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...

Turn the poor into capitalists

By John Silveira Issue #137 • September/October, 2012 I'm not a fan of the welfare system and I think it's been more of a failure than a success. It may serve as a 'safety net' for...

The chances of global disaster

By John Silveira Issue #57 • May/June, 1999 We were preparing the current issue and the office hummed as it always does during deadline. Dave Duffy, the fellow who publishes this magazine, explained to our new...

The ‘Curious Guy’ and the ‘Offended Woman’

By Dorothy Ainsworth February, 2004 The March/April issue of BHM magazine came out with me on the cover and my house-building story inside. I was happy to have the opportunity to share my story and hopefully...

Lessons for My Children, Chapter 2: Statistics, history, and the rise of the Underground...

By Dave Duffy Issue #137 • September/October, 2012 I've always been a student of science and history. They tell you things many people don't know. I especially pay attention to statistics, which underlies all science, and...

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...

A government with not enough to do, but lots of hungry mouths to feed

By Dave Duffy Issue #130 • July/August, 2011 Most people look in the wrong places for threats to society, and their perceptions are easily manipulated by the mass media, which is often spoon-fed its stories by...

A vast cultural divide exists between environmentalists and gun owners

By Dave Duffy Issue #113 • September/October, 2008 Backwoods Home Magazine has had an exhibitor's booth at the MREA Fair in Wisconsin almost every year since its founding by Mick Sagrillo in 1989, which is the...

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...

10 traits for better living

By Claire Wolfe Issue #151 • January/February, 2015 It's a mystery why one person can be poor but still proud, independent, and reasonably content while the guy next door is merely content to slide into a...

Do rural homeowners need guns for self-defense?

By Massad Ayoob Issue #72 • November/December, 2001 Do rural homeowners need guns for self-defense? Sometimes they do and sometimes they don't, according to Ayoob's experience, but those who did never really knew they would until...

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...

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...

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 destruction of the mass print media will help save freedom in America

By Dave Duffy Issue #119 • September/October, 2009 I tend to be an optimist, even though the state of America's economy and politics does not appear very promising right now. So I want to talk about...

Can an understanding of math and statistics save America’s freedoms?

By Dave Duffy Issue #66 • November/December, 2000 The other day John Silveira and I were walking by a gas station in Gold Beach, Oregon, where this magazine is located, when I remarked, "The price of...