Commentary Archives - Backwoods Home Magazine

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...

The unheralded roots of America’s freedoms

By John Silveira Issue #108 • November/December, 2007 I've just finished reading a fascinating book by Charles C. Mann. It's titled, 1491, and subtitled New Revelations of the Americas before Columbus. The book has turned what...

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...

Reflecting on a life in the woods, and looking ahead

By Marjorie Burris Issue #60 • November/December, 1999 It is a good life here on the old homestead. We've worked hard, and we are enjoying the fruits of our labor. It was tough digging the holes...

Questions about global warming

By John Silveira Issue #108 • November/December, 2007 Global warming is in the news, infesting campaign rhetoric and the plot lines of many movies and TV programs. Our kids are being indoctrinated with its certainty in...

The world’s least-free country

By John Silveira Issue #77 • September/October, 2002 Here's a quiz: Which is the freest country on earth? The answer's easy. It's the United States. Ask anyone. And why are we the freest? Not because we're...

Some thoughts on growing older in the backwoods

By Marjorie Burris Issue #16 • July/August, 1992 "Just how long are you going to be able to live in the backwoods like that?" my friend, Pat, asked. "You're not getting any younger, you know!" I've known...

Beautiful Women

By John Silveira August 10, 2001 Who are the 50 most beautiful women in the world? Askmen.com recently came up with a readers' list. At the bottom and rounding out the list is Sandra Bullock (50th). They...

If you don’t like it here, why don’t you move to another country?

By John Silveira Issue #99 • May/June, 2006 That's a question I've been confronted with, more than once, when I've complained about the PATRIOT Act, the RICO Act, creeping gun control, the empowerment of the bureaucracy,...

Do we need a Taxpayers’ Bill of Rights?

By John Silveira Issue #53 • September/October, 1998 Once again there is a storm of complaints from American citizens concerning abuses and harassment on the part of a government agency. In the past the offending agencies...

Which is better, a small town or city?

By Dave Duffy Issue #78 • November/December, 2002 Traveling has a way of giving you perspective. For the past several summers my family and I have traveled around the country, covering as much as 9,000 miles by...

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...

Our energy crisis Part 2 — Nuclear energy is sensible and safe

By John Silveira Issue #114 • November/December, 2008 When an atomic bomb was detonated over Nagasaki, Japan, August 9, 1945, the amount of energy...

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...

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...

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...