Commentary Archives - Backwoods Home Magazine

Tackling the real problems that face us

By Dave Duffy Issue #134 • March/April, 2012 Thank goodness most of the apocalyptic scenarios the doom and gloomers talk about are either founded upon faulty premises or, if based on science, are extremely rare occurrences....

The logic behind term limits and a historical perspective

By John Silveira Issue #35 • September/October, 1995 It was Tuesday and we were in deadline mode. Heat was seeping through the uninsulated walls of the new offices of Backwoods Home Magazine like little beasts from...

The meltdown and the bailout: why, how, and what they mean

By John Silveira Issue #115 • January/February, 2009 To understand how the recent meltdown and bailout came about, you have to know what brought them on. According to some, there are PhDs who have problems grasping...

The rationale of the automatic rifle

By Massad Ayoob Issue #70 • July/August, 2001 There are those who would ban private citizens' ownership of semiautomatic rifles. After 27 years of carrying a badge, the author profoundly disagrees. If there is any place you...

Training for the Boston Marathon

By Dave Duffy Issue #92 • March/April, 2005 Ever get a wild idea in your head that just won't go away, and you start working on it like crazy? It happens to me all the time....

My View: Learn to Do One Thing Well

By Dave Duffy Learn to do one thing well and you’ll never work another day in your life A fundamental problem for many young people entering the work force is figuring out not only how to...

Helping crackpots kill kids

By John Silveira February 23, 2000 I've moved to Oregon and one of the first "privileges" in this state I intend to avail myself of is the state's easy-to-obtain concealed weapon permit. Never mind that the...

Our energy crisis Part 2 — Nuclear energy is sensible and safe

By John Silveira Issue #114 • November/December, 2008 When an atomic bomb was detonated over Nagasaki, Japan, August 9, 1945, the amount of energy...

The Coming American Dictatorship Part XII — The militarization of America’s police forces

By John Silveira Issue #146 • March/April, 2014 He's back our poker-playing friend from Southern California, O.E. MacDougal. He came up here to fish. I thought he was after salmon, but this time he came...

Sgt. Jim Duffy — An ordinary hero

By Dave Duffy Issue #95 • September/October, 2005 My brother, Jim, died between issues. It was an expected death, as Jim suffered from lung cancer. My oldest brother, Bill, had called with the news in the...

Stumbling over your own stupidity

By John Silveira Issue #64 • July/August, 2000 There are several morals to be found in this story. You can find most of them yourself. But I'm only interested in one of them. The story was...

When “good” laws are bad

By John Silveira Issue #134 • March/April, 2012 I recently read an opinion piece on CNN's website titled, Edison would've loved the new light bulb law. It's supposed to be about the new law to force...

Looking back on 20 years of BHM

By Dave Duffy Issue #120 • November/December, 2009 I was freezing when I slipped into my old down-filled Army sleeping bag. But I was used to the drill. I'd just lay there motionless as a mummy...

Avoiding legal traps

By Massad Ayoob Issue #105 • May/June, 2007 Dave Duffy wrote recently on the plight of Brad Metcalf. There are several lessons to be learned. Metcalf represented himself, pro se, in court. This is almost never a...

Finding solutions in firewood

By Dave Duffy January 16, 2000 When I am confounded and afraid, that is, when I have trouble figuring out what to do next in a critical situation, I go to my woodpile, grab an axe,...

Why you may want to get a stress test

By Dave Duffy Issue #98 • March/April, 2006 Between issues I underwent triple bypass open heart surgery that saved me from a major heart attack, possibly a fatal one. It was a sudden thing. One day...