Sandsquish

Tommorrow is election day and, once again, I may only choose between a Democrat and a Republican.

I've had to tolerate millions of dollars worth of political ads that make senseless ad-hominum attacks and, if I'm lucky, quote a few meaningless slogans. Debates are rare, and when they occur, they frequently stray far from social, administrative, or legislative issues. Many candidates do not appear to understand, or will not state their positions on, topics about governance, economics, social problems, environmental issues, or diplomacy.

The government appears to be run indirectly by lobbyists and PACs. Third parties, like the Green Party, Litertarian Party, and the Reform Party are locked out of most of the races by a winner-take-all voting system and ballot-access restrictions.

Is anyone else embarrased about the state of our democracy? Does anyone have any ideas about how we can fix it?

I know things like that do get mentioned during elections, but, by and large, candidates for office seem to spend most of their time and resources trying to defame their opponents. Does that make sense? Why do they keep doing it?

It looks like they just changed their policy a couple of days ago. Until now, the people in the trailer parks FEMA set up after hurricane Katrina weren't allowed to speak to the news media if someone from FEMA wasn't watching them.

I know, I just did it too. But, it seems a little strange. It's a medium-sized city on the coast of the Persian Gulf.

If so, then any ideas on how to change that?

If not, then any explanations for why governments so often side with corporations instead of citizens? Citizens do have some valid complaints about corporate practices, don't we?

And, do you think men enjoy sex more than women? Are men more interested in appearance than women?

Also, does anyone think women are discouraged from expressing their sexual interests? Are men encouraged to?

They appear to be genetically-engineered pets which are packaged in plastic containers.

Yes, I'm aware of what they really are, but pretend for a moment that they are what they, initially, appear to be, and tell me what you think about it.

http://www.genpets.com/

I just had to ask.

Do you think very many people would know how discuss issues in governance if they couldn't use those terms?

And what if they had to talk about the topics instead of each other?

What would happen if our politicians had to do the same?

How many people are happy with either political party? Are they addressing your concerns? Do you think you have a real choice when you go to the polls?

I've felt the urge to yawn after I see other people yawn, and many people say it's "contagious." Is this in our imaginations or is it real? If it's real, does anyone know what causes it?

I know this sounds like an inflammatory question, but I really don't know how else to ask it.

Recently, I had someone demand money from me for speaking to her. She also had a few other demands, but I won't mention them here.

This question isn't just about that one incident, though. The truth is, this sort of thing, in one form or another, has happened to me frequently, from requests that I purchase drinks or meals for them, to other requests involving money that I'm sure Yahoo Answers wouldn't like to see repeated on this site.

I have met some women who don't treat men like this, but this has been very rare. Is there something wrong with the community I live in, or is it a more general phenomenon? How many women, in general, do you believe think like this? Do you have an ideas why they see things this way? I've been told that this is all mens' fault, but I can't see how.

They seem to collect and trade demographic information about us, our credit card transactions, our social security numbers, and our bank and credit account numbers.

Do they have a right to this information? Can they keep it safely? Do they use it well? Can we get that information back?

I've traveled a little, and I've noticed that other countries have town squares, city plazas, boardwalks, and public courtyards where people can gather.

The city parks in my area look like jogging tracks, and the town squares have been converted to parking lots and shopping centers. Most of the shopping centers have "no loitering" signs posted.

Have any other sort of public areas sprung up to replace these things here? And where can I go to find them?

If so, then why is it so difficult to understand what someone who is speaking another language is saying? If not, then where did the saying come from?

Two years ago, congress passed a law called The Personal Responsibility in Food Consumption Act that prevented consumers from filing suit against food manufactures who put additives in their products which contribute to obesity, cancer, allergies, and congnitive problems.

I'd like to be a responsible consumer. Can anyone tell me which food corporations do not add hydrogenated fats, artificial food colors, nitrites, nitrates, sulfites, sugar, artificial sweeteners, monosodium glutamate, preservatives, artificial flavors, refined flour, salt, or olestra to their products?

And if I can't buy foods without these additives, and corporations are no longer responsible for their practices, then how can I "demand" foods that don't contain additives?

I've read that corporations are using an increasingly larger amount of fresh water for industrial purposes and dumping an increasingly larger amount of waste products into the fresh water supply.

I've also been told that underground water tables are dropping, desalinization projects are uneconomic and would threaten the fishing industry, and damming rivers prevents sediments from being washed out to farmlands and pulls salt-water higher upstream.

Is there reason to believe these problems real? If not, why are people worried about them? If so, can anything be done to help the situation?