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I think it’s more the second, and somehow newer communities are forming elsewhere, because FB has fewer people (not just jumpers) too. Wendy P.

But someone has to actually do it. Wendy P.

Yep. I saw that this morning. It was fun while it lasted, and I really wish it were as vibrant as it once was. To me it was a much more democratic (in the sense of participation) format than FB, Reddit, or whatever else is out there. There’s an awful lot of good information here Wendy P.

No more Wendy P.

And for extra credit, you credited the authors by linking to the website! Wendy P.

I read Bezos's editorial about why he did this. He said yeah, he absolutely screwed up on the timing. Yeah, no shit. That said, he also indicated that a. people (i.e. righties) are losing faith in the press b. no one is likely to change their vote based on who a newspaper endorses Those points are both probably accurate. Had he done this back in January, or last year, would this have caused such a hubbub? I still think he's an asshole, but it wasn't a really awful editorial. Wendy P.

I also have friends like that. They see the number of undocumented aliens as a far bigger problem than I do -- but most of them live in Texas, where it is a bigger problem. Of course, it's also a source of inexpensive labor, keeping housing costs low, right? But most of my right-wing friends value loyalty far, far, more than I do; loyalty to how you were brought up, loyalty to traditions that others you associate with value, loyalty to the idea of country. And it seems that the outward expression is what counts most; what's inside (other than "I'm spiritual, not religious). It's visible, and it helps to identify what people stand for. Because, above much, it seems that my more conservative friends are, in fact, more tribal, in the proto-human way that banding together allows for easier survival as a species. In a world as crowded as ours, you have to know who is, and, about as important, who isn't a part of your tribe. I'm a member of one tribe for that group, and actively invited to and welcomed at those events. But I don't participate in the political discussions other than one-on-one, because there's just no future in it. Most of them will die before changing, and since they're largely older than I am, that's happening. It'll happen to me, too, someday. Wendy P.

The same goes for the people on the right. Something that's been a right for the last 50 years was removed a couple of years ago, and all of the right-leaning justices said that they considered Roe V. Wade to be "settled law." What are your thoughts about that? Wendy P.

An interesting read in the Washington Post today; they interviewed dozens (per the article) of Trump and Harris supporters to gauge their reactions to a possible defeat. The Harris voters would be devastated, the Trump supporters (at least the ones interviewed) would be more resigned. None of the ones they quoted supported the January 6 shenanigans, even though nearly all bought into the big lie that the election was rigged. Wendy P.

Oh, I know, and Theodore Roosevelt, too! Wendy P.

What he said. Wendy P.

Not to mention the ad-driven opinion-confirming environments that FB, Google, and just about all other things you look for on your computer provide. Wendy P.

You'd think they'd eat less crap and get more exercise if obesity were a concern, too. Plenty of people plan using the "it's not raining now so why should I fix the roof" process. Wendy P.

Interesting you left the part out about how people are migrating to Arizona (with no water). Isn't it in the south? Wendy P.

I don't as much, simply because they're too young and disorganized to get any real power above the town or city level. We need those voices in the wilderness, because opposition is good to make us examine our ideas (not hone our arguments -- that assumes that our ideas are all perfect, which is never true). Money isn't with the actual ANTIFA; Soros (the MAGA antichrist) is just as capitalist as any other rich person who earned it. Wendy P.

But you'll still recommend him over Kamala, because his legion problems are nevertheless better than any Democrat. Don't worry -- you'll find some problems, no matter who it is. Wendy P.

Deleted the duplicate thread. Wendy P.

But in the US at least, that new life doesn’t want to live where the water is; they like their deserts and quasi-monsoon climates. Of course, it’s expensive to build infrastructure to store too much water, or heaven forbid negotiate fairly for it. Naw, there’s all that ocean, and we can always desalinate. Someone will pick up the cost Wendy P.

Those are good god-gratin’ murricans I’m talking about! Wendy P.

And a NET 210 people a day are moving to Arizona. It doesn’t even have an ocean to desalinate. Wendy P.

This. And the guys who work really hard to “achieve” this level then resent those who don’t even care Wendy P.

Well, there was that whole Viking thing… Wendy P.

She was investigated in and out the wazoo, by two congressional committees that were bound and determined to find something indictable. They were unable to. That should say something. Wendy P.

You said that you think Trump can bring you a conservative view of America. I have a couple of questions -- one, why didn't he last time, particularly when he had the House and Senate too? Why wasn't he willing to deal with the Democrats who were willing to deal with him, and giving him a part-of-the-cake bill for border control? And why was he unwilling to have the bipartisan border deal go through this year? He plays hardball politics, at the expense of the American people, and I see that as a problem. The second on is what do you see as a conservative-led America? Do I have the same rights I did before? Do I have the same respect as a human being as I had before, or am I more subject to someone else's norms? I see a country where people can, in fact, be gay and happy about it; a country where access and opportunity are there, rather than controlled so that only the 'right' decisions can be made (even when those decisions don't take modern situations or technology, or even human nature, into account). I see a country where fear isn't a driving force. I see a country where the transition of power for each and every publicly elected job is peaceful, rather than dependent on who has the deepest pockets to sue for victory. To me, that last is one of the single most important things that makes America great; I've lived where that wasn't true, and there was a lot more fear. Fear weakens and destroys people; it's a blunt tool of limited power. Wendy P.

To me, his willingness to challenge our tradition of peaceful transition of power with violence and lawsuits (remember -- they ALL failed), and to call everyone else a liar while he lies too is enough to disqualify Trump from holding office, no matter what he promises. Because whatever he promises, he probably won't do unless it benefits him personally somehow. That's how he seems to operate. He can't see how he's winning if he doesn't see who's losing, and to me that's a problem too, because it's not a long step from there to, instead of trying to better yourself, just stepping on someone else to make yourself feel better. I don't believe America should be a world bully, imposing its values on others (the way the colonial European powers did for hundreds of years), and I don't think it should have a bully for president; someone who is perfectly willing to use his wealth to make sure that weaker people, who may be right, lose. He calls that winning. It's like the cigarette companies winning, by waiting for the people suing them to die of cancer, or for their families to run out of money so they couldn't keep the lawsuit going. Wendy P.