It's no wonder Congress voted to sign on. All other efforts to stop the treaty, particularly those on behalf of environmental and labor groups, were unjustifiably ignored. Around the same time the votes were being counted in Denmark, a national referendum took place in New Zealand. There the citizens voted on the very political structure which governed them. The majority of New Zealanders decided to abolish their two party system in favor of a proportional representation system.
New ideas can now enter their system much earlier as a result.
Now take this notion a step further. This way we'd learn how U.S. citizens truly felt about the issues instead of relying on deceptive polls that often measure half-baked prejudices rather than the ideas which result from real political involvement. The citizens of these nations pay for this type of system out of their taxes and they do so willingly. A big, fat, bloated military. Next time you read about a military base closing here at home or abroad, and you thank your lucky stars that they're finally cutting the military budget, remember there are still new weapons systems being developed and top secret space shuttle missions going up now and again.