Muhammad Ali, Steinberg, nonpartisans, El Dorado, Silas

Ali was not the greatest boxer

Re “ ‘The Greatest’ gone” (Page 1A, June 4): Muhammad Ali was a great boxer, extremely outspoken and could capture headlines with his “I am the greatest” rants. Joe Louis had more fights, more title defenses, more knockouts, more wins, defended his title more, and was champion from 1937 to 1949. Louis also found time to serve his country.

The Brown Bomber was a soft-spoken, humble gentleman and never humiliated his opponent. He was the exact opposite of Ali. Cassius Clay could easily be the second best of all time.

Ali generated controversy

Re “Ali left a lasting lesson in bravery” (Local, June 5): Not everyone saw Muhammad Ali through Marcos Breton’s rose-colored glasses. Ali was a very polarizing and controversial figure in his earlier life. In the beginning, many Americans of all races didn’t understand how someone could change their given name because of a relatively unknown religion.

Then Ali refused the Vietnam draft because this religion didn’t believe in war. There was a controversy from some parents whose sons were drafted and later killed or maimed in the war, and Ali just lost his boxing title.

Even with all the polarization and controversy, Ali eventually did a lot of good in the world and was unfortunately ravaged by a terrible disease. He may not have been a hero to a lot of people, but he was a heavyweight champion of the world.

Sac Metro’s false campaign ad

Re “Mailer ad misleads on Steinberg’s labor record” (PoliGRAPH, June 3): The Sacramento Bee should be congratulated for featuring the very false negative campaign mailer attacking mayoral candidate Darrell Steinberg. The Sacramento Metro Chamber of Commerce PAC should disavow its relationship with the anti-union contractors and the Central Valley-based agribusiness company and their vendetta against Steinberg and his efforts to assist disadvantaged farmworkers achieve fair working conditions and compensation.

Great choices for nonpartisan voter

Since I am a registered nonpartisan voter, I have an advantage in this primary. Instead of asking for my generic ballot, I am asking for a Democratic Party ballot. I am an anybody-but-Hillary voter. Since Donald Trump has already locked up the GOP nomination I can help Bernie Sanders beat Hillary Clinton and almost assure Trump – the candidate who would do less damage than our other lousy choices – would win the presidency. How great it is to have choices when you are nonpartisan.

Fear mongering in El Dorado County

Re “Anti-growth measures would harm El Dorado County” (Viewpoints, June 4): From what I can see, all the fear mongering is coming from the “No on E & G” campaign. I see signs all over the county from that group saying “protect our seniors,” “save our jobs,” “preserve our open space,” etc.

I’d love to hear somebody explain how voting the way a developer wants is going to preserve open space. Perhaps Kevin Nagle should have explained why the impact on taxes would affect health care for seniors, law enforcement, etc. That’s the height of fear mongering.

Series on pot was great journalism

Re “The Silas Project” (Insight, May 31-June 2): My compliments to The Sacramento Bee and writer Peter Hecht for the excellent three-part series about Nevada County’s marijuana scene and how people are affected by it. I learned more in these three days than I have in our local coverage over the past several months. Your follow-up editorial was on target (“Pot has no place on list of most dangerous drugs”; June 3). Excellent journalism!

This story was originally published June 7, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Muhammad Ali, Steinberg, nonpartisans, El Dorado, Silas."