Commentary Archives - Backwoods Home Magazine

The tenuous hold of honesty in modern America

By John Silveira Issue #87 • May/June, 2004 The other day I stopped in the middle of Myers Creek Road, just outside of Gold Beach, Oregon, and took some photos of my roommate. It was cold....

My view: Socialism’s promises always end in disaster

By Dave Duffy Issue #176 • April/May/June, 2019 There are lots of news stories these days about socialism’s rise in the United States, especially among the young and admirers of newly elected New York Congresswoman Alexandria...

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 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...

Why I’m nice to telemarketers

By John Silveira July 22, 2000 We complain because they bug us during supper. Of course, it wouldn't make sense for them to call us at 1:00 in the afternoon because we're not usually home then....

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...

Dealing with Liberals and History

By John Silveira February 6, 2000 Years ago I hated talking politics with liberals. I have a good memory and a good sense of history, but whenever I mentioned any historical "fact" that countered their arguments,...

Here are some answers to often-asked questions of anti-gunners

By Massad Ayoob Issue #45 • May/June, 1997 It has become increasingly politically incorrect to be a firearms owner. This is because trends tend to be set by the fashionable and the media-connected in metropolitan environments....

How environmental ideology hurts the solar energy industry

By Dave Duffy Issue #69 • May/June, 2001 Starting with our first issue 11 years ago, Backwoods Home Magazine has promoted renewable energies, especially solar energy, and for the past two years we have carried a...

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...

Animal rights loonies save the chickens but ruin the County Fair

By Dave Duffy Issue #84 • November/December, 2003 We had our County Fair between issues. It was a small Fair with just a few thousand in attendance, but no one in our town of 1500 would miss...

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...

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 current ‘Gun control’ push — A cop’s eye view

By Massad Ayoob Issue #142 • July/August, 2013 First, a word of explanation. The reason "gun control" is in quotes in the title and in this sentence is because, for a very long time, the prohibitionists...

Dr. Laura tells her listeners she’s decided to pack a gun

By Dave Duffy February 12, 2000 The showdown between the Federal government and the American people over gun rights may have tilted in favor of the people recently when the nation's third most popular radio talk...

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...