Commentary Archives - Backwoods Home Magazine

Our energy crisis Part 3 — Alternative energy resources for the nation and for...

By John Silveira Issue #118 • July/August, 2009 The first installment of this energy series (Backwoods Home Magazine, September/October 2008) dealt with the fossil fuels which include petroleum, coal, and natural gas. The second installment (Backwoods...

The Government intimidation factor and its effect on the health of society

By Dave Duffy Issue #142 • July/August, 2013 How do you take the temperature of a society, that is, how do you tell if a society is healthy or sick? Several years after the Soviet Union dissolved...

Defunding government is a sensible voter solution to reining in local government

By Dave Duffy Issue #128 • March/April, 2011 Like so many other communities across the country, my community of Curry County on the southern Oregon coast has rejected efforts by local government to raise taxes in...

Why oil and other fossil fuels are good

By John Silveira Issue #152 • March/April, 2015 Last issue I concluded The Last Word saying I'd "... talk about the myth of oil destroying the environment." But between issues I thought about it and realized...

Defending against terrorists

By Dave Duffy Issue #152 • March/April, 2015 I watched a lot of TV news in the days following the terrorist assassinations of the Charlie Hebdo cartoonists in Paris. What struck me as odd was that...

Reflections on the Second Amendment

By Massad Ayoob Issue #77 • September/October, 2002 A reader named Molly e-mailed a note to the office of BHM asking what the editor thought of Attorney General Ashcroft's recent affirmation of the Second Amendment as...

Personal guns getting to be in style

By Dave Duffy Issue #74 • March/April, 2002 Have you noticed how the mass media's attacks against gun ownership have gone way down since the terrorist attacks of September 11? Of course, it's kind of difficult...

The false argument about defending our freedom

By John Silveira Issue #142 • July/August, 2013 I'm tired of hearing how we should honor our veterans because they're defending our freedoms. They're not. No one in any of the Islamic countries is trying to...

Getting rich through generosity

By John Silveira Issue #89 • September/October, 2004 The conventional wisdom is that to get filthy rich, you need to be greedy. So, it may come as counterintuitive that it's generosity, intentional or accidental, and not...

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...

Is it time for an education revolution?

By Dave Duffy Issue #77 • September/October, 2002 Education is important, right? Of course it is. Then college must be really important, right? ... Did I hear some of you pause before saying, "Well, yeah, I...

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,...

Animal rights loonies save the chickens but ruin the County Fair

By Dave Duffy Issue #84 • November/December, 2003 We had our County Fair between issues. It was a small Fair with just a few thousand in attendance, but no one in our town of 1500 would miss...

The unheralded roots of America’s freedoms

By John Silveira Issue #108 • November/December, 2007 I've just finished reading a fascinating book by Charles C. Mann. It's titled, 1491, and subtitled New Revelations of the Americas before Columbus. The book has turned what...

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...

Defending against terroristic mass murder

By Massad Ayoob Issue #160 • July/August, 2016 My friend Rich Grassi is a retired cop, a masterful instructor, and one of the best writers in the tactical field today. He recently wrote that it would...