I often pointed out that it was unlikely that any poster here, liberal or conservative, was a paid activist, for the simple reason that Political Jack would be a poor target for paid work, given its small audience of mostly hard-core partisans. You could post here for years and be lucky to sway a single vote. It would be more cost-effective to target forums with a lot more people, or at least people who are less entrenched in their positions. That point has a broader implication. Posting about politics here is self-indulgent, in that the same time and effort would do a lot more good elsewhere. So, if people are curious about my absence, that's the reason. I'm going to be more strategic about where and how I post.