One reason I consider myself fortunate to have led a life in politics is that, over time, I’ve had a chance to work with nine presidents. From Lyndon Johnson through Barack Obama, I’ve talked policy, politics and, sometimes, the trivial details of daily life with them. I met JFK twice for br…
For those of us who had hoped that American attitudes toward death were shifting in ways that would promote a wider reconstruction of the health-care system, there’s discouraging news from Health Affairs, the preeminent journal of health policy. It devotes its latest issue to “end-of-life” c…
Last weekend, serious violence broke out in Charlottesville, Virginia, when a group of white supremacist demonstrators was confronted by a group of folks who were there to condemn the message the demonstrators had come to advance. The message was critical of the government for removing a sta…
google fired software engineer James Damore for writing a 10-page memo critical of the company’s diversity policy. The memo violated the company’s code of conduct by “advancing harmful gender stereotypes” by suggesting that biological factors were part of the cause for the male/female gap in…
Learning to text, to ask our phones for information and to instruct our cars to give us directions (and scold us for wrong turns) have been manageable. Throwing a perfectly good plastic storage bag into the garbage has been more challenging.
One of the number one questions I hear from job seekers is, “How long should my job search really take?” It’s a good question. Knowing what’s “normal” can help you to know whether you’re winning or losing at this game we call the job search.
Some time ago, The Economist, the renowned British weekly, ran an editorial advocating an end to the U.S. dollar’s supremacy as the world’s chief currency. The magazine offered several economic motives and one supremely political one. “For how long,” its editors wrote, “will countries be rea…
There are certain certainties we accept: death and taxes. Other certainties can be deduced from trends. For instance, the sun will set on Mississippi’s beleaguered state flag. Eventually there will be a new banner. Perhaps it will even be unifying. Another is that legalization of recreation…
Why would a country with the world’s largest Jewish population, outside of Israel, admit large numbers of immigrants from countries where hatred of Jews has been taught to their people from earliest childhood?
It’s not clear what members of the Mississippi Legislature thought would happen after they voted to foil a citizen initiative to improve public school funding. It is clear that the Better Schools Better Jobs organization has decided not to wrinkle its collective brow, tear up and run away.
I think by now, we can all agree. The job search process can be a grueling one. If you’re actively looking for a job, you know what I’m talking about. You apply online and never hear back. Or, maybe you go through rounds of interviews that lead nowhere.
The recent passing of a classmate caused me to reflect upon my school days growing up in the small central Mississippi town of Madison.
The heart of representative democracy rests in the communication between the electorate and elected officials. We should make this conversation more fruitful and effective.
College has acquired a bit of a bad name in recent years. Public and private institutions are becoming steadily more expensive, a phenomenon that is difficult to explain or justify. The argument that a traditional curriculum does not provide enough of the relevant “skills” for the workplace…
Almost-native son James Autry ought to be known better in Mississippi. He’s “almost-native” because while he grew up in Benton County, he was actually born in Memphis. I suppose that means Tennessee can claim him, too.
In the past week, two interesting things have happened. First, I was asked the question, "What advice would you give your younger self?" Then, I attended my high school reunion. Walking through the old halls of my high school brought back memories of where it all started. Needless to say, bo…
John McCain’s mother’s name is Roberta. She is 105. When I met her, she was somewhat younger and something of a mythical figure to those who knew her son. He had often told about her trips through Europe and Asia by car while in her 90s, and so one night at a party John McCain was giving, I …
If we’re not just to throw in the towel and declare representative democracy a noble failure, then we have to restore Americans’ faith in the processes of government. To do this, we must pursue a range of reforms and goals, some of which will require years of effort to achieve.
Here’s part of President Donald Trump’s speech in Poland: “The fundamental question of our time is whether the West has the will to survive. Do we have the confidence in our values to defend them at any cost? Do we have enough respect for our citizens to protect our borders? Do we have the d…
Last week, Sen. John McCain had surgery to remove a blood clot from above his eye. On Wednesday, we learned that tests had revealed the blood clot was linked to a previously undiagnosed brain tumor.
When most job seekers think of using social media to apply for a new job, they think of networking website LinkedIn. But, McDonald’s and Snapchat recently pushed the boundaries of recruiting. McDonald’s partnered up with Snapchat to recruit and hire new employees this summer. Previously roll…
When most job seekers think of using social media to apply for a new job, they think of networking website LinkedIn. But, McDonald’s and Snapchat recently pushed the boundaries of recruiting. McDonald’s partnered up with Snapchat to recruit and hire new employees this summer. Previously roll…
The weird thing about ad hominem responses is sometimes they trigger laughter and sometimes they trigger mortal combat.
If we’re not just to throw in the towel and declare representative democracy a noble failure, then we have to restore Americans’ faith in the processes of government. To do this, we must pursue a range of reforms and goals, some of which will require years of effort to achieve.
Too many people believe that slavery is a “peculiar institution.” That’s what Kenneth Stampp called slavery in his book, “Peculiar Institution: Slavery in the Ante-Bellum South.” But slavery is by no means peculiar, odd or unusual. It was common among ancient peoples such as the Egyptians, B…
The new crop of Americans has several markers, experts say. One helps explain why fewer of them choose to live in Mississippi.
George Orwell said, “But if thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought.” Gore Vidal elaborated on that insight, saying, “As societies grow decadent, the language grows decadent, too. Words are used to disguise, not to illuminate.” And John Milton predicted, “When language i…
A reader recently wrote to me with an interesting question. He was seeking advice on how his teenage daughter might find an after school job for her high school years. His logic makes sense. He wants her to learn discipline and to gain a work ethic. These are great qualities for a young stud…
There are political movements to push the federal minimum hourly wage to $15. Raising the minimum wage has popular support among Americans. Their reasons include fighting poverty, preventing worker exploitation and providing a living wage. For the most part, the intentions behind the support…
Charlie Faulk was patient. As the first managing editor to shepherd me, he had to be. He’s gone now — 27 years — but America and American journalism are in sore need of his gentle good humor and wisdom.
Statesmen are in short supply in this political season but Mississippi has thankfully a few prime examples of public leaders who have exemplified principles of leadership, integrity and transparency in the face of partisan arm twisting, outright bullying and strong arm tactics aimed at build…
We have gotten so used to seeing college presidents and other academic “leaders” caving in to so many outrageous demands from little gangs of bullying students that it is a long overdue surprise to see a sign that at least one major university has shown some backbone.
A lot of people want what I do from the media and feel they’re not getting it: more facts and fewer opinions; more investigative reporters and fewer pundits; more substance and less fluff; more policy exploration and less politics.
Is there no limit to the level of disgusting behavior on college campuses that parents, taxpayers, donors and legislators will accept? Colleges have become islands of intolerance, and as with fish, the rot begins at the head. Let’s examine some recent episodes representative of a general tre…
When you boil it down to the nub, every citizen of Mississippi except bona fide members of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, is an immigrant or descended from an immigrant. Even the Choctaws weren’t here when what the Weather Channel once called “the land mass between Alabama and Loui…
American immorality and contempt for liberty lie at the root of most of the political economic problems our nation faces. They explain the fiscal problems we face, such as growing national debt and budget deficits at the federal, state and local levels of government. Our immorality and conte…
A reader recently wrote to me with a unique situation. They landed an impressive contract position. Everything was going along great for eleven months until one day, they were let go. The company laid off a large number of people all at the same time. After soliciting feedback, the reader wa…
What economists call an ability to make “compensating differences” is a valuable tool in everyone’s arsenal. If people are prohibited from doing so, they are always worse off. You say, “Williams, I never heard of compensating differences. What are they?”
Lately, there has been much hue and cry about markers and memorials involving past historical figures, and the possibility of moving this marker or that one, mostly in recent columns from other pundits and journalists.
Using the debt ceiling as a means of reining in excessive spending has not worked. Our political efforts should go toward finding long-term solutions that restrain spending and boost tax revenue.
One of the painful realities of our times is how long a political lie can survive, even after having been disproved years ago, or even generations ago.
My “Rewriting American History” column of a fortnight ago, about the dismantling of Confederate monuments, generated considerable mail. Some argued there should not be statues honoring traitors such as Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson and Jefferson Davis, who fought against the Union. Victor…
The Mississippi Legislature reduced funding for community colleges, causing an upsurge in the cost of attendance. Lawmakers in Tennessee made community colleges tuition-free, likely to cause an upsurge in attendance.
Sometimes in your career, things don’t always work out the way you plan them. For me, the first time I learned this lesson, I was in college. I went to one of those fancy, private schools to study computer engineering in the late 90s. I knew that an investment in such a great degree would gu…
Here’s my question to you: If an evil person is guaranteed that he can inflict physical pain upon others and guaranteed to never suffer pain himself, what happens to his willingness to inflict pain? You say, “What do you mean, Williams?” OK, I will make my question more concrete. Suppose a y…
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