Armstrong Williams

ARMSTRONG WILLIAMS: Benjamin Netanyahu emerges as a leader

I have visited the Holy Land nearly a dozen times, and the speech by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to a joint session of Congress left me with a range of intense emotions.

ARMSTRONG WILLIAMS: When it comes to Iran and Israel, Obama is way off target

The unelected mullahs in Iran must be having a hearty laugh, enjoying the spectacle last week of President Obama and his administration falling over itself to drive a wedge between America and our vital Middle East ally Israel.

ARMSTRONG WILLIAMS: The indomitable Venus and Serena Williams

Being an avid tennis fan, I watched with horror and great pain the 2001 tennis matches at Indian Wells, California, where the Williams sisters and their father were treated as unwelcome aliens. Trying to grasp the fact that an adult audience could heckle, boo, and downright cheer Serena's double faults and errors in the championship was a time in sporting history I was hoping to forget happened.

ARMSTRONG WILLIAMS: Defending free speech without advocating hate

Satire such as the pointed scoffing of French cartoon magazine Charlie Hebdo has always been associated with lethality. In fact the very purpose of satire is to slay sacred cows — i.e. authoritarian ideologies that often bring life and liberty into grave peril. We ridiculed communism, we ridiculed fascism, and we continue to ridicule religious fanaticism in all of its forms. And that is justly so, because in a free society one is not bound by the strictures of others' gods.

ARMSTRONG WILLIAMS: Al Sharpton: The Teflon don of civil rights

The Rev. Al Sharpton seems to have learned this lesson long ago: When you’re a controversial civil rights leader who’s made a career out of harassing the cops and embarrassing the government, never keep any assets in your own name.

ARMSTRONG WILLIAMS: The Teflon Don of civil rights

The Rev. Al Sharpton seems to have learned this lesson long ago: When you're a controversial civil rights leader who's made a career out of harassing the cops and embarrassing the government, never keep any assets in your own name. But that has never prevented authorities from vigorously inspecting the good reverend's personal and organizational finances over the years, often coming up with troves of improprieties ranging from misappropriation to delinquency and possible fraud.

ARMSTRONG WILLIAMS: Will the teachers unions ever learn?

In November the frustrations of Maryland's voters with their state's failed Democrat leadership finally boiled over and provided Larry Hogan an upset victory over the Democrats' chosen candidate, Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown.

ARMSTRONG WILLIAMS: Obama’s state of delusion

Most of the discussion after President Obama's recent State of the Union address centered on various programs and goals that have no chance of actually being passed by the Republican-controlled House and Senate. But the most cynical, and probably the most dangerous, collision between reality and rhetoric was when the president spoke about Iran's illicit nuclear weapons program.

ARMSTRONG WILLIAMS: Black America’s economic decline betrays King’s legacy

On this anniversary of the birth of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., his legacy is in sure hands. His youngest daughter, pastor Bernice King, has taken over leadership of The King Center in Atlanta and is already doing great things. Notably, she has spent time working with youths in Ferguson to channel their rage and frustration over the Michael Brown shooting into positive action, just as her father helped channel black rage over social marginalization into a movement that fundamentally transformed America.

ARMSTRONG WILLIAMS: Elizabeth Warren and tea party are spot on

The ungainly term "CRomnibus bill" combines two phrases — "Continuing Resolution" and "omnibus" — which makes it unfortunately typical of how business is done in Washington these days.

ARMSTRONG WILLIAMS: The modern day miracle of Israel

Close your eyes and imagine for one moment how radically different the entire world would be if Israel were at peace with its neighbors in the Middle East. In fact, consider the multitude of benefits to all of humanity and the thought becomes as exciting as it does overwhelming.

ARMSTRONG WILLIAMS: Islamic State, Ferguson, Ukraine, comet landing: Top news in 2014

As we look back at the major news stories of the year, several themes emerged.

ARMSTRONG WILLIAMS: A gun should never be a cop’s first, second or third option

ARMSTRONG WILLIAMS: Traveling with Ben Carson to the Holy Land

I don't usually get so personal in these columns, but today I want you to know that I feel particularly blessed. I am in the Holy Land with my friends, Dr. Ben and Candy Carson.

ARMSTRONG WILLIAMS: Food is medicine

In today's society, everyone seems to know that a healthy diet is key to maintaining good health, whether we choose to do it or not. But a connection that seems more difficult for people to make is that food is actually medicine. That is, your food is your medicine if it enhances your health; but it can actually be a poison if we consume things that destroy the healthy functioning of the mind and body.

ARMSTRONG WILLIAMS: When the poor cried, Barry wept

By the time Marion Barry died Nov. 23, he had already been buried several times by the mainstream media. But each time a chorus of praise seemed to breathe life into a career that many thought had been irreversibly damaged. For the most part that praise came from the poor and the forgotten.

ARMSTRONG WILLIAMS: Crisis of materialism in church has left it morally adrift

At least some of the faithful of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Atlanta had to feign a sense of surprise when sexual abuse accusations against Bishop Eddie Long first surfaced in 2011. But even those parishioners were shocked when details of the church's secret settlement with over a dozen young men allegedly victimized by Mr. Long leaked, resulting in a reported payout of over $25 million.

ARMSTRONG WILLIAMS: A new strain of racism from the newest Americans

Racism in America has often been reduced to white-against-black discrimination, and understandably so. After all, it was white colonists who forcibly removed Africans from their homeland and brought them to America to serve as slaves on plantations.

ARMSTRONG WILLIAMS: Probing more deeply into what ails the culture

The debate is still open as to what cultural adaptations will help America get back on track economically.

ARMSTRONG WILLIAMS: The midterm elections: A referendum on the two-party system?

For many voters, the midterms are not as much about the individual candidates being elected to the House and Senate as they are a referendum over how well the president's party has performed in delivering on its promises. This time is not different, except that even the opposition Republican voters seem to be more apathetic than usual, skeptical that something actually will come of their vote.