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Bribery - What's so wrong about it?
Over the months that I've been reading this forum, I've seen threads that question the motivations behind the laws making various crimes illegal. Prostitution, perjury, and even statutory rape based on the age of consent were all called into question, the most common argument raised in questioning whether these crimes are indeed crimes usually falls into to two arguments:
1. They're not physical crimes like murder, assault, or rape, so why should they face a harsh penalty?
2. It's between consenting adults, so why should it be illegal?
I didn't think much about these crimes until I read an article about the bribery trial of Tony Rezko, a Chicago fundraiser who controlled the Illinois Health Planning Facilities board. Rezko is charged with accepting a $1.5M bribe to secure his approval to build a hospital.
So why is the government putting Rezko on trial for helping to build a hospital? With our faltering health care system, isn't more hospitals what we need? Some will say that, "it's wrong to try to buy a politician's vote!" but isn't that what politicians do with us when they announce how much money they've raised for their campaigns? Some will even argue that bribes and 'pay-to-play' tactics are what takes the power away from the people and puts it into the hands of special interests. But then again, with most people often resorting to a NIMBY mentality (even if they don't see that they have), would 'the people' have approved the construction of this hospital? How many other vital projects, from power plants to rehabilitation centers, to recreational facilities have been doomed by folks who want it anywhere but here?
Sometimes a little bit of grease is needed to get the job done, and if you can't get it done through protests, committees, and other seemingly legitimate ways, why not pay for services rendered?
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Cameron originally envisioned the Terminator as a small, unremarkable man, giving it the ability to blend in more easily. As a result, his first choice for the part was Lance Henriksen. O. J. Simpson was on the shortlist but Cameron did not think that such a nice guy could be a ruthless killer.
-From the Collector's Edition DVD of The Terminator
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