Help Us Fight the Good Fight  Several weeks ago I mailed my annual "Editor's letter." I hope that you received a copy and had a chance to read it. As I stated in my letter, the D.C. Court of Appeals recently had a message for us: National Review, drop dead. I paraphrase, of course. The court essentially said this though in the course of more than 100 pages of dense legalese. As you may know, the climate scientist Michael Mann has sued us for libel. His case, arising from a 272-word blog post criticizing him, is wholly without merit and I believe is destined to fail -- eventually. We believe that Mann's intent, of course, is to make us lose by winning -- even if we prevail in the court of law, the legal fees, time, and overall drain on our limited resources are a punishment in and of itself. We intend to make every possible defense of a case that has profound implications for free expression in this country. We have already appealed, and, if that fails, we plan to take the case straight to the top -- the Supreme Court. These appeals in themselves could cost up to $1 million in legal fees. This is why I email you today. First, while we have liability insurance, it doesn't cover all our expenses. So, if you haven't done so already, I ask that you consider contributing to our defense as your personal message of opposition to and disgust with Michael Mann and all such would-be censors who take it upon themselves to decree what we are allowed to say . . . and not allowed to say. You can do so by making a gift to National Review. 
Second, Michael Mann's suit is part of a much larger and disturbing trend of political correctness working to circumscribe free speech in this country. This trend is, of course, most advanced on college campuses, where totalitarian-minded children who can't be bothered to read Shakespeare or learn U.S. history busy themselves policing speech from the cosseted confines of their "safe spaces." That is why National Review Institute, the nonprofit 501(c)(3) journalistic think tank of NR, is active at colleges and universities with its NRI On Campus program. NRI sends NR's top talent to schools across the country to pry open student minds and encourage embattled conservatives on campus. In other words, NRI is on the front lines of the battle for free speech. I hope that along with your support of NR, that you will likewise consider a tax-deductible gift to National Review Institute … that you will support the excellent work that it is doing on college campuses. You can make a gift to NRI at the link below. 
Our enterprise is your enterprise; you are our only shareholders. So, please, if you can, give $100, $250, $500, or as much as $1,000 or more to the National Review Institute or NR, or both. We are fighting a pernicious mindset in our suit with Michael Mann . . . and on college campuses across American through NRI's programs. But the radical Left will never get their way and we will never be silenced so long as we can help it, and so long as we have the support of devoted friends like you. Thank you for your consideration. Sincerely, Rich Lowry
Editor in Chief, National Review
Trustee, National Review Institute | 
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