By The Numbers

The SEVEN
by Mack Williams
6 November 2018

20-1

When I think about Georgia Republican gubernatorial candidate and Secretary of State Bryan Kemp, as well as Kansas gubernatorial candidate and Secretary of State Kris Kobach – both of whom are notorious for having engaged in massive voter suppression efforts – it brings to mind a trip our youth baseball team took one Sunday afternoon.

I was coaching a local travel team and was always in search of opportunities for my son and his talented teammates to compete against the best teams we could find. Vinnie, our opponents’ coach on that day – who had brought a team to play us before – warned me beforehand that this particular team he had was a couple of years older than our team was, but we didn’t want to back out, so off we went to play them.

That said, there is often a great difference in size, strength, etc. between 13-14 year olds and 16 year olds… and we experienced all of that on that day. The score was at least 20-1 when Vinnie discreetly directed the scorekeeper to stop posting their runs on the scoreboard. So as I learned about the horrible actions of Kemp and Kobach – who are essentially in charge of running elections they are competing in – I thought about that afternoon and realized that I should have been the umpire as well as coach. Had I been the umpire, a bad umpire like Kemp/Kobach, we might have won. My pitcher throws a pitch a yard off the plate…Strike! Vinnie’s pitcher puts it right down the middle…Ball! And as such, we would have had a chance to win a game that we came nowhere near winning.

Each political party believes that it has the best solutions to the issues that our nation is facing. But if Republicans are so confident in the correctness of their program, why is it that Republicans, time and time again, try to suppress and make voting difficult for people of color?

1965

If you haven’t seen Selma, and you’re on the fence about whether you’re going to go vote, watch it now – because if you are an African-American, you dishonor the memories of so many of your ancestors that gave so much, including their lives in some cases, if you do not vote. And if you’re not an African-American, you have a stake in your country being all that it can be.

1 or 3

If you’re in Washington, D.C., please consider voting for Ralph J. Chittams, Sr., who is running for an at-large seat on the City Council. Ralph is an old friend and a Republican, and the type of individual that I would be pleased to cast a vote for were I in D.C.

But as for other offices – especially for house and senate seats – not so much. And yes, I am a registered Democrat, but I say that not as a Democrat but as someone with a concern for the country – whose founders set up a system of checks and balances between the three branches of government. Obviously this Republican-led Congress has failed to provide any sort of check on the outrageous actions of this President, and it’s doubtful that the judicial branch will do so, either. Today, no matter what party you are registered in, you have a chance to begin to right the ship that has steered way off course since January of 2017. Vote Democratic for the House and Senate.

A Thousand Words

The SEVEN
by Mack Williams
27 June 2015

I. A Picture Is Worth…

Any number of people have left home to go to their jobs and lost their lives, but in most of those cases it was not due to the specific nature of the job itself. In the case of a police officer, this is a potential reality he or she faces every day. The job is no joke, and I believe most people get that.

With that said, I wonder if the bulletproof vest was given to Dylan Storm Roof before the officers bought him some Burger King? Tamar Rice didn’t get a chance to request Burger King, nor did Eric Garner, whose expressed concern was about being unable to breathe. As long as there is a perception that Black lives Don’t matter to people in law enforcement, there will continue to be a fractured relationship between the police and members of the community.

II. 2016 Already?

As horrific as were the Mother Emanuel AME killings, would there be so many calls – from various Republicans – for Confederate flag removal if we were not headed into a presidential election season?

III. Not So Fast

Newly minted Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump managed to stick his toes in some water he should have avoided with his comments about Mexican immigrants being addicts, criminals and rapists that may lead to Univision dropping his Miss USA pageant. Not that that should be that much of a surprise from Birth Certificate Man.

But as I’ve said before, the first people he needs to issue an apology to before doing anything else in his presidential campaign are the Central Park 5.

IV. Right Time, Right Place

Lucky guys like Big Papi and Jose Reyes are in the midst of their seasons now as opposed to being at home in the Dominican Republic. Their dark-skinned tails might be getting deported.

Next time the World Baseball Classic is held, D.R., leave the guys like that off the team and see how well you do.

V. Dat Dude Again

The talking heads are saying that the Cincinnati Reds are about to throw in the towel on this season and this group of players, and go into fire sale mode. After seeing another one of Brandon Phillips’ behind the back plays last night – which he followed up with a game-winning home run – I so hope that he can find his way into the playoffs again so that everyone can get to see how great (and, yes, entertaining) he is.

VI. A New York Minute

We won’t really know the outcome of last night’s NBA Draft night picks and moves for years to come…but here are two predictions:

1. That youngster whose expression was the picture of dissatisfaction after the Knicks picked Kristaps Porzingis will be seeing his face on TV for years, no matter how Porzingis turns out. (I happen to think he may turn out okay.)

2. Brooklyn Nets fans will look back on this day with disdain after Mason Plumlee, traded to the Portland Trail Blazers, develops into a fine NBA player.

VII. Olympic Reunion

If they hold a reunion for Olympic gold medalists, will Caitlyn Jenner attend?

47 Again

The SEVEN
by Mack Williams
15 March 2015

I. Lucky Number

If you’re a Republican or are about to become one (for some unknown or unexplainable reason), I would advise you to refrain from playing 47 in the lottery. That’s probably not your lucky number.

You will remember back in 2012 when Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney spoke of the 47 percent of the population that wouldn’t take personal responsibility, and how it wasn’t his job to worry about them. Of course he went on to lose with 47 percent of the vote. Now this year 47 Senate Republicans thought it wise to sign off on a condescending open letter to the leadership of Iran which essentially said to disregard President Obama (who, according to the Constitution, is to be in charge of the nation’s foreign policy) and anything he says, since they will be in office for years and, in some cases, decades longer than he will.

Perhaps the first order of business should be to make certain, in their next elections, that that does not turn out to be the case. As for those signers who may have designs on the presidency – such as Senators Rand Paul and Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio – such wanton disregard for the office of the presidency should permanently disqualify them from consideration.

II. America’s Mayor?

So Rudy Giuliani, another former Republican presidential candidate, says Darren Wilson should be commended for shooting Mike Brown. Wow. The concept of commendation for taking a life is interesting, to say the least, but considering the source, maybe not unsurprising.

By September 10th, 2001, virtually everyone in and around the entire city of New York couldn’t wait for Giuliani’s final term to conclude just under four months later. My young son once commented on how I booed the TV screen every time Rudy was shown in a box seat at Yankee Stadium. And then 9/11 happened. He parlayed his good crisis management over a few weeks into being dubbed “America’s Mayor,” largely by outsiders. But many within the city never forgot the horrible job he did during so much of the first seven years and eight months. This is another example of that Rudy, who has clearly outlived his usefulness.

III. There Will Never Be A…

One unexpected consequence of the SAE N-word fraternity song at the University of Oklahoma was that a prize African-American football recruit backed away from his plan to attend Oklahoma. I wonder what Sooner fans, used to success in the Big 12 conference and nationally as well, would think if all of the people SAE sang of as “N-words” chose to take their football and basketball talents elsewhere.

IV. Fantasy Island

Had I not basically said I do not watch every NFL game while I was saying “I do” to my wife, I might be going crazy over the New York Jets’ 46-year Super Bowl drought (though at least they remain undefeated). But for all those going crazy, they’ve taken some big steps to make it back there by re-signing former Jets Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie to man the cornerback positions. Just as in any sport, defense wins rings – and in my opinion, having lockdown cornerbacks is the key to having a first class defensive team. Revis Island be fun to watch again.

V. The Nutty Professor

What was definitely fun to watch was the instant classic San Antonio Spurs-Cleveland Cavaliers overtime thriller, which featured that unreal 57 point performance by Kyrie Irving. Could that be a June preview, Spurs vs. LeBron’s team for the third year in a row? It certainly is a very real possibility for the Cavs, given that there is a much easier pathway for them than for the Spurs to emerge yet again from the minefield that is the western conference.

Should it happen, the Cavs will need to have a real Big 3 a la the Heat, the Doc Rivers Celtics, etc., not a Big 2 and Buddy Love as opposed to Kevin. Should it happen, Spurs in six.

VI. Life

I have just attended the funeral of Deacon Frank Warren, an heroic man in his community who was, to me, somewhat reminiscent of my father – even before I learned that they shared the same birthday. Then when his son spoke of how his father was so strong he thought his dad could beat Chief Jay Strongbow and Andre the Giant, it took me back to so many Saturday nights at midnight with my father watching the Chief tomahawk chop his way out of horrific WWF predicaments, along with the mild disappointment of seeing the brother S.D. Jones consistently finding a way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in his matches.

But there was another similarity between the two, that of their love of the New York Mets. I don’t how how Mr. Warren came to the Mets; my dad adopted them after the Dodgers (for whom he retained a soft spot in his heart until his death) moved to Los Angeles. Once on the scene, he took the Mets as his own and took me to many a game…which brings me to the day some three or four years ago when Mr. Warren’s daughter told me of an extra ticket to a Met game the following day, and asked if I would like to go. Naturally I said yes, and off we went – Mr. Warren and his brother, both then over ninety years of age; his daughter, and me. Being there with the two older gentlemen – big fans each – so reminded me of the film “Life,” in which Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence’s wrongly imprisoned characters finally escape as old men and attend a game at Yankee Stadium.

Here’s hoping these two guys meet up and look down together on their Mets at Citi Field.

VII. 42

I’m certain both of these men were big fans of Jackie Robinson. With the baseball season fast approaching, get the young people in your life a copy of my new children’s book, “Jackie Robinson and the Negro Leagues,” so they can get a sense of why these men and so many others had reason to admire him. You can visit Amazon through this link to do just that:

What Were They Thinking?

The SEVEN
23 November 2013

I.  In The Beginning

Now that I’m a deacon, I guess one would think that I would be really upset about the recent situation at Costco where Bibles were classified, in the book department, as fiction.  Actually, I’m not. Not that I’m trying to diss the Bible, but things happen, often by mistake.  A group of us worked for several years in the corporate offices of a book retailer where our job was, in part, to correct classification errors such as these.  Anyway, Costco has apologized to Fox News for the error.

Now what should happen is that Fox News should apologize to President Obama, Michelle Obama, and everyone else for continually broadcasting fiction, and classifying it as news.

II.  What Were You Thinking?

The more we hear about the violence-prone individual that is George Zimmerman, the more I am certain that those jurors on that trial have got to realize that they made a big mistake.

III.  Gonna Put It In The Want Ads

The more we hear about the newly-hired Rutgers University athletic director Julie Hermann, and the bouts she appears to have with the truth, the more I think that if you have ever harbored an ambition to be a major college Division I athletic director at a school about to join the Big Ten, you ought polish up the old resume ASAP. 

IV.  Hard Knock Life

It’s been a hard knock life for the New York Mets during the past few years, most definitely on the field and even down to the marketing department…who put together a Marlon Byrd bobble head night, only for him to have been traded to Pittsburgh by the time it came up.

But that doesn’t mean they needed to break bread with Jay Z and the agents from CAA that are representing Yankee second baseman Robinson Cano, the prime free agent of this off-season. No one can be certain if they are off of their spending moratorium set as a result, in part, of the Madoff mess, but I do know they have no intention of tossing $300 million Cano’s way over the next ten years.  If they would not move to re-sign their own premier middle infielder – Jose Reyes – for little more than a third of the $300 million allegedly sought by Jay and Co., what would make you think they would kick it out to Cano like that?

Though it would be a great signal to their fan base if they did.

V.  Rock Steady

So everyone is having a field day going off on Toronto mayor Rob Ford, but how many know about what happened down in Florida, where the Toronto snowbirds spend their winters?  Florida Republican congressman Trey Radel, who in September voted that people receiving assistance should be drug-tested, was arrested last month for cocaine possession. 

But that’s okay, as my wife pointed out, because he is not receiving assistance.

I wonder if, had that been me, I would have gotten off with the one year probation that he got. I also wonder if there is any medical correlation between alcoholism and cocaine, as he claimed in the midst of his apology. Gonna check on that…

VI.  I Left My Heart

I love San Francisco…can hardly think about a trip to California without stopping through there. And, like most everybody from the President on down, I love the way people came together to help with Batkid getting his wish.

What I didn’t care too much for was the news that while the feel good stuff was going on, the SF Police went and beat an African-American 21-year-old college student known as DJ to the point of unconsciousness. There must have been something that DJ had that piqued their curiosity to the point that they would act as they did…something other than the cupcake and juice he was taking home…which sounds so familiar.

Too bad Batkid couldn’t save him too.

VII.  Why?

One day, when I was about eighteen, my father asked me why I would wear this particular t-shirt I had on, to which I responded that I had gotten it for free.  Not that he was at all prejudiced, but he didn’t think I needed to wear something showing a busty Caucasian woman. In retrospect, his objection was probably more about the sexual connotation as opposed to any racial issue.

If only he had seen this young man that got on the subway in New York the other day with a woman that looked like she was a female relative of his, although they got off at different stops…which doesn’t mean they were not related, just going different places.  He was certainly old enough to travel by himself – which if you couldn’t tell from his size and features, you might have been able to discern from the hat he wore, which read:  I wanna Fu*$k Rihanna. And the editing was mine.

It’s really beyond dude, why would you wear that hat…in the presence of this female relative…but also, to the entrepreneur that thought it worthwhile to produce such hats, what made you think that there should be a market for something so degrading of that young lady?  

He probably thought the Bible was fiction.