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...
The Government gorilla in our home
By Dave Duffy
Issue #101 • September/October, 2006
The other week, Vince, a contractor who does occasional work for me, was arrested for slapping his 14-year-old daughter on the behind when she talked back to her...
Of kids and guns
By Massad Ayoob
Issue #68 • March/April, 2001
In the almost two years since the Columbine tragedy, American police have coined the term "active shooter." It means, in essence, a crazed gunman who is at the...
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...
Body language and threat recognition
By Massad Ayoob
Issue #87 • May/June, 2004
Reader mail indicates that while some Backwoods Home readers turn to this column for advice on putting wild game on the table or keeping four-footed poachers out of...
Looking back on 20 years of BHM
By Dave Duffy
Issue #120 • November/December, 2009
I was freezing when I slipped into my old down-filled Army sleeping bag. But I was used to the drill. I'd just lay there motionless as a mummy...
Things kids should learn before leaving high school, but don’t
By John Silveira
Issue #159 • May/June, 2016
We send generations of American children to school hoping we're preparing them for adulthood. Among the least of our expectations are that they're going to be able to...
Why not risk it all!
By Dave Duffy
Issue #64 • July/August, 2000
I got this letter from a reader:
Please cancel my subscription. I had the opportunity to read your editorial glorifying your agenda as a "paranoid, gun-toting nut." This is...
Man vs. the machine
By John Silveira
Issue #71 • September/October, 2001
About 10 years ago, I was living in southern California and I was summoned for jury duty. I was glad to be called. I've always liked the concept...
Activists on both the left and the right spotlight a broken federal government
By Claire Wolfe
Issue #97 • January/February, 2006
On October 28, 2005, 400 citizens of Vermont met amid the pomp of their capitol building and voted to secede from the Union. The media, to say the...
Defending your lifestyle
By Massad Ayoob
Issue #60 • November/December, 1999
I was sitting in the witness box, an expert witness for the defense, in a courtroom out west not long ago. The opposing lawyer was conducting cross examination,...
Reaching for the stars during a recession
By Dave Duffy
Issue #125 • September/October, 2010
Toby is the volunteer assistant golf coach for the team this magazine sponsors, the Gold Beach High School Panthers. He has spent hundreds of hours of his own...
In time of war — The Israeli answer to terrorism
By Massad Ayoob
Issue #81 • May/June, 2003
When war seems imminent, citizens think about protecting themselves. The war of the moment involves a declared enemy that has already used unconventional tactics to murder some three...
The real gun criminals
By Dave Duffy
Issue #63 • May/June, 2000
If a person robbed a bank and murdered someone, and you drove the getaway car, would you be guilty of accessory to robbery and murder? If a man...
Loading the gun for a dictatorship
By John Silveira
Issue #103 • January/February, 2007
My late friend, Jim Callahan, was a self-professed "liberal." At least, when I first met him, that's what he claimed. Actually, he wasn't. But Jim wasn't a "conservative"...
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...
