Aretha, 13 others get some r-e-s-p-e-c-t
President Bush awarded 14 Presidential Medals of Freedom today, and one of the recipients was Detroit’s-own Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin.
Franklin, who has had 20 number-one singles in her career, received the medal – which is the highest honor to be bestowed upon a civilian – “for helping to shape our Nation’s artistic and cultural heritage”, according to a White House press release on the subject.
Other medal recipients included Muhammed Ali, who currently resides in Berrien Springs, Michigan; Vincent Cerf and Robert Kahn, hailed as pioneers of the digital age; Paul Harvey, the “one-man network” most notably recognized for “the rest of the story”; Carol Burnett; Alan Greenspan; Jack Nicklaus; Sonny Montgomery; Robert Conquest; Andy Griffith; baseball legend, Frank Robinson; General Richard Myers; and, Paul Rusesabagina, the notable humanitarian that saved the lives of more than 1200 Tutsis and Hutus during the Rwandan genocide of the 1990s.
When Bush was awarding Ali with his medal, G.W. made as if he was throwing a punch at his face. Ali lifted his hand and twirled his finger at his own head (gesture for “He’s Crazy”
Good going Muhammed !
Ha!