Awesome.

Eric Herman:

Thirty-three years ago, columnist George F. Will set up shop as a columnist and voice of morality in a society that had, in his view, lost its way. With his bow tie and his Anglophile vocabulary -- the Champaign, Ill., native used words like "splendid" -- he made it clear he was an old-school guy who was going to stand up for old-fashioned virtues.

Since then, Will has become a superstar -- the author of bestselling books, the winner of a Pulitzer, a panelist on ABC's "This Week." His rise has coincided with the rise of conservatism in the United States, and his deftly written columns emanate from a set of core beliefs -- among them, that liberals are soft on crime, and that the free market works.

So when I read that Will wrote a letter to Judge Amy St. Eve in support of Conrad Black, I almost choked on my Cheerios.

Black is a convicted thief, albeit one who lives in mansions and rides in a Rolls. In July, a Chicago jury convicted him of stealing $2.9 million from the Sun-Times' parent company, then called Hollinger International. The jury also found him guilty of obstruction of justice. Prosecutors pegged Black's thievery even higher, alleging he stole $32 million. And a Hollinger-financed investigation concluded Black and his top lieutenant stole more than $400 million from the company.

Perhaps Will should ask shareholders at Cardinal Capital and Tweedy Browne --whose money the mogul was convicted of stealing -- if Black adhered to the rules of the free market.

[snip]

Will likes to pepper his columns with literary references and quotes from great men, just so we don't forget how well-read he is. So in summing up Will's career, I'd like to close with one of my own favorite quotes -- one from H.L. Mencken: "All persons who devote themselves to forcing virtue on their fellow men deserve nothing better than kicks in the pants."

Read it all. It's fucking brilliant and deserves a Pulitzer.