And it is as valid in 2014 as it was in 1967.

-- Mal

this man was the greatest revolutionary of the '60's.

His principled stand against the Viet Nam War was a wake up call to America on so many levels.

He was a great boxer and entertainer, but what he did for America was an act of humility on the same level as a Gandhi or a Mandela.

Respect.

I think a lot of right wingers knew he was right too.

the poster boy of republican cowardliness and privilege.

Recommended.

Ali had the courage of his convictions.

A few days after then is when I got my draft notice

We all admired him for his principled stand. Naturally, we didn't share our opinions with the officers!

wished I'd acted the same when I got my draft notice two years earlier. Was then and will always be my hero.

He was Cassius Clay to that jerk, even as he used the influence of friends to get into the National Guard... just one of many reasons he's my ex husband.

My current husband is a Vietnam vet. He said he served out of a sense of duty and love of country. Now, he agrees with everything Ali said.

...and certainly not uppity, un-American black people like Muhammed Ali.

And he just about had a stroke when Little Richard came on the Tonight Show.

in the process. He kind of drifted away after he returned. Just a sad conflict in the history of the US.

Joined the National Guard to get out of active duty and now he's revised his history calling himself a "veteran".

My father admired Ali for having the courage of his convictions.

just as relevant today as it was then.

between my father and myself,,,,,,,

and he did. They went out of their way to take it all from him.
In the end he won.
He did what so few are willing to do today - stand up for what you really believe and put it all on the line.

There was nothing patriotic about it.

It did not preserve our freedom.

It was never the right thing to do.

If our government and the CIA believed Vietnam was essential for preserving the world for capitalism then they should have been excoriated for their incompetence.

It served as little purpose as Afghanistan. Maybe less when we look at it in the historical context.

Our country right or wrong.

And you all have the debt of a nation.

a journalist asked The Champ if he held any grudges against those men who stripped him of his title and ability to earn a living while his conviction was being appealed? More, had he considered suing them for damages?

Ali said no, he held no grudges whatsoever. He said that he took his stance based upon what he thought was right; likewise, he accepted that those who opposed him were doing what they thought was right.

Those 3.5 years were what was his physical prime. And he lost the opportunity to make millions of dollars. Both his brave and moral stance, and his ability to forgive those who sought to put him in prison, speak highly of this man.

about his life. Wonderful.

We loved him for standing up to the warmongers.

Talk about living to the full...

Nobody's fool, nobody's tool.

He knew the price and paid it.

I honor him.

respectfully,
Bright

nt

Love him

I wish everyone would take that stand, everywhere. If the greedy cowards, Cheney et al want to profit from killing people in other countries, let them go do it themselves.



Thanks Ali. He has more courage in his little finger than all the warmongering, cowardly 'leaders' put together.

On June 20, 1967, Ali was tried, convicted,and sentenced in a Houston court to five years in prison for refusing to serve in the military and was ordered to pay a $10,000 fine for draft evasion. His lawyers then appealed the court's decision, which was denied in May 1968. He returned to boxing in 1970 while his case was on appeal.

The case found its way to the Supreme Court in June 1971, where his conviction was overturned. The high court stated that it was not possible to decide which of the three basic tests for conscientious objector status were used and relied on by the draft board in Ali's case to deny his objecting status.

The Houston MEPS has been processing applicants for the Armed Forces at that Houston site since 1966. To this day, you can still see new recruits leaving the building for recruit training in other cities.