Is it regressive taxation doing them in? Nope. How about all those jobs running off to China and wherever else they’re going? Nope, not that either.

No, the problem with good old American smut peddlin’ is that old print boys can’t seem to keep (it) up with the Internet, since the dirty bookstore is now effectively inside your computer. After 35 years, Al Goldstein’s Screw has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, figuring reorganization may allow him to stay a going concern. More famously, the elder Bob Guccione took those same steps recently, and Guccione himself has stepped down as CEO of Penthouse International (he remains the editor, natch). Their circulation has dropped by nearly half, down to 575k from nearly a million. Even stalwart Playboy is feeling the pinch, though they’re in better shape than these two.

That, at least, should be enough to keep the fundies irritated.