Posted May 1

Special Preparedness Issue

I am rarely moved to write to a magazine. I have been buying your magazine at retail for a few years now. When my bookstore stopped carrying your magazine I got off the fence and subsribed. I am glad I did. I received your Special Preparedness Issue and read it cover to cover. Usually I find several new interesting bits of information to file in my brain. This issue was chock full of information I knew but the arrangement made sense this time and stuck. Thank You for a great issue.

Jamie Allen
Sacramento, CA

May/June Issue

Mr. Duffy,

Is there a way to purchase additional copies of this month's edition? I'd like five if possible.

Amy Edge

You may order one or more copies from our Back Issues page. At the top of the page is a promotion fro the issue. You can add it to your shopping cart, then change the quantity when viewing the contents of your cart. Or, you can scroll to the bottom of the page to the back issues section, check the left box next to Issue #111, change the quantity in the box on the right, then add it to your cart.

Even easier is to call our toll-free order line at 1-800-835-2418 any weekday from 8 AM to 5 PM Pacific Time.

--Dave

Great Issue Last Month

Dave,

I've been subscribed to your magazine for a few years now and have to say it's the best there is when it comes to homesteading. Just wanted to thank you for a great issue last month. The focus on long term storage of food was exactly what I was looking for. I just bought a small cottage and acreage off the grid in Alaska. In one year I'm heading out to one of the last American frontiers. I'll be near a town the first year and then plan to move to an even more isolated homestead in an remote valley. It's beautiful, but I'll truly be on my own so I'm trying to learn all I can about self-reliance.

I saw you were still offering a free subscription to active duty personnel. Well I've served 10 years and my brother has served 23. He's retiring next year and would love to read your magazine. He's even coming to Alaska with me for the summer to help me get situated. If you're still offering a subscriptions, he'd be very glad to read your magazine. Thanks.

Sincerely,

Charles Baird

Great article!

How to shoot a handgun accurately by Massad Ayoob

Really well written article! I am taking some new shooters with me today which I don't normally do and was looking for some reading material on the best way to explain safety, stance, grip, and technique and this was the best article by far. FYI - I googled "proper stance for firing handguns" and this came up 2nd which is good! Being a long time target shooter, but not an instructor, this is helping me a ton. Nice work!

Cosmo Jones

Repeating mouse trap

Just wanted to say thanks to Allen Easterly for his article Build Your Own Repeating Mouse Trap.

My husband made it easy enough and set it out (in the garage)... caught one within an hour and by morning had two.

Now if they would all just go away!!!! YUK!

Sincerely,

Katharine
Bainbridge Island, WA

Posted April 14

Appreciation

Hello Editors-Publishers

Just yesterday I discovered your publication. So sorry I never found it till now. What an absolutely great effort it is from you people.

I do read so much about the probable tough times ahead, not only for the USA, but also, as a consequence, for Canada and Canadians., too. Your magazine is a great inspiration and mental release from what seems to be a great deal of downer-thought these days.

I am close to seventy years of age, but am partly responsible for raising a ten year old boy, so I am concerned. We live on a nice country property, in a tiny but comfortable self-built log-frame home.

I have spent most of yesterday and today on your site, reading the practical ideas and political commentary. Especially appreciated are the stories of you four friends, and the debates about various issues-especially the constitutional ones. I am somewhat of a maverick-opposed for sure to big-know-it-all-control-it-all-government-people, so your submissions really do "turn my crank."

If things go down the path I foresee, I do wonder how much hope there is for people of my outlook.

One more thing. I think many Americans think all or almost all Canadians are a bunch of socialistic minded pointy heads. I can assure you, that although we have been raised in a country more "socialized" than yours, there are some of us who don't fit the stamp.

I wish all of you the very best, and hope you can stay with it.

Best regards

Dave Colonel
Vanderhoof, B.C.
Canada

Too Much Gun

I think that Mr. Ayoob made some good points in his article about "too much gun". However, I think that he may have oversimplified his points, a bit, especially when it comes to "light loads".

I will confine my comments to 12 gauge shotgun loads.

The 12 gauge shotgun can be a formidable "kicker" and, like Mr. Ayoob, I have seen some pretty "salty" people who were just plain afraid of it. These included some pretty strapping cops who had to qualify with their riot guns. (We won't even go into the stark terror that many female officers have experienced during this part of their firearms qualification!)

However, problems with the 12 gauge have less to do with the gauge than with the loads that are used in it. The 12 gauge does not HAVE to "kill on one end and cripple on the other".

It is true that "heavy" loads like the 3-3/4 dram x 1-1/4 ounce "duck loads" and their equivalents can generate recoil in the "bear rifle class". Not fun to stand, much less sit, behind! These loads can double the "barely tolerable" recoil of an eight pound 30/06. "Bigger" 12-gauge loads, such as the various "Magnum" loads and many rifled slug and buckshot loads can push recoil levels into the "elephant rifle class"!

The 12 gauge is not just a "big loads" proposition, however. There are also a fair number of 12 gauge loads that can beat the 20 gauge at its own game.

Notable examples of such loads are the 12 gauge "target loads". These loads, especially 2-3/4- to 3 dram x 1 1/8 ounce loads (particularly in their "factory" versions that feature hard shot) are much less punishing to the shooter than heavy loads tend to be. These "target loads" and their reloaded equivalents, can be deadly in all but the most specialized applications where lead shot is legal and/or appropriate.

Similar claims can be made for the old 3-1/4 dram x 1-1/4 ounce "live pigeon load", though this load "kicks" a bit more than "target loads do. These old-fashioned loads can be murderously effective and their recoil levels can still be said to (marginally) put them into the "light load" category. These loads more or less duplicate the ballistics of a fair number of 20 gauge 3-inch magnum loads. The 12 gauge loads usually outperform their 20 gauge magnum counterparts, however.

These loads also work very well when larger shot is used though such loads tend to be a "reloading only" proposition. However, when high quality hard shot in appropriate sizes is used in well assembled reloads, these relatively "light" loads can significantly outperform "factory" hunting loads.

However, even "milder" loads can be used with excellent effect. This is a good thing since even many "target loads" can be "a bit much" for some people and conditions. For example, 3 dram x 1 1/8 ounce loads can generate up to 26 foot pounds of recoil in an eight pound gun. This is significantly higher than the 18 foot pounds of recoil that is generated in a 30/06 rifle of the same weight. No wonder so many trap and Skeet shooters come down with "the flinches" after extended shooting of such loads! Even 2 2/4 dram x 1 18 ounce loads can generate recoil in the 30/06 class, which is about all that the most shooters can tolerate and still shoot well.

When one goes to 2-3/4 dram x 1 ounce loads (which have velocities of about 1200 feet per second, or about the same as 3 dram x 1 1/8 ounce loads) recoil becomes a bit more bearable at about 16 foot pounds, or so in eight pound guns. 2 1/2 dram x 1 ounce loads (which generate velocities of about 1145 to 1150 feet per second, or about the same as a 2-3/4 dram x 1 1/8 ounce load) produce recoil levels of about 14 foot pounds in eight pound guns. There are also 7/8 ounce loads in this velocity range that generate even less recoil and which are clearly in the 20 gauge class.

Such "light" 12 gauge loads can be deadly far beyond what most people usually expect. Such loads tend to outperform equivalent 20 gauge loads due to the fact that firing these loads in a 12 gauge results in less shot deformation due to less "setback" and "barrel scrub" and because they tend to be target loads that contain hard shot. It is rare to find 20 gauge guns that can generate the quality of patterns that 12 gauge guns can, even when 20 gauge loads are assembled using hard shot. For example, it is not at all unusual for full-choked 12 gauge guns to be able to shoot 80 % plus patterns at 40 yards with one ounce loads if hard shot is used. These loads, or their reloaded equivalents, can generate pattern counts which very often exceed those of 3-3/4 dram x 1-1/4 ounce "duck loads", which contain the same shot sizes, that are fired in "modified" choked barrels. Such pattern counts are about all but the most demanding pheasant hunters still want and which most waterfowl hunters were more than willing to settle for when they were still allowed to use lead shot.

It is therefore no wonder that "the Brits", who tend to shoot similar, or even lighter, loads in their light 12 gauge "game guns", find Americans' preferences for heavy 12 gauge loads to be a bit perplexing. If lead shot is to be used it is questionable whether the Sturm und Drang of heavy 12 gauge loads is necessary except under the most specialized of conditions. The old British joke about why they call their shotgun ammunition "cartridges" and we call ours "shells" might have merit.

The advantages of "light" 12 gauge loads can be obtained with very little adaptation on the part of the shooter. In loads that generate 1200 feet per second, or so, no adaptation at all is necessary. If one prefers #6 shot in "heavy loads" then light loads loaded with hard #6 shot should work out just fine. Loads that generate less than 1200 feet per second should most likely be used with shot sizes that are about "one higher" than would normally be used in order to assure sufficient pellet energy. For example, if #6 shot is usually preferred in "heavy loads" then hard #5 shot should work well in these "slower" loads.

All "light loads" are not "created equal", however. Many such loads do not offer the same advantages of the loads that have just been described.

Factory "field loads" that feature 3-1/4 dram x 1- to 1 1/8 ounce loads probably should be avoided, if possible. These loads, which generate velocities between 1250 and 1300 feet per second, tend to be "kickers" as compared to "target velocity" loads. These loads often do not pattern especially well, either, due to the fact that they are almost always assembled using soft, low antimony, shot.

Loads in the "Super-Handicap" trap load class, which generate velocities in the 1235 to 1250 feet per second range, on the other hand, can pattern very well if hard shot is used. Like their "field load" cousins they generate pretty "stiff" recoil levels that may or may not compensate for the higher velocities that these loads generate.

The "heaviest light loads" are high velocity Sporting Clays loads and 24-gram International Trap and Skeet loads. Velocities with these loads can range from around 1300 feet per second to as much as 1400 feet per second. These loads can be paradoxical. For some reason the "International" loads often pattern very well even though they generate some pretty high velocities. On the other hand, heavy Sporting Clays loads have been known to "blow" their patterns. As with other "heavy light loads" it is questionable whether these loads' velocities offer the shooter many, if any, advantages except, perhaps, in the most specialized applications.

The 12 gauge offers a lot more than most shooters imagine. When used with "light" loads 12 gauge guns can be very "civilized" yet still very deadly instruments. Unless a given 12 gauge gun is somehow inappropriate for a given set of conditions there is usually no good reason for using anything smaller. In addition there is the 12 gauge's flexibility to consider. It is a lot easier to "load down" a 12 gauge for light work than it is to "load up" a smaller gauge when heavier loads might be required.

John Schedel

Thank You

Thanks,

I have never before heard of you until reading in a Blog today and someone offered up your link on George Mason.

I read every word and learned much that even as an educated man I didn't know. I will continue in my search.

I, as some of your staff, am also a Ron Paul supporter. It is amazing to me whom you meet in that quest.

Thanks again for your enlightenment and you can bet I will be following you folks.

I am now in retirement so I have time for these issues and alas if I lived a "normal" lifestyle I would love to subscribe.

I live on a boat now so I do not have room for magazine's but my trusty computer helps. I will be on this end. Please keep it Coming.

Thanks,

Doc R Hogan

Great magazine

Dave Duffy and staff.

I really enjoy your internet magazine and the articles that I can read. I'm an old retired law enforcement officer who lives on a small pension (law enforcement people were never paid a living wage) and social security). I wish I had the money to subscribe to Backwoods Home Magazine but I don't so I'll keep reading what is available on the internet.

I agree with Dave on the impending depression and I hope that I am prepared or better yet laid to rest (yeah I'm that old). I forward your articles and editorials to friends and acquaintances and particularly my kids in hopes that they will pay attention.

Our Prophet (yes I am a Mormon) admonishes us to be prepared with a years supply of food, water, power etc. and if we pay attention we should be prepared. But, I still am concerned that I am doing enough.

Your articles are very helpful and agreeable. Having been a law enforcement officer for over 30 years and being a firearms instructor I really appreciate and agree with Ayoob. I wish other people could be exposed to his teaching.

Well folks, keep up the good work and I'll continue to support you in my inadequate way.

Regards,

Wes Thayer
Junction City, OR

Posted March 28

Dear Dave

First of all happy birthday yesterday.

I was just into Annie blog and I for once wish that I could sew like her. The reason being, and

I hate to sew, is my husband and I look at each other any more and we are not spending money. If fact we want to pay the truck off early and if the inflation doesnt happen, save the money and put a new engine into it. In other words, we are not up to spending too much. The only thing that we are doing is that we need new windows, because ours are cracked, with the money coming back. So maybe what you are saying, will happen. I do know afte 30 years of marriage this is the first time that we are double checking each other on extra spending and it has gotten to the point of well should I make my daughter her nightgowns. And I don't know how and would not have even considered it a couple of years ago. And please keep us in prayer. I had two surgeries since September and those I have gotton over with, but the high blood pressure has come back and I am not feeling well enough to put to much of a garden it. I am not sure how much I am going to do, even with my husbands help.

Well any way take care and I do hope that Robby wins tomorrow.

Debby

Moderate Power Firearms

Regarding the subject article, it would have been nice if Mr. Ayoob had given due consideration to reduced recoil loads for standard firearms. Such loads are available for ammunition companies and are even more common among reloaders. Frankly, I would not consider teaching my children to shoot without using reduced recoil loads, ensuring the availability of a proven firearm and cartridge when they "graduate" to that power level. My personal choice is a .308 Winchester, which I load with 170gr cast bullets at 1,000 fps, 1,500 fps, and finally 2,000 fps and 2,500 fps (with a gas check). After that, it's the 165gr jacketed bullets at 2,750 fps.

Recoil, assuming a 7 1/2lb rifle like my scoped BLR, is as follows:

170gr @ 1,000 fps - 1 ft lb
170gr @ 1,500 fps - 3 ft lb
170gr @ 2,000 fps - 7 ft lb
170gr @ 2,500 fps - 15 ft lb
165gr @ 2,750 fps - 20 ft lb

Best Regards

James Hornell

Letter to editor

I've loved your magazine for a while, and have long dreamed of buying a big piece of land to live in a self-sufficient "green" manner. However, we have settled for a tri-level house, with a small basement, on .22 acres, on a corner lot. We just moved in.

Our side-yard faces south, so I'm planting various dwarf fruit trees, grapes and raspberries on trellises, raised vegetable beds, herbs, blueberries, cranberries and more.

At the front yard, which faces east and gets about 4-5 hours of full sun, we're taking out a dead fir tree and planting three dwarf nut trees, 4 cherry bushes, and tomatoes and chives with the roses.

On the north side, which gets about 5-6 hours of full sun, we're planting 4 blackberries and a couple of dwarf fruit trees. Plus room for a swing-set and picnic table.

Chickens and other livestock are against the law in city limits, so for protein we're raising as many seeds, beans and nuts as we have room for. We'll freeze the berries, can tomatoes and beans, and dehydrate the fruit, veggies, nuts, beans and seeds as much as possible (family of picky eaters but love dried snacks!).

We hope by Fall to install two small water tanks in the basement (water catchment is, again, illegal in Colorado) so we'll fill them up from city water.

We'll supplement with rice, potatoes, corn, etc. (no wheat products - gluten-intolerant).

We're hoping to be as self-sufficient as possible, as quickly as possible - to stay here through thick and thin - for 30+ years! Any advice on how to do more to be self-sufficient on our tiny slice of heaven would be appreciated.

Vikki Williams
Thornton, CO

Posted March 22

First Time Reader

I just want you to know that I was in our local library today and by chance I glanced at your magazine. I wasn't able to put it down! I was so impressed that I ordered a subscription for my son and his significant other. As a Customs and Border Protection Officer, I was already a big fan of Massad Ayoob. Seeing him featured in your magazine was an added plus.

Thank You

John Landfair

Chickens Handbook

Dave,

I received my copy of Chickens: A Beginner's Handbook in the mail today. I only had time for a quick flip through it, but I just wanted to drop you a line and tell you I like what I see. The format is accessible and the book looks like it contains a lot of great information. I can't wait to kick back with it tonight. Hopefully this is the first in a series of inexpensive specific guides from BHM. Thanks.

David Penland
Stoneville, NC

Some ideas

Dear Dave and Ilene,

Thanks for publishing the best magazine.

I built a teardrop camping trailer for myself. I also use it as our pantry as it is small and backs right up to the back door. I keep all the emergency essentials in it. In case we would have to get out of Vegas fast, there is no looking, loading, or fumbling. Just hook up the trailer and go. I keep 2 spare tires on it, A 15 watt "briefcase" solar panel, extra propane etc..

I ran into a guy at the grocery store yesterday. He gave me some good tips also.

1. Don't forget vitamins in your survival pak.

2. Wrap "how to" books in freezer bags and store for necessary future use.

3. Buy encyclopedias on CD or DVD discs and store.

Hope this helps

Bob McNamara
Las Vegas

Be an Outlaw, or a Slave...Your Choice.

The rationale behind the federal regulated society was best summed up by what a bureaucrat from the State Science Institute said to Hank Rearden in Atlas Shrugged:

"Did you really think that we want those laws to be observed?" said Dr. Ferris. "We want them broken. You'd better get it straight that it's not a bunch of boy scouts you're up against ­ then you'll know that this is not the age for beautiful gestures. We're after power and we mean it. You fellows were pikers, but we know the real trick, and you'd better get wise to it. There's no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren't enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws. Who wants a nation of law-abiding citizens? What's there in that for anyone? But just pass the kind of laws that can neither be observed nor enforced nor objectively interpreted ­ and you create a nation of law-breakers ­ and then you cash in on guilt. Now that's the system, Mr. Rearden, that's the game, and once you understand it, you'll be much easier to deal with."

Stuart Perkins

Correction for Jeff Yago

Hi,

I was reading this article by Jeff Yago and I noticed that he describes the current draw of LEDs as, "measured in milli-amps (0.000001 amps)".

I just wanted to point out that 1 milliamp = 0.001 amp. 0.0000001 amp is actually a microamp, or 1 millionth of an ampere.

Thanks, keep up the good work.

Ben

Thanks Ben, looks like the "0" key got stuck a few too many times. Yes, a Millamp is one/thousand amps which should have been printed as 0.001 amps.

Thanks again,

Jeeeef Yaaago

Attn: Mr Blunt

First,

Thank you, my friend. Your articles have been both helpful, and yummy! - or yummy-sounding, since I have yet to implement most of them.

I was amazed to see your mention of The Coffee Connection!

I lived in or near Boston, and worked in Cambridge, for more than a decade (grew up in Stoughton). After their demise, (takeover), my favorite coffee was (still is, via their NW brand) the Guatemalan Antigua. You have good taste, my friend!

The guys from the NorthWest can’t match a local roast, but they do ok.

There is a local shop here, that does ok with a roast from Nicaragua, pretty close. (A&E, Amherst, NH)

Anyway, just wanted to say hello, and give my appreciation. Don’t know how much of that y’all get.

I would guess that for every letter you get, there are probably another thousand of similar sort that you don’t hear from. You do good work, my friend!

I especially have enjoyed your comments on fish.

If the editor is wondering, I first came across your site via a search on Mr. Ayoob, whose excellent work I have long respected and read, via the main gun mags.

Best,

Alan Montgomery
Mason, NH

Used Fence boards

Hello,

I like to recycle and see things reused. We have a fence that is going to come down in the next few days.

Do you have any knowledge of anyone in Western Washington I could contact who might be using old fence boards. I would be happy to give them free to anyone who has a good use for them. They can pick and chose and the rest I will take to the dump.

Thanks

Kim Ode
yourhealthkim@comcast.net

Thanks to BHM Authors

Dave,

Please express my thanks to Claire Wolfe & Massad Ayoob. While I have been aware of Mas Ayoob writing articles for various gun magazines for about twenty years, and Claire Wolfe only since subscribing to BHM, BHM has given me a better understanding of what they write and why.

I recently purchased two separate magazines, both of them so-called "gun magazines", wherein much to my surprise, one included an article by Claire and the other was generally entirely written or edited by Mas.

The former was dedicated to Barrett Firearms while the latter was dedicated to handguns, especially the big-bores. I have very large hands and have held a high interest in the large bore firearms for decades, from .44/.45 and up, mostly because they are built on larger frames. Compact and sub-compact handguns are just too small to use comfortably.

BHM has taught me to trust in what these authors write. Many of their subjects I can relate to, either directly or indirectly, and I enjoy them so much. I have just sent in my subscription for another year and am preparing another order to purchase books and CDs from my latest magazine. I like how you have consolidated their individual writings into books, but also enjoy reading each magazine. Also, Claire's writeup for the "Firefly" TV show on DVD convinced me to order it & the supplemental made-for-TV movie, and I have been very happy with adding them to my collection.

Next, Jeff Yago's articles on compact fluorescent lights and LEDs I read with much interest. I have pretty much converted all my light bulbs to CFLs and look forward to comparable LED bulbs when they become commonly available. In the last two years I have had only one CFL burn out and one broke. They are pretty durable but I am concerned about the shorter life expectancy and hazardous waste disposal of the currently available models.

Last, but not least, in the last issue, Dorothy Ainsworth wrote about batten doors. This comes out at a time when I have been considering how to build custom doors for my front porch. My past experiences with building shed doors has been unsatisfactory, but the details she has provided will now allow me to build doors that are truly functional, if not aesthetic. She has given me the confidence to look forward to this project, in ways the home improvement TV shows do not.

And thanks for continuing to put out a wonderful and informative magazine.

Roy Sprunger
Assyria, MI

LED Bulbs

I found an excellent use for the LED Christmas lights that I bought this year. I purposely bought two sets of white LED Christmas lights. After Christmas, I hung the strands in my office where the wall meets the ceiling. The lights light up my entire office. An Added benefit is that the light is diffuse rather than directional like the overhead lamps. Wattage is very low, but the light output is ideal. The colour tempurature is around 5000K which classifies these as a daylight light source.

Attached is a photo of the LEDs in use. I am using two strands and my power consumption is 4-5 watts.

Pete

Least Free Country

John Silviera is expressing the same concern which has bugged me since I was about 12 years old (I am now in my 70's).

This country was NEVER completely free, but it was once almost infinitely more free than it now is.

The country has changed significantly in the last 60 years...we are now dividing (divided?) into a country with two main "castes", the governed and the governing, where those who work for some level of government are considered "more equal" than EVERYONE else.

The "governing" caste members, including all their minions regardless of rank, generally get better health care, better nutrition, better housing, better pensions, and no expectation of having to produce any REAL, PHYSICAL, GOODS for use by their fellow citizens. For that matter, they aren't even expected to create any real services for their fellow citizens, just more restrictions, more surveillance, more bureaucratic hoops for the governed to leap through; more obstructions to free ideas and free creativity.

So, rather than trying to make life either better or easier for those they are theoretically serving, the "governing" actually devote their whole efforts to making life more onerous.

That, of course, is nothing new in the world. It is exactly why every state eventually declines and fails from within. It is why EVERY State actually NEEDS a revolution every three-to-five generations or so. It need not always be a violent revolution, though sometimes it must be.

In its early days, most of the restrictiveness of our society was religious. Witness the witch trials of Salem. Look at the early slums populated mainly by Catholics..and those are just referring to the supposedly "free whites". As a Native American (Comanche) my forbears were considered less than human at least partly because they had not accepted the Protestant"God", and were therefore the object of dismissive endeavor for multitudes of "missionaries".

Then the oppressiveness with the United States became primarily economic. At the bottom line, it likely still is. But that is not all of it.

When I was a child, I could read about and experiment with just about anything in the physical word that I wished. I made and used black gunpowder, nitroglycerine, thermite, numerous strong acids, etc. Having learned about them, I moved on. At age 9, I used to ride my bike into the major park in the heart of downtown Phoenix, Arizona, with a 16 gauge shotgun and a fishing rod. I would fish half the day in Encanto Park with no license required, then go across the street (Thomas, then the northern city limit) and shoot doves and rabbits, with shells usually given to me by grown men I did not know, who were doing the same.

No one thought I needed protection from myself. They all knew that no number of laws would ever create a world in which people don't die. They also knew that life without the freedom to make decisions, pay the concomitant costs, and learn in the school of hard knocks, was life which developed a young man with no judgement, little knowledge, and no ethics....that freedom was essential to growing into a real, trustworthy, contributing person.

The same, of course is true of adults as well. Change is an eternal thing. We adults are either growing into better, stronger, more valuable members of society, or we are declining in the same respects. To grow, we need the freedom to do so without the artificial restrictions engendered by the endless creation of overwhelming volumes of laws, regulations, presidential fiats, etc. ad infinitum, ad nauseum, ad morte.

Lloyd de Vore

Self Reliance

Claire,

You’re spot on about the country life. Been there, done that. Raised by single mom who did everything you mentioned and more. I was also in the mix, milking cows, making butter, and raising chickens and hogs, doing all manner of butchering, and canning victuals for the rest of the year; even passing a few on to the less fortunate around us. Became a ad-hoc farmer, and worked from sunup to sundown; and went to a school five miles away – bicycle or walk, until a school bus came on the scene. That’s normal in the forties and early fifties. Loved getting an Ice-box – you know, when the ice man came around, get a 25 pond block of ice, lasted about a week. We thought we were in high cotton.

Must be why I’m a redneck, God-fearing, and patriotic.

Luther

Backwoods Home Magazine/The coming American dictatorship

To whom it might concern:

First, let me tell you who I am. I am a 60 year old Survivalist! YES, I used the "S" word. The ever growing, much maligned, often accused, individuals who are to blame for all the social ills of America. The free thinking outsider, who is independant and free of societies crap.

I am a true lone wolf! That, Oh- so; miss-used self discription of many wannabes and armchair warriors, those pisswilly, metrosexul fops, who sit in their cozy living rooms sucking down a Starbucks Double caramel, half-caff, extra foamy Latte and have the Air Conditioning set to no. 8., as they tap away on the key boards to the blog sites claiming their primal instincts. Yep, better steer clear of those bad boys indeed! Lone wolves my ass! Frightened a-holes is more like it!

I have been called everything from a sociopath, to a psychopathic moron intent on self destruction since I was 13 years old. I haven't been arrested yet, jailed yet, fined yet, or raided yet. So, I guess I can blow off that prediction...but, HEY, you never know!

Kids used too call me " That weird-o who lives in the spooky house down by the river ". Maybe they are right! But, I really don't care! I never did, and never will care what people think.

If having 20 cords of chopped wood in the yard, half a dozen fuel drums anchored out by the barn, surrounded by 8 ft. chain link fence with 3 lines barbed wire on top, Having the main house and it's 3 acres fenced off with a 6ft fence, with wide angle cameras watching the area, and lit up at night by three Mercury lamps, plus ever alert dogs, makes me a weird-o, I stand so accused.

In my opinion, MOST folks, are stupid, boring, selfish, nosey lemmings who couldn't think or react to anything other than what their "TV's" tells them. I don't watch television. I have a set made in 1984, and I hardly ever fire it up. Nothing there I care to waste my time on.

My media's of choice are the computer, radio's, shortwave set, plus newsletters, magazines, newspapers, books, and talking to the farmers in the area. That is about it.

My family members are useless to try and talk to. They have bought into the miss-information, miss-direction circus put on by the government long ago. Lemmings!

Thus, I read your article "The coming American dictatorship", and then had to re-read many parts over again, because of the clarity and truth written there. I was amazed that someone else actually saw things the same way as I have for 30 years. I have been vindicated and set free by you guys.. Thank you!

I have argued till I am blue in the face, without success I might add, that something IS very wrong with the whole landscape of American culture. It is the lack of values, lack of trust, the cynicism, the Mary Poppins attitudes of those living as if " LIFE IS GOOD ," as their T-shirts proclaim for all too see, and then drive off in their H2's. But, most importantly, it's the lack of good old fashioned "COMMON HORSESENSE", that is the scarlett letter that the booboise wear proudly. It is a big " I " emblazened across their foreheads that means "Idiot!"

American's have and are living like they are total idiots. For far too many, life is one big never ending Bachanalia of hedonism, greed and back stabbing. Don't conserve, save for tomorrow, or use constraints.

Nothing matters but each one's good times, at the expense of the planet, the future generations, and our hard won freedoms and liberties.

There is a Huge Inky Black Storm Cloud brewing out on the horizon of our American way of life. The Lightning blots are flashing with an with ever increasing intensity as BIG GOVERNMENT flexs it muscles.

The winds of change are blowing in the air, soon to be a force greater than an F5 tornado. The gulags are being readied. The troops are being recruited. The massive trenches being dug. The laws being purposefully toppled like a domino chain. The re-education videos produced and phamphlets printed. The getting ready to pull the plug on the internet. The winds are a blowing.

So, as I drive by the intown theatres, and see all the "Pimped" out toys parked in the lot, as the morons inside delude themselves with another helping of Hollywood Horseshit in High Def, and surround sound, I laugh. I laugh as I drive by, with another newly purchased 1000 round case of ammo, and two cases of mre's that expire in 2018 in the back of my Jeep.

I am preparing to weather the storm. I prepare because, I like you, can smell the change in the air. We know something isn't right, we can feel it. Right now, there is a stirring in the forrest, just before it starts too get dead silent...We know what comes next after that!

Thank you for your excellent tome

R.T.A

Michigan

Compact fluorescents scam

Hi Dave:

I think the current compact fluorescent bandwagon may be a scam. Sure, they are cheaper to operate, but has anyone ever figured the total costs compared to incandescents?

First, they use more components which leads to greater manufacturing costs, environmental materials extraction costs, and shipping. Plus, certain solid state components need a clean-room environment which has shown to lead to serious chronic respiratory problems.

The constant subliminal flicker of fluorescents may cause eyestrain, headaches and possibly even seizures.

Lastly, there is the problem of the mercury. Only a minute amount in every bulb sounds like a snake-oil pitch. If there is five mg. per bulb, and if fifty million hoseholds throw out one per year after the initial three to four year life, then we are dumping 500 pounds of mercury into the environment every year!

Throw them away only in approved disposal sites? Who is kidding whom? When I used to stock store shelves with these, up to ten percent would arrive broken and be tossed into the regular trash. How much additional energy, money, and environmental site degradation will these special sites cost us? Love Canal was such a special site; we saw what happened there.

I use incandescents. Avoid the dozen in a box garbage imports. If you can, buy industrial service ratings @ 130 volts. All my light bulbs are on dimmers; they are approaching nine years old. The heat they give off helps heat the house in winter. In summer you need to avoid "burning daylight". Get up a half-hour before dawn. Go to bed by ten.

So, with all your contacts, can you find someone to do a total cost analysis on compacts?

Peter Sedler

Moderate Power Firearms

As a Backwoods Home subscriber, I read your article on moderate power firearms (March/April 2008), and noticed that you did not mention a safety issue with the .243 Winchester (I don't own a .243, so I can't be certain, but here is the information on which I based my assumption of the safety issue):

• Your article states that .243 rifles have been produced in (among other action types) slide-action and lever-action.
• The photo of .243 ammunition accompanying the article shows modern pointed-nose bullets, and the cartridges appear to be rimless, and therefore almost certainly centre-fire.
• Slide-action firearms frequently have tube magazines (as seen in the photo of pump shotguns accompanying the article, and the classic Winchester rifles in any Western movie).

Any firearm using a tube magazine and chambered for centre-fire cartridges should *NEVER* be used with modern pointed-nose bullets (the .30-30 uses blunt-nose bullets, and if I recall correctly it dates back to the black powder era, with its name coming from the .30 caliber and use of 30 grains of black powder). The reason for this is that in the event of a longitudinal impact load (such as recoil), the point of one round will be forced against the primer of the next, either directly or when the magazine spring overcomes inertia. Since the primer is designed to be sensitive to impact, this is likely to result in all cartridges in the magazine firing at once - and the magazine extends under the grip area for the shooter's forward hand. With blunt-nose bullets, shotgun shells, or rimfire ammunition, the contact area between rounds extends onto the brass of the cartridge head, so one cartridge striking another will not set off the primer.

A Canadian subscriber

Agreed.

The .243, .308 Winchester, etc. have never been produced in tubular feed rifles. You find them in lever actions which use a rotary magazine (such as the Savage 99), or a box magazine, such as the old Winchester Model 88 or the current Browning BLR. The only slide action I've seen produced in this caliber range is the Remington 7600 series, which also uses a box magazine instead of tubular.

Thanks for writing,

Mas Ayoob

Barrel Stove Article

As a 20 plus year SOTZ barrel heater user and now three years on a home built SOTZ clone, I can add that builder/users of barrel stoves may want to do a few things:

1. When constructing your stove, be sure to provide an angle iron "back up" behind the frame of the door wood opening. If this is not done, then in a short time differential expansion causes the metal to sort of "buckle" between the bolts holding the door frame to the head of the stove. A sort of ersatz metallic "sandwich" should be formed between a fabricated internal frame, the skin of the drumhead, and the external frame with it all held together by the stove bolts. This will effectively prevent bucking of the drum head and air leaks.

2. Drum stove users are encouraged by my own success to find or purchase a Condar Industries Stove Thermostat. This round metal device bolts on in place of a normal round draft control in the stove door and automatically regulates draft opening based on stove temperature as measured by a self contained bimetallic coil. A dial allows the user to select the amount of heat required and users are encouraged to remember they're setting room temperature NOT stove temperature when manipulating the dial. .

The Condar Thermostat was highly touted by none other than Mother Earth News back in it's day. It was available to SOTZ drum stove users as an accessory under the SOTZ name and was applied to certain higher end steel plate stoves as standard equipment.

Lucky Condar Thermostat users find the device holds stove temperatures more even, allows increased economy of wood, and really takes a lot of the attention and trouble in operating a stove away from the owner. It still amazes me how the thermostat seems to "know" when it's a cold night and to burn more wood to maintain room temperature.

Unfortunately Condar does not make this useful accessory now (although rebuild kits are available) but instead is concentrating their business on Stovepipe Thermometers (which are a handy gadget too!) and gas fired stove remote thermostats. My Email entreaties to Condar to bring back the woodstove thermostat were responded with a rather icy Email reply in the negative and encouragement to look to Ebay to find a used device.

3. Drum stove users are encouraged to paint their drum stove yearly to prevent corrosion.

Contrary to popular belief, sheet metal drum stoves don't "burn out" from the inside out but rather "corrode in" from outside-in during the non-heating season. This rust, if allowed to progress beyond a year or two, will result in holes, aka "air leaks" which likewise will cause a loss of control with the damper and hasten the eventual demise of the drum.

Best time to sand and paint is directly at the end of heating season. Do not delay once the stove is out of service as once the rust gets a foothold, it's hard to stop even with paint.

Again thanks for your useful drum stove article. Drum stoves are not exactly a thing of beauty but the heating money it saved me is one of the reasons my house mortgage was paid off after only 12 years. I hope you can incorporate my experience/comments in some way to the benefit of others.

Best regards,

Joe

L.E.D. Lighting

Dear Friends,

My wife and I have been using L.E.D. Christmas lights for our night time lighting needs since they first came out. We use them for lighting the hallway in our home and in the bathroom at night. We have 0 complaints about them.

We like the “multi-color” lights because we are able see well enough, it doesn’t spook my raccoon when he roams the house at night, and our electrical bill has gone down. (Especially during the warmer months!) You guys hit the nail on the head on this article for sure. We also use a few ‘SOLAR’ yard lanterns when we feel like it. The ones that look like lanterns that have a removable ground stake and an off / on switch work pretty well for indoor night time use. (they’re not reading lamps but have 4-6 hours of useable light) If you go to bed with the chickens you don’t need much more.

Thanks for being out their, I’m going to have to get a subscription.

K.Rogers

Posted February 29

Dorothy Ainsworth - "Batten the Hatch"

Hello Dorothy:

I just finished you terrific article, "Batten the Hatch". [Issue #110, Mar/Apr, 2008, Pg. 8] Yes indeed, I’m now motivated to put a Batten Door on the front of my cabin. Unfortunately it’ll have to wait for a little warmer weather, since it doesn’t appeal to me to be removing and installing a new door right now in our single digit temperatures, brrrrrrrrr. Spring won’t be here soon enough!

The foresight of yours to take photographs of the various steps of the project in progress was awesome. I truly enjoyed your explicit writing with detailed instructions, and most adequate accompanying pictures. Your writing style truly makes for most enjoyable reading. Dorothy, I’ve thoroughly delighted in your other articles archived on BWM’s web-site. I sure do admire your energy, fortitude, and endurance. What an awesome example for my own motivation. Thanks!

If I may humbly suggest to "the expert" another way to skin the cat: (hope you don’t have any kittys)!

In drilling the holes for the bolts: a way I’ve found excellent to make them perfectly straight— 90 degrees to the surface, is to use a ‘plunge router’ equipped with a shortened forstner bit. Sure does insure no cattywampusness; (that just blew my spell checker) and provides great depth control.

Dorothy, I extend God’s blessings to you to continue the great work in you are doing, and in sharing your craftsmanship with the rest of us. I look forward to your future articles.

Winston Hall In the snowy Mountains of Pennsylvania

Hunting for survival

Excellent article in your latest magazine. I like to carry a .22lr for most situations, I have a nice little Ruger Mark II Target, and a delightful little Henry AR-7 survival rifle. Both pack easily. I bought my wife one of the pink Remington 870's in 20 gauge, from Gander Mountain for Christmas this year, will be teaching her to use it this spring. My centerfire is a Ruger Ranch in .223. Some might undervalue my guns, but I believe in shot placement, and after many years in the Air Force, where I split my career between Security Police and Combat Arms Training, with some NRA highpower service rifle competition tucked in there, I figure I probably know what I am doing. For my deer hunting, I never figured I needed a trophy, when Bambi is much tenderer, and around here, corn fed. You wouldn't believe how tasty this past fall's harvest is, and I am reserving several nice chucks of backstrap to smoke this summer to celebrate my graduation from law school.

Jonathan Edwards
Vermillion, South Dakota

I like your article Starting the hurricane Hi Mr. Duffy, I think that you are right on with your article but I would not say that all of the radio talk hosts are pushing the republican party. One that I listen to very often Jason Lewis is seemingly in the same boat that all of us conservative/Libertarian's are in not knowing what to do to fix the currrent situation in this country. I guess that is all I really wanted to say make sure to keep up the good work. Thanks, Ben Kjellberg Mounds View, M

Hunting to fill the dinner pot

I gotta agree with the writer on this one! I lived in the backwoods of Minnesota for 17 years, and learned early on that I needed to get a supply of meat laid in before deer season . When that time came, if you didn`t see your shot at a deer at sunrise of opening day, you had to work your ass off to get a shot. Just too many cidiots (idiots from the city) getting all the game riled up! Gimme a 22 rifle and a small game license to fill the pot!

Merle Cramton

Chicken Roto-tiller

I took a long section of 6' fence with 2" X 4" slots, bent it into a "U" shape and used two pieces of heavy rebar at the bottom to weight it down. So, now I had a "U" shaped tunnel for the chickens to graze and scratch in. After they scratched it up, weeded and fertilized it, I moved it over and planted in the tilled strip.

Once all the rows had been planted and the garden was well on it's way, I placed the tunnel between the rows and let the chickens do the weeding and debugging.

It don't get no easier.

PB

Wire cages Finally found [Issue] #106 with the build a wire cage by Pat Barden. Just wanted to add that old refrigerator shelves make great bottoms for these cages. I've even put 2 together to make a large cage. The shelves make the cage sturdy and are free at the recycle center. You will have to rethink cutting the rest of the wire though. Great for the rabbit hutch too. Have fun. Lois in PA

This coop is for the birds by Dorothy Ainsworth

Hi,

I just wanted to write and say thanks for this great article. We've gone round in circles trying to decide how to build a chicken coop and this article pulled it all together in a great way.

No reponse necessary... just wanted to say THANKS!

Victoria

Jan Feb issue

Dear Sirs,

I read your Nov Dec issue and I loved it. I checked three different places numerous times and I never, ever saw the Jan Feb issue......I am in Marion Ohio and I must have checked 20 times at different stores.....whats up ???

I would like to buy a few more issues before I decide to subscribe.

Brian Liston

Brian:

Don't know. We haven't changed distribution. Maybe the wholesaler in that area stopped carrying us for some reason.

Once we ship issues to our several distributors, it's pretty much impossible for us to track what stores they go into. It's totally in their hands, and distributors are fairly unresponsive to small publishers like us.

The best way to find out what happened is to go into a store where you found the magazine previously and ask the clerk to look BHM up in their computer system to see if they still carry us.

BHM has no say about where a distributor places our magazine; we either sign up with a big distributor or we don't, but our influence with them ends there.

Dave Duffy

Bear Danger and people

I love your magazine and over the years it's been extremely helpful. The wife and I had a cabin in the Rocky Mountains near the Bitter root range and homesteaded while we raised our kids to adulthood. Your publication was read by the entire family till it was barely legible. It gave the kids projects for fun and helped us use the property and surrounding wilderness to have 85% self-sufficiency.

I am writing about bears. You see the wife and I now live in Alaska. In the 16 years that we have lived here we have had a great deal of time to enjoy its wilderness areas. And like the Rockies there are bears. But here we have both the Grizzly and the Brown Bears.

What the wife and I keep running into are people who just don't have a clue about bears. And others who think they are an expert but are actually placing others lives at risk from their ill advice.

For some reason there are people who think a 9mm, 10mm, .45acp pistol and .223 rifles are just the ticket to kill these bears. Some claim you can kill them with a .22LR Ruger 10/22!

This is insane! There are Brown bears here that are over 11 feet tall and weigh over 1,800lbs.

Hunters here use rifles like the .300 magnum up to the .375 H&H magnum to hunt these bears and even with those guns at times it takes a few shots to kill the bear. Even the trusty 30-06 is considered by many "marginal" at best.

I have done a great deal of research on the ballistics of firearms. And from over 55 years; have a keen understanding what one is getting into with such a dangerous animal as these bears. You want at least 800 ft lbs of energy on impact with a pistol and preferably 1200 ft lbs. And this would be for up close and personal short range shots. I would prefer a 12 ga shotgun with slugs or a high powered rifle or at least .308 and of those two I would go with the 12 ga. The smallest handgun used here for protection is the .44 magnum and in fact that round has killed quite few bears that attacked. But then others died trying with that round.

If you could do an article on this it may save a life. If you did one please include the do's and don't of bear country to go with it.

I am tried of seeing a family in danger near bears every year. Some get mad at me for warning them. But holly smokes they have their kids and dogs running around the feeding bears on the salmon run. Food laid out for the bears to take, cleaning fish on the bank then running of to leave the fish for the bear approaching. It's got to the point the bears just wait till they land a fish and then run up and take it. Then they sit around the camp fire talking about how they will take the bear out with their Glock if it attacks. What they never realize it that they are conditioning the bear to take things from humans. Then sooner or later Fish & Game or a local has to kill the bear because now it's overly aggressive.

Thanks again for all the great information and stories.

And take care.

William Archer

I'm with ya on the bear thing, bro. .44 Magnum minimum, and I would use 320 grain hard cast, deep penetrating bullets. 12 gauge handy with slugs, preferably deep-penetrating Brennekes. If hunting them, my .458 Magnum backed up by a .44 Mag on the belt.

I largely share your outlook. Too many Americans grew up with the Walt Disney fantasy of bears, and not the Jack O'Connor/Elmer Keith/Charles Askins view.

Stay safe,

Mas Ayoob

Russian Iron

J.D,

I share your affection for Russian firearms, even if I don't own any. My brother-in-law, who lives in Texas, likes to collect them, and I try to shoot them whenever we visit. He owns an SKS, two Moisan-Nagants, and a Makarov 9mm.

We spent the Xmas holidays going around to gun and pawn shops. At one military arms shop, there were very nice Moisan-Nagant rifles, carbines actually, for $ 100. One of the other customers told me that he bought one the week before, and found it very accurate. I would have bought one and taken it home to Maui, Hawaii, except for the difficulty in getting ammo for it. The same shop had brand-new K98 Mausers, in 8mm, still in the grease, for $150. Now THAT'S a deal. I already have one of those.

I didn't care for his SKS carbine - I couldn't hit anything with it, and had an accidental discharge, which scared me. I liked his Makarov. Wouldn't mind owning one.

The Tokarov semi-auto rifle really looks interesting. I've long lusted after a Springfield Armory M1A1, but just can't bring myself to spend the money they ask for. The Tokarov might be a decent alternative.

By the way, the young Navy SEAL who lives next door to me, when last he was home on leave, told me of all the weapons he's trained on and used, that he liked the AK-47 the best, because he found it to be accurate. Given all the modern weapons available to him, it really surprised me.

George Ulicny

Log Cribs

I was just reading on your website about how to make a log crib and I am not tool inclined at all. How much does it cost to make one of those log cribs. They are stunning.

Would it be possible for me to buy the plans from you (I don't suppose you sell the cribs pre-made?). Maybe I could have someone here make it for me.

Thanks

Sonya Ramsey

Dear Sonya,

Thank you for your interest in my log cribs. I built them from scratch, but unfortunately the forest where I was getting the right-sized logs ran low on those small logs. My supply is unavailable now.

I made each crib by hand, including the logging trips and peeling all the logs and branches with a draw knife, and my labor totaled 80 hours per crib I sold the cribs for $800.00. If you can find someone to do the labor free, your crib would only cost about $200 max.---including the springs and mattress!

My instructions in BWH Issue # 69 are detailed enough that one BWH reader recently built one himself and said he had no problem doing it by following the steps in the article.

Good luck!

Dorothy Ainsworth

Posted February 2

Dorothy Ainsworth

Dear editor,

I just wanted to make a comment to Dorothy about the article she wrote "self-reliance is a mindset" (I'm new to reading the magazine articles so I'm reading all the old ones). It was extremely helpful to me because at 34 I have just discovered that mindset myself.

She stated that even if you have a good partner, which I do, you can also achieve self-reliance. I completely relate to her when she says that she lets a man take over when there is one around because it's biology and conditioning.

I too want to build my own structures (I own 6 acres) and I admire her building pictures. As thoughtful as the man I am with is it's hard for him to try and not help me with the "manly" things, like building (he grew up in the city so he doesn't know anymore than I do but he likes to think he knows more because he's a man). He has learned to step out of the picture when I want him to because I want to create things myself. He is being well trained.

Again, I just really related to her article and would like her to know that.

Thanks.

Brandy, from Oregon

Your Backwoods article on Dorcy focusing lamp

Dear Ms. Wolfe,

I've been trying without success to open the darn bottom of my Dorcy lamp to change the batteries (after 5 years!) and cannot get it open, no way, no how. I went on the internet to see if I could find help and I ran across your article in praise of the lamp (#41-1015 using 4 D batteries). The top part covering the lightbulb comes off just fine, but I can't get access to the batteries

Could you help?

Many thanks,

Sue Havlish
Madison, TN

If you're trying to pull off or twist off the entire bottom, stop. Turn the flashlight upside down and look at the _center_ of that bottom piece. You'll find a knob with the words "open" and "close" on it. Twist that knob to the left a few turns. THEN the entire bottom plate will come off and you can get at the batteries.

To put the flashlight back together after changing the batteries, hold the bottom plate in place and twist the knob to the right. The only trick to this part is that you must have the bottom plate correctly aligned. Just make sure the notch on it fits right below the on-off control for the lamp.

The Dorcy is amazingly kind to batteries, isn't it? I've had three or four of these versatile flood-light/spot-light flashlights and every one of them has gone years between battery changes.

Hope this helps.

Claire

"I Heat My House by Burning Corn" Article

Dear Editor,

My wife and I are considering the purchase of a stove to heat our house. Subject article has been very helpful, educational, and informative. The author did an outstanding job! We appreciate the comparison she did of wood burning stoves versus corn burning stoves as well as the advantages and disadvantages of each. As a result of reading the article, we are now going to consider purchasing a corn burning stove for our heating needs.

Thanks again for such an excellent article!

Respectfully,

Felix Garcia

Chinking Between Logs

Hi Dorothy!

Greetings from the newly warming deep freeze. Ha ha

Say, on your vertical log buildings, how and with what did you chink? We've heard about several things but are wondering what worked for you.

Also, have your spaces between the logs increased after the logs dried? Ours seem to be showing more daylight lately!

Any "light" you can shed on this matter is greatly appreciated!

Thanks!!

Riika

Hi there! It's frozen here too. We've had nights in the low teens for a week or two now. Maybe in your "book" though, that isn't cold. (?)

I chinked with foam-pipe insulation.( I used 1.5" dia. size, but sometimes went bigger if the gaps were bigger). It's closed-cell polyethelene and nothing sticks to it unless you lightly sand it with fine emery cloth or sandpaper. It only takes a minute on each tube with FINE emery cloth to slightly rough up the surface and break those cells open.

Then I laid all my 6-foot lengths (that's what they come in) close together on a shop table (with the pre-cut-side underneath) and painted them with latex paint like you'd paint a pan of hot-cross buns with butter. If you need longer lengths, just cut a short piece of pipe insulation and splice it on the end of the 6-ft. length and caulk and paint the little 1.5" horizontal seam.

Polyethelene is tough but it DOES break down over time under ultraviolet light (what DOESN'T?) so HAS to be painted. After the tubes are dry, push them into the gaps evenly and attractively to conform to the sometimes curvy nature of the log-gaps. THEN caulk with siliconized latex caulk (common and cheap) on both sides of the pipe insulation you just stuck in. Run your finger down to smooth the caulk out and "feather it " against the log AND the tube insulation--so it looks nice.

Here are two photos to illustrate what I did. So far it has worked out beautifully, except on the sunny weathered side of my log buildings, I have to re-paint the rounded part of the tubes every couple of years (quick and easy job) . It only takes an hour or so to do the whole house.

You certainly can use regular conventional chinking, but you have to trowel it on or apply it with a huge caulking gun. It is excellent quality, but it's expensive, and gets all over everything if you are not good at applying it, AND it creates a flat surface in between your logs so it cuts off the roundness of your logs. I like MY idea because it accentuates the roundness of the logs by looking like little logs in between big logs. I paint my chinking dark brown.

In answer to your second question., if my logs have shrunk in diameter I haven't noticed it in the chinking at all. Not one tube has pulled away from it's original position where it was caulked in. That's probably because the foam-pipe insulation is flexible and so is the latex caulking.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

Dorothy

Starting the Hurricane

Hi Dave,

When I got my December issue of Backwoods Home Magazine I, as usual, enjoyed a restful Sunday in my lounge chair reading it. However, I was somewhat taken back by your editorial Starting the Hurricane. The amazing part about it was that you did not even mention Ron Paul at all! I know that the Mainstream Media had a blackout on him, but I couldn't imagine you, being a like minded individual, not taking the opportunity to give him some valuable exposure.

I have been meaning to write you about this for two weeks. I finally got on my computer tonight, went to BHM's site and reread the editorial to refresh my memory. I was happy to find the link following it saying "Read Dave's blog entry about Republican candidate Ron Paul." It was a relief to read what you had to say. I only hope that you will reprint it, or write something similar, in the next print edition for the benefit of the many readers who may have not found the online article.

We know that mainstream Americans are asleep, being guided around by those enemies among us whose only goal is absolute power and wealth, those who come to steal, kill and destroy. If they are not successful at destroying Paul and they don't outright kill him first, they might just be in for a big shake-up. Some of us are awake and we are communicating. Most of us just want to be left alone, but unfortunately they are no longer content with that. I think there is a growing sense that if we don't change the direction of our country soon, the future is not going to be either a pretty or happy place.

Jay Maxner
Hawaii

Jay:

I do mention Ron Paul in my commentary in the upcoming issue, but the editorial has a gloomy outlook for the country. Ron Paul is obviously in the process of being soundly rejected by the Republican Party and the bulk of Republican voters. The miracle Paul supporters (and I'm one of them) are hoping for will not happen. When the elections are all over I'd like to see the Libertarians end their love affair with the Republican Party. America has been lost to the Left for the next eight years, no matter whether it is Obama or McCain who win. Maybe the Libertarians can make a comeback out of the carnage of what I think will be a major recession during the next two years. I think the Republican Party has a good chance of splintering after the elections, and maybe the Libertarians will find some opportunities that arise from that. On the whole, I am very pessimistic about the future of America.

Dave

Posted January 16

Best gun for conceal carry and home protection

I live in Texas, where we can take classes enabling us to qualify for a conceal carry permit. But the truth is, I have no idea what is a practical type of hand gun to purchase. While a double action would be able to fire from the get go, all of the police and sheriff deputies carry semiautomatics.

What would you suggest, also what caliber?

Thank you for your considerstion.

John T. Alafonso
Quitman, Texas

John:

We've had many articles on this subject. There is no one answer. I suggest you search our extensive website for your answer. You can start with Massad Ayoob in our Author Index.

Dave Duffy

The Joys of Idleness

Excellent article, Claire! I am emailing that one to all my friends right now!!

Brenda Thompson
Nova Scotia

Just a thank you

I am a recent subscriber to your Backwoods Home Magazine and I thoroughly enjoy it. It is the only magazine that I suscribe to that I read from cover to cover. I want to thank you for putting together the wonderful Emergency Preparedness and Survival Guide which I received with my subscription. This book is priceless. I'm so impressed with this book that I ordered more for family. My husband and I aren't hard core homesteaders, just ranchers living quite a ways from the nearest town but we've always had at least a 6 month supply of supplies on hand. With the world situation being so unstable, we decided that we needed to expand our supply and this book has been so very helpful. Thank you again.

Sincerely,

Camille Habermacher

Ron Paul

Dear Dave,

I've been with you since the early years of TMEN. I am so very grateful to have Backwoods Home magazine. I've passed around your articles on "The Coming Dictatorship".

So, here we are in an election year, and, unbelievably there is a candidate that sounds (to me, at least) a lot like you! I've been watching the debates and he constantly talks about abolishing the Federal Reserve and the IRS and upholding the Constitution. So, since I consider you a voice of reason (and I haven't seen any mention of him in the magazine) I was wondering what your opinion on Ron Paul is.

Wendy Alfveby
Cottage Grove, MN

We have mentioned him online. (Look in the letters posted January 2, 2008 for the references) and we have a blurb on him in the upcoming (Mar/April) issue. I like him a lot, and I hope after the Republicans finish attacking him he'll jump ship and once more become a Libertarian or Independent candidate. Obviously Paul won't win the Republican nomination, and I think the other candidates' treatment of him when he responds to questions in debates is indicative of the Republican Party's total scorn for Libertarian ideas.

In my upcoming editorial in the March/April issue, I speak to the discontent among the electorate and what the electorate can do. The Republicans and Democrats won't allow a "good" candidate to see the light of day. The Republican Party wants to keep a lid on any enthusiasm for candidates like Ron Paul. Paul's ideas are contrary to the Republican Party's notion of what America as a country should be doing.

Dave

Posted January 3

Letter to editor with notations

Dear Mr. Duffy:

First, thanks for putting out a pretty nifty magazine. The how to articles provide valuable lessons that can enable one to become more self sufficient. I renewed my subscription for two years and gave a one year subscription as a gift. Too, you don't find many magazines, papers or periodicals where most of the reader contributions are indeed intellectually enlightening and rational. Also, your publication is obviously stout enough, unlike left leaning publications, to allow for disagreement. A case in point is a letter submitted by Goldie M. Prelogar of Pittsburg, Kansas that appeared in the Jan/Feb 2008 issue of Backwoods Home (BWH) .

Regarding Miss Prelogar's command to "Cancel my subscription", you can't please everybody, especially when they are apparently uninformed or mislead. Prelogar was miffed at Mr. Silveria's commentary regarding global warming. Unfortunately for Prelogar, science does not support her apparent and errant criticism of Silveria on the issue climate change. A Canadian newspaper, The National Post, published a letter that rebuffs the silliness of equating human causation with climate change via global warming. The letter was sent to the UN and signed by 100 real scientists. In short, the real scientists stated that "It is not possible to stop climate change, a natural phenomenon that has affected humanity through the ages". "Natural Phenomenon", nor is anthropogenic activity the cause for any climate change.

Obviously Prelogar is a product of our failed, publicly funded high school and secondary Marxist-infested college and university indoctrination gulags. Had she had been properly educated in the sciences, acquired critical thinking skills, and awakened to the fact that America gets more bang per BTU ­ and thereby is not the biggest polluter on the planet - she would have been be able to come to the same informed conclusions as those in the science community who have not put politics ahead of scientific inquiry. My guess is she was encouraged to be more socially active by marching and holding some candle light vigil [1] for some pressing cause de jour instead of actually studying something useful. It begs the question, should not Prelogar's parents, and any parent for that matter, be allowed to sue the education system for providing a defective product, i.e. a sub-standard education? I say an ill educated youth is more dangerous to America then a defective car or tainted medicine which at times finds its way to the market, and that ultimately gives rise to some horrendous tort actions.

What I found most amusing regarding Prelogar's contribution is that she has been "increasingly disappointed" at BWH for it's apparent lack of "social responsibility" which in reality is 'socialist conformity', aka despotism light. Her term she used in chiding you, "social responsibility" is a buzz word in Marxist circles that is synonymous with the Marxist slogan so idolized by the left: "From each according to his/her ability, to each according to his need". Since socialism and it's bully brother communism must be imposed at the point of a gun and since these ideologies are counter to the yearning of the human spirit to be free, we must conclude that Prelogar and today's youth are woefully mislead and starved of the ideals of Liberty and Freedom as defined by the Founders of this nation. Today's so called environmental movement, of which Prelogar is an apparent adherent, is the vehicle by which to administer the coup de grace to America's capitalist based economy in exchange for the demanded central government controlled economy that fails every where it's imposed upon mankind.

Too, regarding Prelogar's evaluation of the mission of BWH, had she been blessed with or worked to sharpen her reading comprehension skills, she would understand that BWH is not a socialist, despotic leaning publication that has some sort of "social responsibility " to the readers and I suspect in her mind, the "citizens of the world." There is a push on to make the nation state obsolete where people are not citizens of a nation but of the world, i.e. the one world government, but I digress. Quite to the contrary, she must understand that BWH is a publication that is geared towards rugged individualism, promotion of true Liberty and adherence to our Republican - a representative republic - form of government that is more closely tied to the ideals and precepts of America's Founders. Lastly, regarding Miss Prelogar's "take my ball, whine, and run away from the debate mentality" - if she does not want her subscription any longer can you apply the rest of hers to mine? In short it is not BWH that must change, but rather Prelogar must work to grow into maturity with regards to learning the facts surrounding the various issues of the day. She needs to shed her victim-hood constraints and become a real American!

Regarding politics, I too am totally disgusted with the disservice to my fellow Americans by my party (Republican) in general, and specifically President Bush, who I supported in 2000 and begrudgingly in 2004; the campaign finance "deformity" bill; the deconstruction of our sovereignty via coddling Mexico; doing nothing to provide incentive for America's capital to stay within America which in turn promotes domestic job growth in the industrial sector, etc. are some real problems I have with Bush and my party. The Democrat party is indeed solely and privately owned by George Soros, and as Senator Zell Miller penned, a "party no more"; it's a subversive entity or an enemy within, in my humble opinion. They don't beat around the bush as to their intentions to deconstruct America as evidenced in word and deed.

In Pennsylvania anyway, the Republican party powers that be are out of touch with the conservative base who make up the party, as evidenced by the dismal results of the 2006 mid term elections. For example, in 2006, the RINO (Republican in name only) Party Chairman dutifully canceled a fund raising event [2] for a truly conservative Congressional candidate in the chairman's home town of Johnstown, Pa.. Likely Mr. Gleason, an ever obedient drone, acted at the bequest if not an outright order of the Democrat incumbent [3]. At the county level, and I'll speak only for my county (Armstrong), there was no real party support for the conservative candidate. For within the committee reside many RINO's beholden to the rotund self aggrandizing potentate of Johnstown, Congressman Jack Murtha. All in all, the Republican party in Pennsylvania merely exists but does not push an agenda of what is today's conservatism.

All in all, I think we are damned. Every year we thrust into society Constitutionally illiterate youths who's biggest worry is whether they have the latest cell phone model or who are deficient in separating the truth from Marxist twaddle regarding today's issues; whether climate issues, taxation, lawful (constitutional) role of government. At present, I see no viable conservative running on the "R" ticket. At least though the Commucrats (Democrats) can rest assured that any one of their candidates will bring America closer to ideals of Marxist tyranny faster.

In closing, prepare for the worse and pray for the best, as I believe the worst is yet to come and it will be caused by the destruction of America within.

John Salsgiver
Ford City, Pa.

1 I am assuming that the letter writer Goldie M. Prelogar is the same Goldie Prelogar who was an activist while attending college at Pittsburg State University. The indoctrination at PSU is likely the reason she is not able to discern fact from fiction when it comes to global warming. America's universities, as you are surely aware, are rife with anti-capitalist/ anti-America core values instructors and pointy headed intellectuals.

2 www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=17176&keywords=raisers Scroll down to "Murtha's Advantage"

3 www.pagopwing.com/new_page_3.htm Search for "Diana Irey" or scroll down to "PA Republican Assembly Calls for PA GOP Chair to Resign"

Posted January 2

Just say NO

Nice article Mr. Del Signore, I certainly concur with your views.

May I suggest you Google Ron Paul, and do an article on him. He is a stauch limited federal goverment, and supporter of the constitution. He may well be our last hope of saving our nation. Please vote Ron Paul for president in 2008.

G.W. Byrd

Domestication of farm critters

Hi,

Love the magazine. You may know my husband Roy Butler of Four Winds renewable energy at the fair each year.

I was researching the interbreeding of sheep and goats and your story came up. Under the picture of the sheep and goat was "Sheep and goats are very distantly related but cannot interbreed." Correction, they can breed. I had one produced here 3 years ago and did some research. The young usually die early in the pregnancy, a very rare few have survived. (4 I think)

I have had 2 miscarriages with my goats this year due to my trust in the animals, I thought it would never happen again....Yah right... Don't ask Roy about my critters and the headaches/heartaches.

People raising sheep and goats together should know a pregnancy can happen, but they don't usually make it to full term. It could explain mystery miscarriages or a really funny looking kid....

Carol Butler
Oak-Tree Sanctuary

Ron Paul

Hi Dave!

I was just reading your editorial in the Jan/Feb '08 issue about bypassing the "Demopublicans" in favor of a candidate whose views you can actually endorse, and of course, I wondered why you're not urging your readers to vote for Ron Paul. From everything I've read, he's in favor of small government/Constitutional government/no annual taxation/etc. I'd have thought he was a Libertarian's dream candidate, and am very eager to learn why you apparently disagree. If Backwoods Home thinks there's something wrong with Ron Paul's candidacy, I want to know that before it's time to cast my vote!!!

MANY thanks, and thanks, too, for putting out such a great, enjoyable magazine. If I could only have one subscription, Backwoods Home would be it!

Best,

Elly

I like Ron Paul. We've written online editorials endorsing him. He is essentially a Libertarian in Republican clothing. If he were the Republican candidate for President, I would certainly vote for him. And I will vote for him in any primary where he appears. But he has no chance to win the Republican nomination for President, so I'll be safe in keeping my pledge not to vote for a Republican or Democrat. I sure wish Ron Paul could make me a liar.

Dave

Editorial

Enjoyed your editorial in the recent issue. It's gratifying to know that others like you have joined the rest of us who have been spitting in the wind of the American political scene for years.

I have never registered with the Demopublicans in my 40 years of voting and always voted for the man, not the party, in spite of the pessimists who told me I was throwing my vote away. We can only hope that this hurricane will wash away the corruption in our government and bring us back to the aspirations of our Founding Fathers. Because, if it doesn't, the rising discontent amongst us will most likely ignite another American revolution.

Kathy Frazier
Willcox, Arizona

Your wonderful sense of directed humor

Claire,

Stumbled onto the Backwoods Home website by accident and your writings. DAMMIT, I've been stuck here for 5 hours now reading the "mail" of the mag and almost half your stories. God woman--- I love them.

I definitively bookmarked the site and when I can save the pennies needed for a 5 year subscription and the cd's (11 i think), I'm buyin'. This is as good as Mother Earth News. You go, Girl. keep writing.

I'm a 63 yr. old , Crotchty Old Cumugen and I definitively want to see more of your writing. I love the truth of it all.

Sincerely:
Godfrey Harrison

Starting the hurricane - Issue 109

I was a bit surprised, and disheartened, to see you state in your "My view" column in Issue 109 that you would not be supporting either the Democrat or Republican candidate for President. While I would normally agree with you, this election is different in that there is a real choice on the ballot - Dr. Ron Paul.

I first learned about Congressman Paul in your magazine, so I find it somewhat surprising that, after having expressed support for Dr. Paul in the past, you suddenly have chosen to ignore him when he actually has a chance of taking the nomination on the republican ticket.

I, and several hundred thousand other grassroot supporters are working out fingers to the bone - independent of the official campaign - to make a Ron Paul presidency a reality. We've broken both the one-day online donation total in U.S. election history, then came back a month later and took the overall one-day fundraising total record. We've raised money to fly a blimp around the country, take out full-page ads in national newspapers, and have staged massive rallies on a moments notice. We've remained vigilant against smear campaigns in the mainstream media, and we've been more than happy to correct those who spread misinformation.

There are plenty of folks who oppose us. People who leap at every opportunity to undermine our hard work, and vehemently oppose a strict Constitutionalist like Dr. Paul in the White House. So we certainly don't need one of our own - you - doing the same thing.

If you hadn't written about Dr. Paul some time ago, I would have eventually learned about Dr. Paul and his message of freedom, peace, and prosperity. Yet, I would likely have been deprived of the experience of being actively involved in a new freedom movement - American Revolution 2.0, if you will.

You are doing your readers a great disservice by advocating a refusal to vote at a time when we have the opportunity to make a drastic change in the direction of our nation.

Brian Webbe
Lewisburg, PA

Read my Dec 22 blog post on Ron Paul.

Dave

Feedback concerning Ron Paul

Hi Dave,

I was just about to write a letter concerning your recent editorial "My View" in issue #109 about the 2008 elections, and went online to check your web site for the Letters address. I noticed for the first time that you post some letters to the Feedback page on your web site. I never knew I was missing out on so much! I'm very happy to have found the Feedback page.

Wow! And now I just noticed that you finally have all the old letters to the editor from all the back issues posted online, too! GREAT!

You see, it was the letters to the editor that first got me hooked on Backwoods Home Mag in 1996. Especially the political discussions.

Anyway, I saw that Joseph H. Jones beat me to addressing your recent "My View" editorial. His letter is almost exactly what I would have written.

Then, further down, I saw the letter from "Joe in Indiana" who doesn't want to see anything about presidential candidates in your magazine.

Personally, I want to see MORE political letters at Backwoods Home, not less! But I see clearly that everyone has their own opinion/preference.

I just want to say that I was disappointed to read in your response to Joseph Jones that you do not think Ron Paul has any chance to win the Republican nomination. My first thought was: if only the honorable editor of BHM, Dave Duffy, would do more to mention and discuss Ron Paul in his magazine (or even better, if he would give Ron Paul an outright ENDORSEMENT!), then Congressman Paul's chances of winning would perhaps increase... by igniting new grassroots activism right here among the BHM readership! People like "Joe in Indiana" should understand that the backwoods lifestyle of self-reliance hinges 100% on our political freedom! There is really no way to separate BHM from politics, because the genuine American Patriots are right here among the BHM readership.

That said, will you please tell me how I might access the older Feedback postings? I do hope that you keep a complete archive of them all somewhere. And as for the Letters page on your web site, as thrilled as I am to see that you now have them posted online, I see that they go back only as far as 1998. Can you please post all of them, going back to the first issue?

In closing, I do understand that politics is a very touchy subject, even among supposedly like-minded individuals. I would like to thank you, Dave, for including as much political discussion at BHM as you do, even though I personally wish there was MORE!

Respectfully,

Israel Denali Christian (Lifetime BHM Subscriber)
Northport, Washington

p.s. - Please consider publishing this letter in your magazine. It might appease many of your readers who also wish there would be more mention of Ron Paul by you in BHM, and there must also be plenty of other readers who still don't have any idea that there are further discussions and more letters posted on the Feedback page online. I am only now starting to see how much there is on your web site that I've so far been completely missing out on! I would really appreciate a reply to this letter.

We have Letters going back to 1998 because that is when we started the website. I will consider your request to put more letters up, but like everything it costs money and manpower to do these things. Since the website is free, I have to be careful how I use magazine money provided by paying print issue subscribers.

I think we have about the right mix of politics and how-to articles in the magazine. Too much politics in the magazine would probably lead to its collapse, as many subscribers do not want politics. I, like you, believe the self-reliant lifestyle and freedom issues are closely related, so John Silveira and I write commentaries on this.

You may want to read my comments on Ron Paul at my blog -- the Dec 22 entry.

Dave

Dave Duffy "My view"

Mr. Duffy, your Starting the Hurricane article reminded me of "me" many years ago. I too voted for a third party person. George Wallace, then later Ross Perot. What a waste of a vote. I am Republican/Libertarian in political thinking and Jewish/Christian in my religious beliefs. In 2003 I retired from a regular job and moved to 20 acres in the country with my own gun range(yes I am a member of the NRA), sheep, chickens, etc., etc. My background is in electronics, custom car/motorcycle building, gunsmithing and 10 years as a shop superintendent for a city of 10,000. I respect and agree with most of what you say but feel voting for a third party is the worst thing one can do. Yes, Bush has been a disappointment in the $$$$ department. However, he has had to deal with Sept. 11 at the start of his administration and Democrats in both houses now. History proves Democrats and War cause higher taxes and more spending. As for so-called unbiased TV newscasters being Democrats, that is easy to prove. Those talk radio hosts you mentioned admit being Republican or Libertarian. They do not hide behind a facade of being unbiased. Liberal radio (Air America) just can't seem to cut it with the American people. Dan Rather lost his job for lieing, Air America lost millions before going off air, major TV networks are losing audiance and not just because of cable/satellite. While talk radio and conservative TV stays large or even grows. Dave, I am 64 and thanks to the U.S. Navy and an aircraft carrier, I got to see a large part of the world. The U.S.A. is still as good as it gets for free people. But keep showing those who do not pay attention, what is happening. You are a writer so keep telling it as you see it. I will keep reading, even when I don't totally agree. This country is too precious to just sit and do nothing

Charles and Carolyn

Listing ALL article titles in Article Index

The Index of Articles on your web site is excellent. I have gone back to it many times to reference something on the forums or to direct people on other lists on the web to your site. However, I have noticed that the articles listed are only those available on-line. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining and understand that you can’t give away the store, but would it be possible to also list the title and issue number of articles that are not available on-line? The title could be displayed as a dead link, much like you do with magazine issues ­ the contents are displayed and only articles available on-line show up as active links. It would be really handy for tracking down articles and the issue they appeared in.

Your article index is easily searched with a web browser and really simplifies the task of finding the back issue. It might also increase the sale of back issues and anthologies.

Just a thought… Really love your magazine.

Regards,

Pat

On the Article Index page, near the top, you will notice a grey-framed box. In that box are links to the complete index of all articles published in backwoods Home Magazine from Issue 1 to the present. It is available as a free download in PDF and Excell formats, both of which are searchable. The Excell file also allows you to order the articles by Title, Author, Subject, and Issue #.

It's not exactly what you suggested, but I hope it will work for you.

Dave

Posted December 19

Limited government candidates

Dave,

I read your current "My View" editorial (Jan/Feb 2008, #109) regarding the current crop of Presidential candidates. I, too, seek someone who truly would work for down-sizing government along libertarian principles. Yes, both Republican and Democrat parties are obscenely bloated and parasite-infested political organizations, I am surprised that you seem to dismiss Ron Paul along with the rest of the field of Republican candidates.

Is your apparent disdain because Ron Paul has served as a Republican congressman and is running as a Republican presidential candidate? Given his life-long libertarian credentials (even a stint as the Libertarian Presidential candidate) is he not the most likely of the "unlikely to win" candidates who espouse limited government? If by some God-given miracle Ron Paul were to win, could that not provide impetus to move the party and nation back toward Robert Taft conservative principles that once motivated a major sector of the Republican establishment?

Is there some other reason you do not support Ron Paul's candidacy?

Joseph H. Jones

I don't dismiss Ron Paul, and I don't have "apparent disdain" for him. We've written online editorials supporting him in our monthly newsletter. (Ron Paul: Constitutional Choice for President of these United States, Oct. 07 and A Political Miracle Brings Hope for Freedom, Nov. 07) But you and I know he's not going to be the Republican nominee. If Ron Paul and a miracle make me a liar, I'll obviously support him vigorously.

Dave

Start the hurricane

Dave,

I couldn't agree more with your idea of sending a message to both parties that they aren't the only game in the American Political arena, Ross Perot got my vote in '92 for that very reason. I am sad to admit I stepped back to party voting afterwards but I'm with you now, a true American should rather "waste" their vote on principle than compromise it settling for a mediocre candidate based on party affiliation alone.

Alex

Post construction cleaning

I really enjoyed this article. I started my cleaning business three years ago and now my business grosses $150,000. As I read through this article all I could do is reflect back to the trial and errior I encountered. If I new about this article it would have saved me a lot of headaches.

Lewis Delgado
Utah

My View - Issue #109

Dave,

I very much enjoy your magazine and look forward to each issue. I don't usually agree with your view of the world so much, but that's what freedom is about. I am a registered Green Party member and I find that, this month, we agree!

I registered as Green Party for the express purpose of promoting the idea of something to vote for that was not Democratic or Republican. Like you I have been cajoled into voting for a candidate I didn't like because it seemed the only way (in my case, Kerry). I hated doing it and I regret it now. I did, in fact, vote my conscience before that and choose Ralph Nader.

We must break the cycle of inept government; this is a place to start.

Tony McCormick

Thanks for the recipe

Hi all

I would just like to write a quick but huge "thank you" to Linda Gabris - she wrote about the 'Picture Perfect Picnic' (#107 Sept/Oct 2007) - the ginger ale recipe is fantastic - just like Ginger Ale we buy up here in Canada - I mix it with carbonated spring water and it tastes wonderful. And the left over ginger slices make great treats to munch on when you follow her recipe for candied ginger.

Thanks again and eagerly await my new issues.

Monica Blaney
Ottawa, Ontario

Newsletter

Squirrel Away! Only works for wimpy Northern squirrels that don't like hot sauce.

To keep squirrels from eating your plants sprinkle your plants with cayenne pepper. The cayenne pepper doesn't hurt the plant and the squirrels won't come near it.

It only worked for about a week. Then it was back to squirrel snacks as usual.

Ron & Linda Clark
North Plains, Oregon

Posted November 15

Silveira's article

She:kon (hello),

I just read the article by John Silveira titled The unheralded roots of America's freedoms (page 89, Issue no. 108) and would just like to mention that the Haudenosaunee still exist, and are still fighting the state for control of our own destiny. Many of us still understand and follow the Great Law. There are even those of us who enjoy your magazine very much and are quite delighted to find an article about our nation!

Nia:wen (Thank You),

Anenhaienton
from Akwesasne Mohawk Nation Territory
(The Akwesasne Mohawk Nation Territory spans the imaginary line separating the US and Canada, between Malone and Massena New York, and across the river from Cornwall, Ontario.)

1491

John:

Interesting information.

My American history teacher, junior year, 1960-61, responded to a question of mine with "Well, the Indians weren't doing anything with the country, so it was OK for the white folks to take it over." I just barely passed American history. Just barely.

Concerning that book . . . I hope you did considerable research before writing it up. It's all very possible that it's on the up-and-up, but it smacks way too much of the current apologizing approach to dealing with the Native American population coming in from the Left. I'm completely sympathetic to the plight of Native Americans, but they're in the same situation as the black population. Neither myself, nor any of my relatives ever did anything to them or their relatives, so I can't accept any feelings of personal resonsibility or guilt on their behalf. But I will listen.

Best,

Dick Rinehart
Kentucky

Dick,

Your coments sound like a knee-jerk reaction. Read the book yourself. It's a GREAT read. If you can find "apologizing" or even "guilt" in his book, please point it out.

And as to the Left, if I were to guess what Mann's politics are, from what he writes and the way he presents it, I'd guess he was a Libertarian. I'm not saying he is, but he sure sounds like one to me.

John

R U gone?

ClaireWolfe.com is down, tcftalk is down...???

What's the story? Have you gone into hibernation?

booboo894 from juno.com

Claire is making some life changes that necessitate withdrawing from daily web interaction. She continues to write for our print issue and for other publications.

Squatting

Just a quick note to say, I enjoyed your article on squatting! I have over the years considered doing something along those lines. Either Motor home or Camper, but my thoughts were of staying in RV parks or camp grounds. I wish it was still possible to make a "claim" on a small piece of land.

Thank you

James Barela

Questions about Global Warming by John Silveira

Dear Editor:

Having taught Atmospheric Sciences at the undergraduate and graduate level for 20 years, I do know something about the subject of global warming. I share a lot of John's views on this topic, in particular, the observation that climate has ALWAYS been changing. The climate changes on scales from a few years (El Niño or volcanic eruptions), to 10's and 100's of thousands of years (the Milankovic cycles), and to hundreds of millions of years (continental drift).

One mistake that people make is to assign one CAUSE for an observation in a system as complex as the land-ocean-atmosphere system. This is a highly non-linear and very complex system. At best, one can identify contributing factors. Anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) may be a contributing factor to the recent warming trend but to say that it is the CAUSE, illustrates an ignorance of how the atmosphere works.

I also agree with John that the warming trend is not particularly bad.

When climate has changed in the past, people adapted (or died, as is their choice). Rebuilding New Orleans in exactly the same location is not recognizing that bigger hurricanes and rising sea levels will be with us for decades and that the recent devastation will be repeated, regardless of spending billions of dollars to "protect" the area. It would have made a LOT more sense to take the opportunity to rebuild New Orleans further inland and on higher ground.

Another benefit of global warming is increased precipitation. This comes about because warmer air can hold more water vapor and this means more evaporation from the oceans. Since the atmosphere cannot store large amounts of water vapor, this means that evaporation and precipitation must be in close balance, i.e., if evaporation increases, then precipitation must also increase.

Much of the world's precipitation occurs in two "belts," namely the Westerlies and the Equatorial Doldrums (concentrated along the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone). These are regions of generally rising air and cloud formation. These belts migrate with the season, driven by the north-south temperature gradient. Basically, the very cold air in the winter in polar regions creates a large high pressure system and, in the northern hemisphere, this pushes all of the other wind belts southward, even those in the southern hemisphere. Thus, the Westerlies move south in the northern hemisphere winter, bringing rain to the west coast of the United States. In the northern hemisphere summer, the South Polar region is very cold, producing a large high pressure system, and all of the wind belts move northward. The northern hemisphere westerlies move north and bring rain to southern Alaska, leaving the west coast of the United States with dry summers.

With global warming, the tropics actually change temperature very little. The polar regions are where the greatest warming would be expected. This is because the temperature in the tropical regions is pretty much determined by incoming solar radiation while the temperature in the polar regions is determined to a considerable extent by the out-going infrared radiation. With higher concentrations of CO2 in the atmosphere, the amount of out-going infrared radiation would be reduced, making the poles a lot warmer during the winter. This means that the wind belts would not migrate as far south in the northern hemisphere winter (nor as far north in the northern hemisphere summer). Thus, the increase in precipitation due to global warming would be concentrated in a narrower latitude band. Regions such as southern California would become drier than they already are.

Thus, while global warming may produce severe droughts in some regions, it is simply a matter of transporting excess water from water-rich regions to areas that need water. The water-rich regions will have much more water than they have at present and will likely be only too happy to have some of it diverted to reduce flooding. Again, it is a matter of adapting.

Finally, I really must take issue with the "theory" presented by the Danish "scientist", Henrik Svensmark, that cosmic rays affect cloud formation. Yes, one can get a cloud to form in a specially prepared cloud chamber when an ionized particle passes thru the chamber (or at least a line of small droplets along the path of the particle).

However, in order for this to happen, one first has to remove ALL of the dust and other particles from the air and then increase the amount of water vapor to a relative humidity on the order of 200% (well above water saturation).

In the atmosphere, there are plenty of particles that act as "cloud condensation nuclei" or CCN. These consist primarily of soluble salts such as sodium chloride (from ocean spray) and ammonium sulphate (from chemical reactions between sulfur compounds such as sulfur dioxide and ammonia released from biological decay). These CCN are typically on the order of one-tenth of a micron in diameter (a human hair is on the order of 30 microns in diameter) and are present in clean, ocean air in concentrations of hundreds per cubic centimeter (thousands per cubic inch) and in polluted city air in concentrations 100 to 1000 times