Three honest words: “I don’t know”
By John Silveira
Issue #63 • May/June, 2000
As we enter another political campaign season I'm reminded of my three favorite words: "I don't know."
Some years back, when I lived in southern California, I met the...
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....
Let’s stop apologizing for guns
By Dave Duffy
Issue #62 • March/April, 2000
I carry a concealed Ruger P97 .45 caliber eight-shot semi-automatic handgun almost everywhere I go, and I keep a Ruger Mini-14 semi-automatic rifle with folding stock in my...
Why I Hated Santa Claus
By John Silveira
December 21, 1999
Even as a little kid I didn't like Santa Claus. I liked the loot he brought; I wanted toys. With some trepidation, I even sat in his lap at the...
Reflecting on a life in the woods, and looking ahead
By Marjorie Burris
Issue #60 • November/December, 1999
It is a good life here on the old homestead. We've worked hard, and we are enjoying the fruits of our labor. It was tough digging the holes...
The media’s treatment of blacks makes their socialist bias obvious
By Dave Duffy
January 23, 2000
Most of us who are concerned about the continuation of America's constitutional freedoms, which underlie a free enterprise system that has made us the most prosperous nation in history, realize...
How environmental ideology hurts the solar energy industry
By Dave Duffy
Issue #69 • May/June, 2001
Starting with our first issue 11 years ago, Backwoods Home Magazine has promoted renewable energies, especially solar energy, and for the past two years we have carried a...
Our ‘unenumerated’ rights
By John Silveira
Issue #110 • March/April, 2008
I received this question in an e-mail from my younger brother, Mike: "Jack, the other day a friend asked me where in the Constitution does it say you...
Who’s supposed to protect our rights?
By John Silveira
Issue #102 • November/December, 2006
Who is supposed to protect our rights? The President? The Congress? The courts? The police? Before you answer, let me remind you of something: Our rights are supposed...
Self-reliance is a mindset — A woman’s opinion
By Dorothy Ainsworth
Issue #94 • July/August, 2005
Self-reliance is a mindset. If you have it, you are on your way to independence. If you don't, it would be in your best interest to develop it....
Our energy crisis Part 1 — It’s our creation, but we can fix it
By John Silveira
Issue #113 • September/October, 2008
It has been said the United States is a "carbon economy" meaning that our economy and standard of living depend on the availability of fossil fuels which include...
ID cards are an idea whose time should never come
By John Silveira
October 28, 2001
I just read in the October 8th issue of U.S. News and World Report a column by Randall E. Stross in which he advocates some kind of national I.D. Card....
Mousers and cat loonies
By Dave Duffy
Issue #83 • September/October, 2003
I must really be old fashioned. I live in the country and have plenty of rodents running around, just like many of you, so I need a few...
The Informed Juror — How an informed jury helps safeguard liberty
By Gary F. Arnet, D.D.S.
Issue #82 • July/August, 2003
You are hereby summoned to appear for jury trial service. Failure to respond will subject you to punishment for contempt, including a $1,000 fine, imprisonment for...
Dealing with Liberals and History
By John Silveira
February 6, 2000
Years ago I hated talking politics with liberals. I have a good memory and a good sense of history, but whenever I mentioned any historical "fact" that countered their arguments,...
If you want to take care of your health, you have to take control...
By Dave Duffy
Issue #100 • July/August, 2006
The other day a man called the office to thank me for writing Issue 98's page 7 editorial, in which I urged readers to get a stress test...
