Understanding the gun debate, part 1

By Massad Ayoob Issue #161 • September/October, 2016 It has been said that gun legislation and abortion are the two most polarizing issues in the United States. The former has taken the lead on both the...

The curse of oil

By John Silveira Issue #82 • July/August, 2003 To many, the oil beneath the sands of the Middle East is a kind of godsend for them. My take on it is that it's illusionary wealth in...

A Republic vs. A Democracy

By John Silveira Issue #90 • November/December, 2004 He was in the other office when I heard his voice. But he was getting closer and closer and then he came through the door into the editorial...

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...

A reason for the Second Amendment

By John Silveira Issue #141 • May/June, 2013 Right after the shooting of 20 children and 6 teachers at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, I was asked by several people, "Does anyone really...

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...

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...

The Runaway

By John Silveira February 9, 2006 My kids are grown. But it didn't come about without a lot of frustration, tribulations, and laughs. Runaways: What do you do with a six-year-old who threatens to run away? One woman...

Can America be Saved from Stupid People?

By Dave Duffy Issue #65 • September/October, 2000 There are a lot of taboos, that is, things we're not supposed to talk about, in modern society. If we do talk about them we are labeled a...

The parasitic nature of bureaucracy

By Dave Duffy Issue #106 • July/August, 2007 As we go to print with this issue, my local newspaper's main page one headline reads: County tax levy soundly defeated. I applauded at my desk to the...

The burglar does far more than steal!

By Dave Duffy Issue #89 • September/October, 2004 "Never mind about stealing the damn stuff! This is the wrong place! We have to leave!" "That's what they were saying Dad, right outside my window," my 12-year-old son Jake told...

Some thoughts on growing older in the backwoods

By Marjorie Burris Issue #16 • July/August, 1992 "Just how long are you going to be able to live in the backwoods like that?" my friend, Pat, asked. "You're not getting any younger, you know!" I've known...

How a high school band triumphed over a bureaucracy and union that tried to...

By Dave Duffy Issue #141 • May/June, 2013 The Gold Beach High School Band now practices in the BHM building, after being forced out of the school. There are few victories sweeter in life than that of young...

The black man’s worst enemy is not racism

By Dave Duffy Issue #16 • July/August, 1992 The recent riots in L.A. and other communities following the acquittal of four white L.A. police officers accused of beating black motorist Rodney King are yet another symptom...

An American dollar worth two cents

By John Silveira Issue #129 • May/June, 2011 Most Americans are unaware that today's dollar has the purchasing power that roughly four cents had back in 1913. That was the year the Federal Reserve (the Fed)...

Every group needs a black sheep

By John Silveira Issue #74 • March/April, 2002 I used to play a lot of poker and I learned things about people that surprised me. They were things other than the "Know when to hold 'em,...