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 Steven Schulman, on Thu Apr 21, 2011 at 8:30 AM ET
I have the greatest job in the world — or so I am told nearly every week or so, typically by a law student, but sometimes by colleagues and adversaries. No, I am not the shortstop for the Boston Red Sox (Jed Lowrie is doing just fine, thank you very much).
I am a partner at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, an international law firm with more than 800 attorneys around the world. And not just *any* partner, but the Pro Bono Partner, leading a firm-wide practice group in which more than 550 of my colleagues work every year, collectively devoting nearly 60,000 hours annually to a wide variety of indigent clients and public interest causes. I work very hard, but I rarely bill an hour.
How did I get this gig? Well, like many such stories, this one starts with a large Nigerian coming to my office one spring afternoon.
On that day more than 13 years ago, I was a litigation associate at an even larger international law firm, Latham & Watkins. My practice consisted primarily of advising large corporations facing all manner of antitrust issues, from mergers and acquisitions being challenged by the Department of Justice to competitors suing over allegedly wrongful conduct. To put it bluntly, my practice was as relevant to a Nigerian man as the Washington Nationals are to the National League pennant race.
Placing Nigeria on a map...
But there he was, because I had raised my hand at a litigation group lunch when someone asked for help in this Nigerian’s immigration court case. Once we settled into a conference room, Tolu introduced himself and then his quite large family — both physically and numerically. My charge: get them asylum. Second place: deportation back to Nigeria, likely to return to the prison where he had been detained and tortured for his pro-democracy activism. I had never set foot in an immigration court, not could I confidently place Nigeria on a map. But I did have enough legal training to figure it all out, and enough pressure, given the stakes, to motivate me to work as hard as I would for any paying client.
Obviously, we won, or else I would still be worrying about how to get approval for the merger of the largest and second-largest widget makers in the North American market.
Winning Tolu’s case set me on an unusual path, one that eventually led me to focus on pro bono practice half-time (at Latham) and then full-time (when I joined Akin Gump in 2006).
It consequently led Jonathan to place on me the moniker of “recovering antitrust lawyer.” I resisted this label at first – after all, I did not surrender my law firm credentials or lifestyle, and count among my partners some fine antitrust lawyers. I am still very much part of the law firm world. Then again, the recovering politicians who contribute to this site are in similar positions – at once quite engaged in politics, even if no
longer serving in office.
Tolu and family
Like these RPs, I don’t reject my former practice. Rather, I embrace the law firm model and ethos, but work to improve our firm by pushing it to meet the lofty ideals of our profession. Representing Tolu, and subsequently other refugees from all over the world, inspired me not just to do this work myself, but to enlist others to use theirtalents to serve the less fortunate among us. I continue to be inspired by my colleagues, who selflessly give their time to advise the KIPP charter schools or fight for Social Security benefits for disabled clients.
My fellow Akin Gump attorneys show every day that the billable hour isn’t the only law firm value, as much as the profession has been driven to act more like a bottom-line business.
——
And now a tribute from another refugee advocate:
By Jonathan Miller, on Wed Apr 20, 2011 at 5:00 PM ET
Another day, another half-dozen posts at The Recovering Politician…
Tomorrow, we will introduce a new Friend of the RP. Our younger readers will want to pay close attention to this piece: He’s the only person I know who made partner at a huge, international law firm without billing an hour. And he still isn’t billing clients.
We’ll also have another edition of that ultra-popular game show, Where in the World is the RP? Pay close attention to the Web site (That means click in every five minutes or so), because you will never know when the piece will be posted, and only the first person who guesses the location of the picture wins a free, autographed copy of The RP’s book, The Compassionate Community: Ten Values to Unite America.
And of course, since tomorrow is Thirsty Thursday, all beers sold at this site will be half-priced. Except Miller Genuine Draft, as the RP gets residuals.
By Jonathan Miller, on Wed Apr 20, 2011 at 12:30 PM ET
NATO’s operations in Libya have created a very odd moment in international affairs. The decision to commit US and NATO forces to help the embattled rebels by imposing a no fly zone happened so fast there was barely any time for an actual debate. The momentum for swift action, however, has dissipated now that the decision has been made, leaving us with a stalemate on the ground and with lingering concerns that, almost in a fit of insensibility, the US and its allies have begun an adventure without any clear idea of how or when it will end.
The political contortions surrounding the decision to act will keep historians and political scientists busy for years. It offered, for example, the confusing spectacle of the Secretary of Defense going into detail about what a bad idea a no fly zone was only a few days before the decision to go ahead. The President made the decision while traveling in Latin America, and only spoke to the American people in detail several days after the air war began. The political class was similarly confused.
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Click on the chart above to see how Alex Pareene of Salon wonderfully skewered the GOP position.
Only relatively marginalized groups on Right and Left offered clear objections—Glenn Beck seeing in the Arab Spring a global conspiracy of liberals and Islamists to establish a Caliphate; Dennis Kucinich wanting to impeach the President for going to war—but the political establishment acquiesced quickly to the arguments for action. Congressional Democrats, many of whom had been vocal critics of military actions elsewhere, closed ranks around the President. Congressional Republicans were caught flat-footed, and after a period of confusion settled on a strategy of criticizing the manner in which the decision was made rather than the decision itself.
The international reactions have been no less confused. Europeans, concerned about the unrest in a country so close to their shores and which provided so much of Europe’s oil, were among the first calling for action, seconded (incongruously enough) by the Arab League. Calls for a no fly zone grew as it appeared that TheBrotherLeaderWhoseNameWesternMedia-HasNotBeenAbleToTransliterateEffectivelySince1969 was preparing to massacre the rebels in the besieged towns and cities of Eastern Libya. With President Obama arguing that the US could not go it alone, and our most important European allies expressing a willingness to shoulder a large share of the burden, the UN Security Council supported the idea, and voila! A triumph of multilateralism.
Yes, the Security Council managed to avoid a Russian or Chinese veto, but the best those two international free riders could offer was to abstain. Neither China nor Russia has made any constructive contribution to settling the problems, and no one expects them to either, which is incongruous but habitual for two states who enjoy complaining about American unilateralism. To make matters worse, the Germans, in the person of Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, who had spoken so loudly in the run-up to the vote about the need to avoid a humanitarian catastrophe, joined China and Russia in the abstention. Westerwelle and his boss, Chancellor Angel Merkel, had their eyes on upcoming state elections and decided not to rile the German public by committing the Germans to military action—thus choosing to be preemptively irresponsible rather than provide ammunition for their even more internationally irresponsible domestic rivals. Westerwelle then doubled down on the pusillanimity by announcing that the German abstention did not mean the Germans would not support allied actions in general, as if fecklessness and opportunism are somehow more appealing when one makes no effort to hide them. In the end, the German government was rightfully pummeled from all sides, continues to earn the scorn of media critics (such as Roger Cohen in the NY Times), has alienated its allies, and lost the big state election in Baden-Württemberg anyway.
France's Sarkozy
Meanwhile, France, with Britain close behind, has taken a leading role in the Libya action (and, partially in response to critics who said the West did not care about non-oil-producing lands, Ivory Coast as well). Recent French actions would overturn all the American canards about French weakness and cowardice so popular in the debate over Iraq, if the people who traffic in such canards actually allowed themselves to be swayed by actual facts. One should of course not over-praise French willingness to act, since it reflects domestic politics as much as the German decision. President Nicolas Sarkozy has calculated that these actions will help burnish his image as a leader as he attempts to rev up his re-election campaign. Whether it will do that remains to be seen. In this case, however, the French government has both made a clear decision and has backed it up with actions.
Read the rest of… Ronald J. Granieri: Form, Function & Fantasy in Foreign Policy
By Robert Kahne, RP Staff, on Wed Apr 20, 2011 at 10:00 AM ET
The Politics of the Diamond
The Tampa Bay Rays were not supposed to compete this year, after dumping most of their payroll last year. They really weren’t supposed to compete after it was announced that Evan Longoria was injured. They really, really weren’t once Manny Ramirez retired. However, here we are, almost a month into the season, and the Rays are in second place in the AL East. And Evan Longoria might be coming back soon. [mlb.com]
Tim “The Freak” Lincecum took a no-hitter into the 7th inning last night against the owners of the best record in the National League–the Colorado Rockies. The Rockies finished with four hits and one run. Which is seven runs less than the Giant’s eight. That’s a weird way of saying that the Giants won last night, 8-1, over the Rockies. [ESPN]
The AL Central is the division most up for grabs in baseball, in my opinion. If the White Sox want to compete for the pennant, they will need Jake Peavy. Unfortunately, he only managed to throw 15 pitches in his first rehab outing. [Chicago Trib]
The RP has come out against Barry Bonds going to jail. He now knows who to complain to about Bond’s conviction (the names of the jurors has been released) [Canadian Press]
Reds pitcher Mike Leake has been arrested on charges of shoplifting shirts for Macy’s. Since this is a website about civility and being nice to people, and this is a story about a Reds player doing something incredibly stupid, I will just leave you with that. [ESPN]
Major League Baseball has one of the most draconian policies on the entire internet when it comes to hosting videos. No site on the entire web is allowed to host a video of an MLB highlight, and MLB is very vigilant about ensuring these videos stay safe and sound at mlb.com. This angers baseball and sports bloggers everywhere–and they weren’t about to take that sitting down. Deadspin has decided to enlist the help of its readers to get reenactments of the previous night’s highlights as performed by youth baseball teams. The response was overwhelming, and now Deadspin has released a contest where they have asked youth baseball teams to reenact major events in MLB history. [Original Challenge] [Historical Challenge][Challenge Accepted]
By Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, on Wed Apr 20, 2011 at 8:30 AM ET
I want to thank Jonathan Miller for giving me the chance…as a recovering politician…to contemplate this week on the relation between faith and politics.
After my eight years as Lt. Governor of Maryland, I wrote “Failing America’s Faithful: How Today’s Churches are Mixing God with Politics and Losing Their Way.” I thought that many churches that had once served as a counterweight to a nation overly obsessed with money were no longer were fulfilling this critical function.
Religious communities were strong and vocal during the Civil Rights era, and in the protests against the Vietnam war, following a strong tradition which began in the First and Second Great Awakenings, during which ministers preached to thousands (and this was the time before microphones!!) demanding justice.
The Abolitionist movement and the Suffragette movement both grew out of the Second Great Awakening. The late 19th century was the time of the Social Gospel activists, who asked “What would Jesus do?” as a way to urge the end of child labor, and to promote safe working conditions, a strong union movement and fairness for prisoners. FDR compared the New Deal to the “Sermon on the Mount” enacted into law. In the thirties and forties, Jesuits ran over 300 labor organizing schools.
This Holy Week — Passover, Good Friday and Easter — is the perfect time to reflect on our lives. What have we done? What should we be doing? Questions of justice and fairness permeate our conversations.
As an added bonus, this spiritual moment coincides with the fierce debates about the budget. We can and should engage in examination of conscience and examination of country. My fear is that the religious communities will not play the vigorous role in this debate as they have in our past.
Unfortunately today, may churches seem to have shrunk God, so that rather than a Deity who cares for the whole nation, this God is concerned with only “me”. They ask: “What is my relationship to God?” not “What is my duty to be concerned with all God’s children?” God seems to be created in the image of the believer, not a large God who is concerned with everyone.
Kathleen and her dad. Click on the picture to watch a video on RFK's South Africa trip.
When my father, Robert Kennedy, returned from South Africa, he wrote an article for Look magazine entitled, “Suppose God is Black?” He knew that God cared about justice for all, not just the few. He knew that Christ had said it was easier for a camel to get through the eye of the needle than for a rich man to enter heaven.
Today, America seems to celebrate the rich and famous. We tax work at higher levels that we tax wealth. There are some wonderful leaders such as Jim Wallis of Sojourners and groups that are concerned with the Common Good, with the proper relation between faith and politics.
I hope that we use this time to use our religious teachings to inform questions of public policy. And, of course, I am interested in any response to these ideas.
By Jonathan Miller, on Tue Apr 19, 2011 at 5:00 PM ET
Tomorrow morning, we lead off with a timely piece from a special new recovering politician.
She is a nationally renowned leader, a former Lt. Governor, and also happens to be the daughter of my father’s hero. (If you don’t know who she is by this description, then you haven’t been reading all my posts: DO YOUR HOMEWORK!)
She is also the author of a thoughtful book on faith and politics. So it is fitting that her inaugural piece for The Recovering Politician focuses on that very subject during a Holy Week for Jews and Christians, which conincides with one of the most significant budget battles in recent history. Whatever your faith (or lack thereof), I think you will find this piece very thought-provoking. So tune in tomorrow.
Also tomorrow, our Recovering Professor, Ronald J. Granieri, will bring his expertise in European history to bear by sharing his unique perspective on the Libyan conflict, with a focus on the relationship between the United States and its allies during this new era. If you are tired of all of the partisan soundbites back-and-forth on this issue, I think you will find Ron’s analysis to be quite interesting.
So, see you bright and early for some spirited discussion on some critical issues.
By Robert Kahne, RP Staff, on Tue Apr 19, 2011 at 3:00 PM ET
The Politics of Film
You may have noticed that the time it takes between the release of a film in theaters and that film’s home release has gotten considerably shorter over the past few years. Studios want to cut that down even further. Theaters, on the other hand, don’t want that at all. [The Movie Blog]
Jesse Eisenberg, who was widely acclaimed for his performance in The Social Network, is teaming up with Ellen Page (from Juno and Inception) in Woody Allen’s next film. I am pretty excited about that. [Movie Line]
Nicolas Cage is in some hot water. He was arrested on charges of Public Intoxication, Disorderly Conduct, and it has been alleged that he physically abused his wife. Lets hope that Nic gets on track soon. And lets hope he makes better movies, too. [Chicago Sun-Times]
George Clooney is no stranger to controversial films. His next film could be about the Troubled Assets Relief Program, entitled the 700 Billion Dollar Man. He might even direct. [Film Junk]
It’s been known for a while that Disney and Jerry Bruckheimer will partner to make another adaptation of The Lone Ranger with Johnny Depp playing the role of Tonto. However, things are looking like Ryan Gosling might play the starring role. Ladies, keep it together. [/Film]
Catherine Zeta-Jones has drawn praise for disclosing that she received treatment for bipolar disease. Mental illnesses are no joke, and its pretty sad that sometimes popular culture puts celebrities who suffer from them through the ringer. Here is hoping she gets everything straightened out. [The Guardian]
I do a radio show every week. If you happen to live in the Lexington, KY area, you should tune in to 88.1 WRFL every Monday at 10 to listen to it. Everybody else should go to our podcast and download it. Seriously, it doesn’t suck. [Surreelfilm]
You may have heard that professional golfer Kevin Na took 16 strokes to finish a par four hole last week. He is truly the new hero of all hacks and duffers out there. Unbelievably, though, his is not the worst score ever on a single hole on the PGA Tour. Know who owns that inglorious record? (The RP wonders if alcohol may have played a role?) [About.com]
And by the way, if you missed Na’s ordeal, you’ve got to watch this painfully fun video with great audio. [Bleacher Report]
Americans, of course, don’t like to lose. We especially don’t like to lose to other countries, right, patriots? But how about getting completely, embarrassingly pounded by the Germans? This falls into the WTF category. (And, yes, WTF stands for World Tennis Federation—WTF did you think?) [Tennis-X]
The Duke Lacrosse story has now gone from sad to sadder to tragic. [CNN]
Finally, there have clearly been great movies about boxing (Rocky, The Fighter come to mind) and golf (Caddyshack, definitely qualifies, The Legend of Bagger Vance is questionable—although it does have Charlize Theron in it), but have there ever been any good movies about tennis? LET US KNOW!!
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