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 Jason Atkinson, on Mon May 23, 2011 at 8:30 AM ET
When I raced in Belgium in 1992, I thought I was finally on the verge of breaking into the highest levels of cycling. I came home to Oregon, back to skiing, got run over by a bubble-gummer driving her Daddy’s Chevy Blazer and ended up in politics. Through it all, I have remained a complete lover of cycling.
As I write, the Lion of Flanders flag is a mast over my farm. I put it up for the Tour of Flanders; keep it up for the Paris–Roubaix (the greatest bike race of the season) and through the Grand Tour seasons. My son, when he was barely able to speak complete words, could say the name Paolo Bettini in perfect Italian, Paolo was the World Champion in 2006 and 2007.
I saw doping first hand. Racing on the German – Austrian border I recall seeing two Czech development riders for team Banesto take out syringes during a race and shoot up. What as amazing about this was not the openness, but the herculean speed they had about twenty minutes later. My team had four riders at the Olympic trials that year. We were not the strongest, but certainly a team deep with talent and these two dopers dropped us.
In all the reports from that era, doping was really getting widespread and more sophisticated than the rumored amphetamine use during the 1970’s. Greg LeMond, a three time tour winner, first American game changer and gun shot survivor, commented in the early 1990’s, in the waning years of his career, how cyclists were gaining incredible strength. He was openly criticized for being grumpy and past his prime, but I believed him. LeMond was a man God designed to win bike races. Even in his late 30’s, someone as good as him just does not get dropped.
Lance Armstrong and Marco Pantani
My sport has widespread doping scandals, but I remained true. The Festina mess, then Marco Pantani, “the Pirate.” I have always given the benefit of the doubt, because unlike American team sports where people are elevated with gigantic professional contracts and grow enormous egos based on them, Cyclists rarely make over $100k ($45k for a domestique in the 1990s) and in order to reach those levels cyclists spend years of countless miles training alone. Cyclist loves their sport deeply like few athletes in other sports do. There is never an off-season.
I was hit hard when Pantani was found dead in his hotel room after an overdose. He and I were almost the exact same age. I had seen him race. He was amazing. After the scandals he left cycling and fell deep into depression. I felt for him as a depressed man looking for redemption.
When the allegations surrounding Tyler Hamilton surfaced, I was among the first to sign his web-site’s
Tyler Hamilton
comments section and encourage him to stand strong. More than his Olympic victory, his solo win in the mountains during the 2003 Tour de France with a broken collarbone was perhaps the greatest testament to mind over pain and the love of cycling I had ever seen. When he made his comeback winning the US Championships by a hair’s breath, my son and I were yelling in victory at our TV.
Last night, some of the shine rubbed off as Hamilton came clean on 60 Minutes. It’s another sad day for the sport I love and will again be a necessary cleansing agent. Other sports and their heroes – with far more money in play – are protected, but professional cycling is unique culture around the world and needs to be cleansed.
We Americans marvel and do not quite understand all the hoopla surrounding World Cup Soccer and why the teams and countries are exalted over individual players and multimillion dollar shoe contracts. In the same vein, we don’t fully appreciate professional cycling either. That is why it is hard to grapple with Lance Armstrong.
Like I have, I will remain true and give the benefit of the doubt to Lance Armstrong. I want to believe Lance did not use banned substances. I want to believe in cycling. The 60 Minutes piece was hard for me to watch, and we will all focus on the individual hero, but that is not the sport of cycling.
Five feet away, across my desk – hanging on the wall of my office – is a photo of Governor Schwarzenegger, Governor Kulongoski, myself and my son signing legislation to protect a river that my little boy is the fifth generation to grow up on. I was so proud that day and had the picture made to give my boy when the responsibility to care for the river becomes his. Just like cycling, how do I look at the picture now?
Cycling will still need its heroes next year. My river will still be there in thirty years and will still need her champions. All we want is for both to be clean and protected.
The mainstream press has been obsessed this week with reporting the rantings of evangelical radio broadcaster Harold Camping who is predicting that the Rapture will begin tomorrow at 6 PM.
The good news is that Camping’s views are not widely accepted by the evangelical community.
The better news is, just in case Camping is correct — remembering that the RP and several contributors to The Recovering Politician are Jewish — this Web site will still be fully functional and providing the latest news and Rapture developments in the days ahead for those of you sinners and non-believers in the RP Nation.
So, Rapture or not, we have a busy week ahead. We’ll start off with a very timely piece from contributing RP Jason Atkinson — an accomplished cylcist — about the fate of his sport considering this upcoming Sunday’s revelations on 60 Minutes about Lance Armstrong’s alleged use of performance-enhancing drugs.
RPTV’s My Home Energy Efficiency Rehab will also be back. You’ve caught the energy audit in Parts 1 and 2; now the rehab itself will be featured in Parts 3 and 4. If you care about the environment – or more importantly, you like money – you really should check out these videos and the accompanying links. They really can save you bundles.
By Jonathan Miller, on Fri May 20, 2011 at 2:15 PM ET
I began this week by stirring up a bit of controversy when I came out of the political closet to endorse marriage equality. In that same essay, I opined that we are close to a tipping point when it comes to the acceptance of gay marriage by a significant majority of Americans.
We’ll end the week by highlighting two brand new polls which seem to support my theory.
A recent Religion and Politics Tracking Survey, conducted by Public Religion Research Institute, is the third national poll in as many months to find majority support for same-sex marriage: a slim majority (51%) of Americans now favor allowing gay and lesbian couples to legally marry, compared to 43% percent who are opposed.
The results of the three polls are remarkably consistent even though the other two surveys were conducted by different organizations (ABC News/Washington Post; CNN/Opinion Research Corp.) using different question wordings.
And apparently it’s not just my kids’ generation (the “Millennials”) in support of marriage equality, but mine (“Generation X”) as well:
Sixty-one percent of 18-34 year olds support allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry, but so do nearly 6-in-10 (57%) Americans between the ages of 35 and 49.
The CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey similarly found support extending into older age groups, with 59% of Americans ages 35 to 49 agreeing that marriages between gay and lesbian couples should be recognized by the law as valid.
Second, today Gallup — which just last year found only 44 percent of Americans supporting gay marriage — released a poll demonstrating another dramatic shift in public opinion (h/t Atlantic Wire):
By Chris Schulz, RP Staff, on Fri May 20, 2011 at 1:30 PM ET
The Politics of the Planet
The Mississippi River Flooding has not only affected those who live on the river, but with the Corps of Engineers deciding to open spillways people are being displaced in order to save the larger cities. The water from the floodgates is unleashed with a force greater than Niagara Falls. [huffingtonpost][abcnews]
Contributing RP Artur Davis has been an outspoken national leader on the subject of the proper role of faith in public policy. Four years ago, he sat down for an interview to summarize his views on this subject. His words rings true today, especially in light of the partisanship and polarization plaguing American politics.
By Stephanie Doctrow, RP Staff, on Fri May 20, 2011 at 12:00 PM ET
One woman’s kidney donation to a stranger starts a chain of giving. [Huffington Post]
It’s a dark question we all hope to never have to ask ourselves. If your house was burning down, what possessions would you take with you? [The Burning House]
Concerned parents around the world are thanking God. The infamous “Botox mom” loses custody of her eight year old. [Time]
Years later, Magic Johnson reflects on living with HIV and how his diagnosis affected his life and public opinion towards a controversial illness. [Newsweek]
Two stories in the New York Times this week about same-sex marriage. In the first, Tea Party-friendly, libertarian rich GOP types in New York are putting their substantial resources into the pro-same-sex marriage camp because they see it as both an economic development issue and a “don’t tread on me” small government issue. Will these arguments find traction in what is essentially a fundamental question of the civil rights of individuals in the United States? New York Times
But does this economic development argument help or hinder the campaign to legalize same-sex marriage? In an Op/Ed piece by Jaye Cee Whitehead following the initial publication of the GOP story in the NYTs, Whitehead argues that “supporting gay marriage on economic grounds dehumanizes same-sex couples by conflating civil rights with economic perks.” The Wrong Reasons for Same-Sex Marriage
This is an argument that will continue to grow in the struggle for the legalization of a fundamental human right. What say you, dear readers?
By David Snyder, on Fri May 20, 2011 at 8:30 AM ET
Not being much of a writer, but having known the RP for going on 30 years, I was offered the opportunity to contribute to the blog. The theme of all first timers on this site is (in the RP’s own words), “how you got to your second act.” Although I am not a recovering politician, I am a recovering lawyer.
I spent ten years practicing law and I am proud to say – IT CAN BE DONE – you can make it out alive. And there is life on the outside. This is in no way meant to disparage attorneys. Many on this site (the RP included) are attorneys, as are my own father and many friends. So many attorneys do great work and are still engaged in and excited by the practice of law, and it really is amazing to see. Law still remains the most noble of professions.
But I also know there are many like myself who had their fill and needed to move on. I was typical of many solo practitioners – doing criminal defense and smaller litigation cases, wills and trust work, and eventually part of a small firm, doing more complex business litigation. And I reached a point where the fight of other’s battles became a thankless and ungratifying place to be.
I had always wondered where my life would go if I left the practice of law. And as fate would have it, while I was contemplating this issue in my law office in downtown Cincinnati, an opportunity arose that put me on the path I am on today.
While considering my future in 2002, I was visited by my financial advisor who, while performing an annual review, began recruiting me. And within a day, I was already on my way to meetings, interviews and a whirlwind of education and licensing for four months that led me to Northwestern Mutual and being a Financial Advisor, where I have been the past 8+ years. The fit was perfect. I already had the legal background and a good knowledge of planning from the legal perspective and add to that the financial/investment education and the proper licenses and credentials, as well as a very supportive wife, and I was set to go.
Within a month, my entire perspective on being a professional had changed. While leaving an appointment in that first month, the clients actually thanked me for spending time talking with them and discussing their financial planning. No one had ever done that while practicing law and my life had been transformed. I knew I had found a home in this profession. I realized that I had a passion for this work. I have the privilege of making an impact, making a difference, of working with individuals, protecting families and businesses, and more importantly, building wealth in a most tax efficient manner.
This is gratifying and satisfying, something that many lawyers never feel. Despite all of the good work that attorneys perform, much of it is thankless and that took its toll on me. Practicing law was work. Now I have a career.
I must say that it has not been easy and without certain trials and tribulations. Being self employed is great, but requires much work to build up a going business. And the biggest bridge I have crossed is toeing the line between personal and professional life. In no other business I have seen does a person actively seek out so many people that you already know in an effort to help them out and make them clients. That can cause strife when your professional relationship creeps into the personal relationship. And it is the burden that all who work as Financial Advisors must carry.
I was very recently confronted with this situation – a client who is a long time friend, and there is most definitely a fine line between the appropriate times for business and the times when the relationship must remain purely social. I am comforted by my passion, because I know that even when I walk along that line, I am operating from a good place and with good intentions. My heart and passion are in the right place and this career offers me the opportunity to help not only those I have just met, but also those persons I have known for so long and care so much about. Where else can you impact people, including friends and family and help provide them with the security and peace of mind they so desperately want and need?
So here I am, 8+ years later, happier and professionally satisfied. And while being self employed has its challenges, I can make my own schedule which allows me to attend my childrens’ sports activities and school programs, along with other extra curricular and charitable work I have begun.
To all the attorneys out there in RP land – I applaud you. But if you are like me, there is hope – find what you like and go after it. It can make all the difference.
Blog this!
