Is HUMAN EVENTS in trouble?

The publisher of the venerable conservative weekly sent out an e-mail this morning imploring the assistance of supporters:

Dear Friend of HUMAN EVENTS:
It pains me terribly to write a letter like this, but a crisis that threatens the very existence of HUMAN EVENTS forces me to ask for your help.
Let me explain...
You may recall that, just over a year ago, the federal government's taxpayer-subsidized mail-delivery monopoly -- aka the United States Postal Service -- hit us with a whopping 20 percent rate increase that drove up our annual delivery costs by more than $120,000.
Well, believe it or not, they've just done it again.
That's right: the USPS is hitting us with yet another postal increase that will jack up our annual delivery costs by an additional $51,568.
Together, this one-two punch of rate hikes amounts to more than $170,000 in increased annual delivery costs -- a staggering sum that we simply can't afford.
Now, it's outrageous enough that the USPS can continually jack up our rates without fearing any loss of our business to more cost-efficient competitors -- something it can do ONLY because federal law effectively protects it from private competition.
But what really burns me up is that these increases are part of a new rate system that was designed in part by lobbyists for liberal media giant Time Warner and other large publishers to benefit themselves at the expense of smaller competitors such as HUMAN EVENTS.
So instead of Time Warner's mailing costs ratcheting up like ours, the cost of delivering liberal Time magazine and other Big Media publications will increase at about half the rate hike forced on HUMAN EVENTS (and that's after some of those publications actually had a decrease in postage costs last year!).
Economists call the kind of behavior that Time Warner and the Big Media conglomerates are engaged in "rent seeking" -- using government to gain advantage over competitors.
And that economic advantage obviously can translate into political advantage, as well. By "gaming the system" in their favor, these liberal media conglomerates have taken a big step toward silencing their conservative opposition.
This means there's much more at stake here than the survival of HUMAN EVENTS. Free speech, and the right of conservatives to get their message out on the same terms as liberals, is also at stake.
And if the liberal media giants such as Time Warner get away with this ploy, the consequences for the future of our country -- at a time when the Obama administration is trying to turn us into a European-style socialist state -- could be catastrophic.
Please help us defray the cost of this outrageously unfair postal increase. The only alternatives we have are to cut our already down-to-the-bone editorial budget -- or to hike our subscription rates.
Both alternatives are unacceptable. That is why I'm turning to you: frankly, I have nowhere else to go. HUMAN EVENTS needs you to help us cover this shortfall, and we need that help now.
Please send as large a gift as you possibly can. Our readers have never let us down in the past. We appreciate all your support over the years -- and thanks in advance for your generous assistance today.
Click HERE to Help Save HUMAN EVENTS
Sincerely,
Tom Winter
President and Editor in Chief, HUMAN EVENTS
P.S. For 65 years, HUMAN EVENTS has been fighting the good fight for conservatives. Now, this postal hike threatens our very existence.
We need your help now -- so please be generous!

Every conservative reading this is obliged to do what he can to assist HUMAN EVENTS in this critical fight. One of the things that grassroots conservatives always say to me is, "Gee, Stacy, I really want to do something to help. But what can I do? I'm just one little guy."

Oh, yeah? Well, David was just one little guy when he went up against Goliath. And let me tell you a little secret pal: You'll never slay that giant if you don't do everything within your power. You may be small and weak, but if you will do everything you can -- take full advantage of opportunities as they present themselves -- you will be surprised at what you can accomplish.

Therefore, my advice to you is, SUBSCRIBE TO HUMAN EVENTS NOW! Don't wait. Don't delay. Do it now. And if you are already a subscriber, give a subscription as a gift to a friend or a family member. Be a giant killer!