Finding solutions in firewood

By Dave Duffy January 16, 2000 When I am confounded and afraid, that is, when I have trouble figuring out what to do next in a critical situation, I go to my woodpile, grab an axe,...

The Informed Juror — How an informed jury helps safeguard liberty

By Gary F. Arnet, D.D.S. Issue #82 • July/August, 2003 You are hereby summoned to appear for jury trial service. Failure to respond will subject you to punishment for contempt, including a $1,000 fine, imprisonment for...

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"...

Should we scrap our ‘old’ Constitution?

By John Silveira Issue #135 • May/June, 2012 In a recent New York Times article by Adam Liptak, he observed that the Constitution of the United States is not only the oldest constitution in existence, but...

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...

Freedom, guns, & boycotts

By Dave Duffy Issue #71 • September/October, 2001 The other day I walked into my local Ace Hardware store and cancelled this magazine's longstanding account. "How come?" Dan, the owner asked surprised. I had shopped there ever...

Paying for social security with worthless $

By Dave Duffy Issue #117 • May/June, 2009 The year was 1976. I was 32 and writing a book about retirement planning with Tony Lamb, a noted 73-year-old activist who had taken up the cause of...

Lessons for My Children…Chapter 3: Hiding from the government

By Dave Duffy Issue #138 • November/December, 2012 After opening the discussion in this column last issue about the underground economy, I thought it would be a good idea to explore it more thoroughly since it...

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...

An American dollar worth two cents

By John Silveira Issue #129 • May/June, 2011 Most Americans are unaware that today's dollar has the purchasing power that roughly four cents had back in 1913. That was the year the Federal Reserve (the Fed)...

Lessons for My Children Chapter 1

By Dave Duffy Issue #136 • July/August, 2012 I've been working for several years on a small book for my kids called Lessons for My Children that will attempt to give them advice about how to...

Should both drugs and guns be legal?

By Dave Duffy Issue #59 • September/October, 1999 Answering the question of Should drugs be legal? is like answering the question of Should guns be legal? Whoever answers either question steps onto a minefield of passionate...

Want proof of luck, ESP, and psychic powers?

By John Silveira Issue #40 • July/August, 1996 We were riding down the Pacific Coast Highway— Mac, his girlfriend Carol, and I. Mac's the poker playing friend of Dave Duffy, the fellow who publishes this magazine....

Training for the Boston Marathon

By Dave Duffy Issue #92 • March/April, 2005 Ever get a wild idea in your head that just won't go away, and you start working on it like crazy? It happens to me all the time....

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...

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...