This is sickening

There are any number of stories in the paper every week that cause one to wonder whether common decency is headed toward extinction. The latest such incident occurred last weekend when a couple of low-life thugs broke into the home of a 60-year-old Washington woman, stuck a gun in her face, tied her up and then dumped food and soiled cat litter on her. The two pieces of scum got away with $70 and the woman's credit and bank cards. Washington Neighborhood Watch is offering a reward of $1,000 for information leading to the robbers' arrests, and because crooks like the ones who attacked this poor woman are generally stupid dopeheads, word about who did it is likely to circulate. There's a good chance that the people the perpetrators confide in about their crime are also drug addicts who would be glad to take $1,000 for ratting out their fellow scumbags. "I'm hoping someone will flip on them. Money talks," said William Reihner, who coordinates the watch program. Let's hope so. My only regret is that if these people are caught and convicted, they'll most likely get away with a relative slap on the wrist. Crimes like this make me think that perhaps those countries that publicly cane or horsewhip criminals like these two have the right idea.