Stop Unfair Postal Hikes

[Gerald So]

Just saw this notice from Kate Stine and Brian Skupin of Mystery Scene:

Hi everyone, We are asking all of Mystery Scene's friends and readers to help us.
There's a HUGE postal hike in the works which unfairly targets small magazines to the considerable advantage of larger ones. It's going to put a number of magazines out of business and cause considerable hardships for many others.

There's a petition at this URL which explains the issue:

http://action.freepress.net//campaign/postal

Please take a look. If you sign the petition, an email will automatically go to your representatives in Washington and the postal commission.

We would really appreciate the help!


Kate Stine & Brian Skupin

Without action against them, the new rates will take effect July 15, 2007.

[Jeffrey Marks]

I sent a note to my representatives!

[Robin Burcell]

Grrrr... I am writing now, and will pass this on to all my lists of writers.

[Jordan Dane]

I sent a letter too. And passing this on. Thanks for the heads up.

[Dianne Day]

Me too!

Not that I think we have a prayer of prevailing, but still I will sign.

[Barbara Fister]

I tried to find out more about this at the USPS site and it seems to be a two-part deal: one, if you make it convenient for us by giving up huge but organized piles of stuff, we give you a reward, and two, if you have a certain kind of content - "The Postal Service also is adding new prices for the editorial portion of a mailing to give mailers of high-editorial-content publications access to lower-destination-entry rates."

What the heck does that mean? High editorial content? Lots of commentary on public affairs? It does seem strange, and the kind of "content discrimination" the Supreme Court frowns on in first amendment free speech cases. What next, a cheaper media mail rate for non-fiction?

I also don't know what "lower-destination-entry rates" means, but this is a government agency after all.

..... okay, after a little more digging around here's a Bostong Globe article that makes it much clearer.