Commentary Archives - Backwoods Home Magazine

Golf’s critical life lessons are under threat

By Dave Duffy Issue #118 • July/August, 2009 I'm a golfer. Not a very skillful one, but a devoted player and follower of the game. I took it up for the relaxation and peace of mind...

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....

Concealed carry laws reduce crime

By John Silveira Issue #143 • September/October, 2013 This year, Illinois became the 50th state to allow the carrying of concealed weapons by law-abiding citizens. That's a milestone that heralds a lot of good news for...

Terrorism in America — The armed citizen’s view

By Massad Ayoob Issue #150 • November/December, 2014 The warnings come in non-stop... FoxNews: "A new English-language Al Qaeda magazine features a how-to article on making car bombs and suggests terror targets in the United States, including...

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...

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...

The Coming American Dictatorship revisited

By John Silveira Issue #77 • September/October, 2002 Mac's back. After a long absence our poker-playing friend from southern California, O.E. MacDougal, walked into the Oregon offices of Backwoods Home Magazine. Poof, and there he was. No...

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...

If you want to survive an emergency, look to yourself, not the Government

By Dave Duffy Issue #96 • November/December, 2005 Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath said what I could not have said convincingly in ten thousand words: The government cannot protect you in a major emergency. It doesn't...

Just how good of a bet are those lotto tickets?

By John Silveira Issue #37 • January/February, 1996 I looked at the newspaper and tried to match up the lotto results printed there with my picks. I sighed. "Boy, I sure would've liked to have won...

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...

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....

The state of freedom in America

By Claire Wolfe Issue #149 • September/October, 2014 The world is becoming less free. In the Middle East and Africa, Islamist fanatics try to bring back the Dark Ages. Europe stagnates...

The attack on Colin Powell prompts questions I’m not supposed to ask

By Dave Duffy Issue #79 • January/February, 2003 What's wrong with black Americans? Provocative question, isn't it, especially when it's being asked by a white guy like me. We white guys aren't supposed to question what blacks...

Why I’m nice to telemarketers

By John Silveira July 22, 2000 We complain because they bug us during supper. Of course, it wouldn't make sense for them to call us at 1:00 in the afternoon because we're not usually home then....

Fixing a broken jury system

By John Silveira Issue #78 • November/December, 2002 "I blame every juror who let him go, every juror who sat on that trial and believed this man over those little girls. I will never understand. And...