Notes from the North

I don't often read the Literary Review of Canada. OK-until today, I didn't know it existed. I did see a jump headline however that stirred some interest. As some readers may know, several of the Guys here were fortunate enough to have Judge Richard Posner as a professor many years ago. Along with being a well-known jurist, the Judge is always doing something interesting and saying something provocative. Today, I saw a reference to him which made me have to click on the article.

Specifically, "...Richard Posner, “a dreary, unreasoning pustule of animus”"

I don't always agree with Judge P but this seemed a bit harsh. Although a fascinating phrase (I do like invective), its almost completely inaccurate as to each word. Turns it was a review of new book by Conrad Black in the aforementioned LRC-he is a [former] media mogul of some sort who got in trouble for monkeying with the books, was targeted by the US Justice System and was punished, perhaps too harshly according to the reviewer.

Mr. Black wrote the book while still serving time (which I'm guessing doesn't help his demeanor) and he apparently has big awful opinions and likes to announce them frequently. (Posner who was the judge on Black's appeal panel is also a "sociopathic personality," press photographers are compared to overweight Jurassic rats and his life is filled with encounters with a “seemingly endless list of morally deformed people.”) As I said, I like invective but reading this review was exhausting. Even the somewhat sympathetic reviewer comes down squarely against the book although in duly understated terms ("I am sure it is not easy to edit a book by Conrad Black....").

Judge Posner may not have been called worse but I think his rep can stand this one.