Archived Columns From 2013

by Walter Williams

2013 January

Why the 2nd AmendmentJanuary 02, 2013

Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., in the wake of the Newtown, Conn., shootings, said: “The British are not coming. … We don’t need all these guns to kill people.” Lewi...

Dishonest EducatorsJanuary 09, 2013

Nearly two years ago, U.S. News & World Report came out with a story titled “Educators Implicated in Atlanta Cheating Scandal.” It reported that “for 10 ...

Are Guns the Problem?January 16, 2013

When I attended primary and secondary school — during the 1940s and ’50s — one didn’t hear of the kind of shooting mayhem that’s become routine today. Why? I...

Experts Aren't DeitiesJanuary 23, 2013

Let’s look at experts. Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727) was a mathematician and scientist. Newton has to be the greatest and most influential scientist who has e...

Official LiesJanuary 30, 2013

Let’s expose presidential prevarication. Earlier this year, President Barack Obama warned that Social Security checks will be delayed if Congress fails to in...

2013 February

Women in CombatFebruary 06, 2013

A senior Defense Department official said the ban on women in combat should be lifted because the military’s goal is “to provide a level, gender-neutral play...

Cultural Deviancy, Not GunsFebruary 13, 2013

There’s a story told about a Paris chief of police who was called to a department store to stop a burglary in progress. Upon his arrival, he reconnoitered th...

Abraham LincolnFebruary 20, 2013

Steven Spielberg’s “Lincoln” has been a box-office hit and nominated for 12 Academy Awards, including best picture, best director and best actor for Daniel D...

2013 March

Mandated Wages and DiscriminationMarch 06, 2013

Let’s work through an example. Suppose 100 yards of fence could be built using one of two techniques. You could hire three low-skilled workers for $15 each, ...

Educational RotMarch 13, 2013

American education is in a sorry state of affairs, and there’s enough blame for all participants to have their fair share. They include students who are host...

Intellectuals and RaceMarch 20, 2013

After reading Dr. Thomas Sowell’s latest book, “Intellectuals and Race,” one cannot emerge with much respect for the reasoning powers of intellectuals, parti...

Are We Equal?March 27, 2013

Are women equal to men? Are Jews equal to gentiles? Are blacks equal to Italians, Irish, Polish and other white people? The answer is probably a big fat no, ...

2013 April

Black UnemploymentApril 10, 2013

A couple of weeks ago, Black Entertainment Television founder Bob Johnson, speaking at The National Press Club, said the nation “would never tolerate white u...

Price Versus CostApril 17, 2013

Suppose you buy a gallon of gas for $3. How much did it cost you? You say, “Williams, that’s a silly question. It cost $3.” That’s where you’re mistaken, bec...

Academic CesspoolsApril 24, 2013

Over the past 10 years, I have written columns variously titled “Academic Cesspools,” “Academic Dishonesty,” “The Shame of Higher Education,” “Academic Rot” ...

2013 May

Liberal Suffering and ConfusionMay 01, 2013

The liberal world vision and reality are often at variance, for example, with equal pay for equal work. I’ve often watched “Lockup,” a show that features Cal...

Honest Examination of RaceMay 08, 2013

One definition given for insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results; it might also be a definition of stupidity. Le...

We Are the IdiotsMay 22, 2013

Dr. Henry Miller, senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, and Gregory Conko, senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, in their Forbes article ...

2013 June

Unnecessary TragedyJune 12, 2013

Last week a federal judge ordered Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to allow 10-year-old Sarah Murnaghan, who suffers from cystic f...

Unasked and Unanswered QuestionsJune 19, 2013

Grutter v. Bollinger was the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that upheld the University of Michigan Law School’s racial admissions policy. Justice Sandr...

Bit by Bit StrategyJune 26, 2013

There’s a move on to prohibit Washington’s football team from calling itself “Redskins,” even though a 2009 U.S. Supreme Court decision said that it has that...

2013 July

Distrusting GovernmentJuly 03, 2013

Recent opinion polls demonstrate a deepening distrust of the federal government. That’s not an altogether bad thing. Our nation’s founders recognized that mo...

Black Education TragedyJuly 10, 2013

As if more evidence were needed about the tragedy of black education, Rachel Jeantel, a witness for the prosecution in the George Zimmerman murder trial, put...

What Egyptians NeedJuly 17, 2013

What Egyptian citizens must recognize is that political liberty thrives best where there’s a large measure of economic liberty. The Egyptian people are not t...

ProfilingJuly 24, 2013

Police Capt. Louis Renault, played by Claude Rains in the 1942 movie “Casablanca,” in the wake of the shooting of a Nazi officer, ordered his men to “round u...

Black Self-SabotageJuly 31, 2013

If we put ourselves into the shoes of racists who seek to sabotage black upward mobility, we couldn’t develop a more effective agenda than that followed by c...

2013 August

Energy ManipulationAugust 14, 2013

Why is it that natural gas sells in the U.S. for $3.94 per 1,000 cubic feet and in Europe and Japan for $11.60 and $17, respectively? Part of the answer is o...

Progressives and BlacksAugust 21, 2013

Sometimes I wonder when black people will reject the patronizing insults of white progressives and their black handmaidens. After CNN’s Piers Morgan’s interv...

2013 September

Touchy TopicsSeptember 04, 2013

Here’s a question: What is the true test of one’s commitment to freedom of expression? Is it when one permits others to express ideas with which he agrees? O...

You Don't Have to Stay PoorSeptember 11, 2013

No one can blame you if you start out in life poor, because how you start is not your fault. If you stay poor, you’re to blame because it is your fault. Nowh...

Student IndoctrinationSeptember 18, 2013

The new college academic year has begun, and unfortunately, so has student indoctrination. Let’s look at some of it.

Honesty and TrustSeptember 25, 2013

Dishonesty, lying and cheating are not treated with the right amount of opprobrium in today’s society. To gain an appreciation for the significance of honest...

2013 October

Are Guns the Problem?October 02, 2013

Every time there’s a shooting tragedy, there are more calls for gun control. Let’s examine a few historical facts. By 1910, the National Rifle Association ha...

Racial Trade-offsOctober 09, 2013

Trade-offs apply to our economic lives, as well as our political lives. That means getting more of one thing requires giving up something else. Let’s look at...

Racial Trade-offs: Part IIOctober 16, 2013

Last week’s column discussed the political trade-offs made by black politicians and civil rights organizations that condemn whole generations of black youngs...

Loving and Hating AmericaOctober 23, 2013

As I’ve documented in the past, many leftist teachers teach our youngsters to hate our country. For example, University of Hawaii Professor Haunani-Kay Trask...

Is There a Way Out?October 30, 2013

According to a recent Fox News poll, 73 percent of Americans are dissatisfied with the direction of the country, up 20 points from 2012. Americans sense that...

2013 November

Congressionally Duped AmericansNovember 06, 2013

Last week’s column, “Is There a Way Out?”, generated quite a few responses, some a bit angry. Some people were offended by my reference to Social Security an...

Does Washington Know Best?November 13, 2013

According to some estimates, there are more than 100 million traffic signals in the U.S., but whatever the number, how many of us would like Washington, in t...

Do Americans Prefer Deception?November 20, 2013

There’s more to the deceit and dishonesty about Social Security and Medicare discussed in my recent columns. Congress tells us that one-half (6.2 percent) of...

Masking TotalitarianismNovember 27, 2013

One of the oldest notions in the history of mankind is that some people are to give orders and others are to obey. The powerful elite believe that they have ...

2013 December

Blacks and ObamaDecember 04, 2013

In a March 2008 column, I criticized pundits’ concerns about whether America was ready for Barack Obama, suggesting that the more important issue was whether...

Our Fragile PlanetDecember 11, 2013

Let’s examine a few statements reflecting a vision thought to be beyond question. “The world that we live in is beautiful but fragile.” “The 3rd rock from th...

The Pope and CapitalismDecember 18, 2013

Pope Francis, in his apostolic exhortation, levied charges against free market capitalism, denying that “economic growth, encouraged by a free market, will i...

Dumb Politicians Won't Get ElectedDecember 25, 2013

Politicians can be progressives, liberals, conservatives, Democrats or Republicans, and right-wingers. They just can’t be dumb. The American people will neve...