Am I a victim of False Memory Syndrome here, or was there actually a time when the adjective “conservative” implied “respect for the law”? By that I mean more than simply refraining from killing people and robbing and stuff - I mean a respect for the idea of “the law” and its institutions.

This seems to have been replaced by a kind of knee-jerk, hair-trigger tantrum that erupts when a court decision - whether from a judge or a jury - happens to disagree with what our conservative friends think SHOULD happen.

Conrad Black is acquitted of some charges and convicted of others by a jury: and somehow this is turned into a monstrous act of personal vengeance by the covetous, jealous masses against the innocent, suffering Lord Black. No-one seems to actually deny that Conrad did, in fact, do the stuff he’s been found guilty of doing. And the jury heard a lot more evidence than we did. But somehow this is all the jury’s fault, and the charges were blown out of proportion, and yadda yadda yadda.

Mr. Bush overturns a jury verdict to shield a friend and associate against the consequences of his criminal behaviour. No-one seems to actually deny that Libby did, in fact, do the stuff that he’s been found guilty of. And the jury heard a lot more evidence than we did. But somehow, the decision of the jurors is being portrayed as partisan attack on a heroic but embattled President, and the charges were blown out of proportion, and yadda yadda yadda.

Let my point out something obvious about the way our system works. Every criminal gets the best defense they can get - and both Black and Libby had the best defense team they could afford. The juries are meticulously screened by both sides, and are as close to unbiased as several hundred years of legal procedure can make them.

The Black and Libby verdicts mean that the best defense teams available did NOT prevail against the weight of evidence. That’s it. That’s all. Fans of Bush and Black can shriek to their heart’s content; and of course, they have to - what other options are open to an ideologue than rage and denial? But at the end of the day, high priced legal help lost to the interpretation of evidence by a group of people hand-picked and approved by BOTH sides for their objectivity.

Our legal system doesn’t always yield truth, and it doesn’t always yield justice, and no man-made system ever will. But the fact is, the system works pretty well, most of the time. And in the case of Lord Black, whining of our URQ friends notwithstanding, it seems to have worked.

Sigh Oh, well. If nothing else, it certainly underscores the great divide between true conservatism and the current cesspool of resentful, shallow, self-interested ideologues who’ve kidnapped a once-honourable word.