1. This is unavoidable. Further, you don't necessarily have to avoid all of them. Just the 6 that aren't touching the wall.
2. Green starts. Below is what the board looks like at the first move of the game. I added the X's, that's where Green can move. I've seen strong players use all the different openings.
I used to use the lower right move to open exclusively. But now I use the lower middle. Like I said... I've seen strong players use everything.
3. I will definitely not be voting for Trump. Minnesota. What state are you in?