Go think about what you've done

Often, it feels as though we've gotten lazy. When we look overseas for a story that's just right for us, we tend to find our vision straying directly towards Germany. And why not? They've got a wealth of crazy over there, and, well, sometimes we take our schadenfreude by viewing the country that invented the term. If Germany falls by the wayside, we tend to look at England, enthralled with their crisp dialect.

But not today. Today, we find ourselves turning our sights to Wales (yes, we know it's almost England, but it counts, darnit), and the exploits of a certain shoplifter there. Well, to be honest, it's not so much about what this said shoplifter did, as it is about what the judicial system did to him. After all, with 71 previous convictions, he pretty much did what comes naturally, although the beer in the pants was a nice flourish to round out attempt number 72.

However, when it came time for sentencing, local magistrates near Shotton, North Wales decided that there was still a chance for the man to turn his life around, and suspended his sentence.

That speaks to a certain level of trust within the Welsh magistrate. Or, possibly, it speaks to a very convincing plea from the shoplifter himself. After all, in many areas of the US, some sort of a "three strikes" rule exists. For this man, he's looking at the prospect of 73 strikes leading to a modicum of jail time.

Heck, the only other people who get to make the same mistakes over 70 times and not receive more than a slap on the wrist are politicians.