Commentary Archives - Backwoods Home Magazine

Why oil and other fossil fuels are good

By John Silveira Issue #152 • March/April, 2015 Last issue I concluded The Last Word saying I'd "... talk about the myth of oil destroying the environment." But between issues I thought about it and realized...

We don’t need no steenking 2nd Amendment

By John Silveira Issue #58 • July/August, 1999 I usually get up to the magazine from southern California in plenty of time for the bimonthly deadline. Not this issue. I was late and way behind. But...

Three honest words: “I don’t know”

By John Silveira Issue #63 • May/June, 2000 As we enter another political campaign season I'm reminded of my three favorite words: "I don't know." Some years back, when I lived in southern California, I met the...

Armed civilians can help fight terrorism

By Massad Ayoob Issue #90 • November/December, 2004 This article was written before terrorists seized a school in Beslan, a town in North Ossetia, one of the small republics that make up the modern Russian Federation....

A reason for the Second Amendment

By John Silveira Issue #141 • May/June, 2013 Right after the shooting of 20 children and 6 teachers at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, I was asked by several people, "Does anyone really...

The Electoral College — How we elect the President

By John Silveira Issue #18 • November/December, 1992 I've been getting a lot of telephone calls from Oregon lately. My article is late again and Dave Duffy, the fellow who publishes this magazine, keeps...

How America can be saved from stupid people

By Dave Duffy Issue #155 • September/October, 2015 Fifteen years ago (in Issue No. 65) I wrote an article in this space titled, "Can America Be Saved from Stupid People?" It was widely read and stirred...

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,...

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,...

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...

Is the Mainstream Media Finally Recognizing How the War on Drugs is Destroying Our...

By John Silveira December 17, 1999 The December 1999 issue of Harper's Magazine has a headline the likes of which I'd given up ever seeing on the cover of a mainstream magazine. The newsstand jacket...

Stumbling over your own stupidity

By John Silveira Issue #64 • July/August, 2000 There are several morals to be found in this story. You can find most of them yourself. But I'm only interested in one of them. The story was...

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...

Guns Save Lives Chapter 1: Point Blank

By Robert Waters Issue #80 • March/April, 2003 "Why'd you shoot me, bitch?" Last words of home invader Shaarod Profitt, September 18, 1998. It was a cool fall evening in Little Rock, Arkansas, when Don Mosely heard...

Golf’s critical life lessons are under threat

By Dave Duffy Issue #118 • July/August, 2009 I'm a golfer. Not a very skillful one, but a devoted player and follower of the game. I took it up for the relaxation and peace of mind...

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....