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 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...
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...
Running your own business: a mother’s perspective
By Ilene Duffy
Issue #62 • March/April, 2000
When my middle son, Robby, was a baby, he had two seizures. After the second one the doctor informed me that I needed to get him to 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...
Putting it all on the Amtrak line for Self-Reliance magazine
By Dave Duffy
Issue #163 • January/February, 2017
As publisher of Backwoods Home Magazine for 28 years, I have not had to work as hard in recent years, as younger people like Managing Editor Jessie Denning...
Guns, suicide prevention, and backwoods lifestyles
By Massad Ayoob
Issue #153 • May/June, 2015
Note to readers: I've served for going on twenty years as firearms editor of Backwoods Home Magazine. The following article is going to be somewhat different from what...
A history lesson from Ayn Rand
By Dave Duffy
Issue #44 • March/April, 1997
For the past several weeks I've been reading the Letters of Ayn Rand, which is a collection covering her letters from 1926, when she arrived in America from...
Chuck meets Bubba
By John Silveira
Issue #68 • March/April, 2001
What follows happened a decade and a half ago. I worked in a large corporation where I shared a large cubicle with two other guys. I'll call them...
That old survivalist mumbo jumbo and 10 reasons why it makes sense
By Dave Duffy
Issue #91 • January/February, 2005
I've got a suggestion for a sensible New Year's resolution for self-reliant types like myself, and I've got at least 10 good reasons to keep it. The resolution...
Who’s supposed to protect our rights?
By John Silveira
Issue #102 • November/December, 2006
Who is supposed to protect our rights? The President? The Congress? The courts? The police? Before you answer, let me remind you of something: Our rights are supposed...
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...
Common sense about burglary prevention
By Massad Ayoob
Issue #89 • September/October, 2004
Read this month's editorial. Publisher Dave Duffy got burgled. The residue of hurt this experience leaves behind is a primal thing that you never get over entirely. It...
Home handgun defense — Simplicity suffices
By Massad Ayoob
Issue #54 • November/December, 1998
You can get as high-tech as you feel you might need when you select the firearm(s) you'll use to protect your family. I "do firearms" for a living,...
Confessions of a former liberal
By Dave Duffy
Issue #50 • March/April, 1998
There is an old adage that goes something like: "If you're not a liberal when you're in your 20s you haven't got a heart; if you're not a...
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...
