maybe I watched too much Star Trek...

...but I thought that the human race had evolved in the last 100 years or so. I guess in some ways we have, others not so much. This thought was prompted by a story I read in the Akron Beacon Journal about election time and how candidates campaign for their respective positions.
   People lie like it's in fashion. Political ads are a great example - we all know that most of the crap they say isn't true. For instance, there's one ad out there saying that a candidate coddles child molesters. He probably didn't vote on a bill for some reason (maybe too much pork) and now he's in NAMBLA. David Giffels said, "distortion and steely-eyed lies have become standard operating procedure in modern campaigning."
   So why do we stand for it? Everyone, including candidates, say they can't stand the negativity. But no one has done anything about it! I know there's some "freedom of expression" concepts in this, but can't we outlaw negative ads? Let the media do the dirty work finding out all the crap on the candidates - they do already. Maybe if there weren't so many shit-slinging ads we might actually get a clue about what the people running for office actually think.
   Then again, maybe that's not such a good idea either.
(source: David Giffels: Don't look at TV until Wednesday; it's too scary)