Time for Tomorrow
By Robert Kahne, RP Staff, on Wed Jun 15, 2011 at 2:15 PM ET
The Politics of Baseball
In a lot of ways, baseball teams are defined by First Basemen. Look around the league today: Albert Pujols, Prince Fielder, and Ryan Howard are all first basemen. Here are some teams in need of help at that spot. [MLB Trade Rumors]
Major League Baseball is considering realigning the American and National Leagues in interesting ways. I am ALL FOR THIS. I think divisions in baseball are a crime. Great teams in the AL East and NL East/Central with better records consistently miss the playoffs so that some sub .500 team in the West can go to the playoffs. [ESPN]
While MLB has a pretty good idea of how the realignment would take place, Deadspin has a new plan. The saddest sports city in America would just get sadder. [Deadspin]
Speaking of the Mariners, this is an excellent essay about Ichiro Suzuki and what he has meant to baseball. It comes from Bill Simmon’s Grantland, which is quickly becoming one of my favorite places on the Internet. [Grantland]
The College World Series has begun, and here is an interesting piece about how it is the “last pure college championship.” I don’t know if I agree with everything this guy says, but its definitely an interesting read and worth your time. [SB Nation]
By Zack Adams, RP Staff, on Wed Jun 15, 2011 at 1:30 PM ET
The Politics of Laughter
A woman turns to social media (Facebook, specifically) to try and gain an upper-hand on her ex-husband. Not everything was as it seemed. [Time Newsfeed]
By Jonathan Miller, on Wed Jun 15, 2011 at 12:00 PM ET
It’s what you’ve been up late nights awaiting…
The final episode of the RP’s classic quadrology (is that the next step after trilogy?): Part 4 of his home energy rehab.
If you missed Parts 1-3, the audit and the rehab, which includes some exciting film of the geothermal work done on the Miller Home, click here.
In Part 4, Jamie Clark of Arronco leads the RP through the final stages of the rehab, and then through the quality assessment, made possible by the Kentucky Home Performance program.
If I’ve inspired you to explore an energy efficiency rehab at your own residence, and you live in Kentucky, we have a great new program called KY Home Performance – that I’m using for my own home — which provides low-interest loans or generous rebates to KY citizens. You can find out more here.
If you live in the region, amd you’d like to specifically contact Jamie Clark of Arronco — who is both the contractor of the rehab as well as the tour guide of this film — go to this link. Arronco can install geothermal, as well as the more traditional electric and gas rehab work, in an extraordinarily affordable and environmentally-friendly way.
By Stephanie Doctrow, RP Staff, on Wed Jun 15, 2011 at 10:00 AM ET
Here’s some literal recovery. New York magazine goes inside the operating room for eight life-changing surgeries. Warning: these photographs are stunning, but they’re not for the squeamish. [NY Magazine]
89-year-old evangelist and rapture predictor Harold Camping is recovering after a stroke. He couldn’t have predicted that one (Time Magazine’s words, not mine). [Time]
After too many snafus to count, the infamous “Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark” musical is off the stage. Bono and the Edge attempt to explain what they were thinking when they brought Spider-Man to Broadway. [NY Times]
Hoping for a commencement speech that will remind you the recession is almost over and there’s more opportunities out there than ever? If Conan O’Brien is your commencement speaker, think again. [The Atlantic]
Need a laugh? Pep up your day with the latest viral video, the Heavy Metal Rooster. [YouTube]
It should come as no surprise, then, that once the economy hit the fan, Bush and Obama would both choose Keynesian “stimulus” over that vanilla-plain Hayekian approach. We could have it no other way. If any people on Earth could be said to burn the candle at both ends and still curse the darkness, it is us. Wait out the business cycle? Forget about it!! We want action! When do we want it?? Now!!!
Whether or not you agree with the Tea Party, one thing is certain: when socialism comes/came to America, it will be so much more interesting than those European fuddy-duddies could ever imagine. After all, we could have it no other way.
Read the rest of… The Politics of Stimulus: Our Lives in a World Gone Mad
North Carolina isn’t a must-win for Obama; it was icing on the cake last time. But I do think he’ll win there. Like Colorado but unlike Ohio, North Carolina is a swing state that is moving steadily in Democrats’ direction because of long-term demographic trends, primarily the continued influx of tech workers and other highly educated voters into the Research Triangle.
The state’s growth is centered in the progressive middle third of the state, as opposed to the more conservative East and the Appalachian West, a region where Obama has struggled to connect.
The resilience of Obama’s numbers in North Carolina — contrasted with his relative weakness in some Rust Belt swing states — suggests that he will win there. But it’s a stretch to call it a must-win state, as there are many ways to get to 270 without it. Remember, Clinton got 379 Electoral College votes in ’96 and never even made an effort in North Carolina. Few states go from uncompetitive to must-win status for a party in the span of four elections.
By Robert Kahne, RP Staff, on Tue Jun 14, 2011 at 1:30 PM ET
The Politics of Film
I see a lot of movies. More than almost anyone else I know. This is probably because I am broke and out of work and $4.25 for a ticket to a movie is the cheapest entertainment around. Whatever the case may be, I have seen a lot of the films out right now, and if you can’t decide whether or not to catch a movie this week, let these short reviews help you decide.
Super 8 – This film, written and directed by Lost‘s JJ Abrams and produced by Steven Spielberg, is a mix between ET, The Goonies, and Cloverfield, with a healthy dash of Close Encounters of the Third Kind. The resulting film is astounding. The mixture really works–it is a terrifying horror film at parts, and an endearing coming of age film in other parts. The child actors really shine–their friendships are very believable and the relationship between them and their parents seem real–to the point where I can remember having conversations with my parents which exactly mimic those in the film. This film is incredibly approachable–whether you are on a date, or looking to take your grandparents to see a movie, you won’t go wrong with this choice. A quick caveat: several of my female friends who are very into film had strange reservations about this film–so, if you are a girl, think twice.
X-Men: First Class – I tried really hard NOT to like this film. After being a little underwhelmed by Thor earlier this summer, I thought that comic book films were wearing too thin on me. However, I couldn’t help but like this film. Michael Fassbender does absolutely fantastic in this film–to the point where you root for Magneto by the end of the film. James McAvoy turns in a good performance also, and Kevin Bacon plays a fantastic 1960s villain. Though the film gets a little crowded with the supporting mutants, I felt connected enough to all the characters to enjoy the film. This film is a prequel, and I believe prequels ought to have a sense or foreboding which eventually results in the problem encountered in the original film. This movie does a good job with that–the tension between Fassbender and McAvoy is done very well.
The Hangover Part II – As you have probably heard by now, this film is exactly like the first one, but in Thailand. Though the scale was much bigger, and the setting was different, this film didn’t work for me because it attempts to rehash literally every plot point from the first film, down to extremely minute details. I laughed in parts–but not a lot. The characters worn extremely thin in this too–I don’t understand how Bradley Cooper became a leading man–his career must be charmed or something. I don’t really find Zack Galifianakis funny, and the Paul Giamatti cameo really fell flat in my opinion. If you are in the mood for a comedy, go see Bridesmaids instead.
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides – Every once in a while there is a character that an actor or writers love, which causes that character to live longer than he should (for instance, Rocky Balboa). Jack Sparrow has become the newest iteration of this phenomenon. I knew this going into this film, and you ought to as well. If you go to see this film, don’t expect anything incredible. Buy some popcorn and a soda, kick back, and let it wash over you. There is absolutely nothing in this film that is any different than the first three Pirates films, but I still managed not to hate it. You don’t like Jack Sparrow nearly as much as Johnny Depp does, but if you are anything like me, you like him alright–probably even enough to go see Pirates 5.
Bridesmaids – I laughed more in this film than I have in any other film this year. I have been a huge Kristen Wiig fan for a very long time, but I was worried that her “I’mCRAZY!”schtick wouldn’t translate well to film. But in this film, she didn’t rely on her character at all–and she was still hilarious and awesome. This film was produced by Judd Apatow (Superbad, Pineapple Express, Knocked Up) and folks were worried that making his brand of film about women wouldn’t work–but it really did. I am not a woman, and therefore cannot really comment about what female friendships are like–but this seemed real. All the performances were top notch, but the show stealer for me was Melissa McCarthy (The Gilmore Girls). She was absolutely hilarious in every scene which she was in. Finally, I think a lot of female comedies seem to be afraid to portray their characters as attractive (for instance, Tina Fey always talks about how she is fat in 30 Rock, which doesn’t make sense to me). This film doesn’t do that–Kristen Wiig is hooking up with Jon Hamm in the first scene, which I think is a very refreshing take on how casual relationships work in the real world (ie, not ugly old men and bombshell blond ladies).
Thor – I had very high expectations of this film. Kenneth Branaugh is one of my favorite people in film–I watched his Hamlet when I was a kid and went through a weird Shakespeare phase. Unfortunately, this film failed to meet my expectations. The performances were great–Chris Hemsworth plays a fantastic Thor, Kat Dennings is great, Natalie Portman does a fine job, and Idris Elba was epic (in the few scenes where he appears)–but the story falls a little flat. The story is okay, but it seems a little condensed and a little crowded. Things kept happening, and I never really got a chance to connect with many of the characters in the way in which I wanted them too. However, the films visuals are stunning. Asgard looks great–and I really like how it emphasizes the technological aspects of the mythology over the magical. In reality, this film suffered in my eyes because I expected it to be too good. If you don’t make the same mistake, you will be fine.
Like I said, I watch too many movies. I hope this helps you pick something out for this weekend.
I do a film podcast/radio show, which you can listen to here. We are fun, and the show is entertaining. I promise!
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