What is LLs plan moving forward?

[Mollymews]

8 hours ago, Matty Luminos said:

I also think that there will be a further shift away from salaried employment and more towards short contracts and gig work. More people doing what they can, when they can, for those who need something done when they need it. Rather like the way tradespeople such as plumbers and electricians work now, except that I think the format will spread to other industries too, like manufacturing, service and administrative roles etc.

this was coming I think, but yes this crisis may accelerate this way of working

another thing which is largely anecdotal being based on whats happening within my own extended whanau/family.  Quite a few are working from home and staying in contact with their employers electronically/digitally. Work schedules are still being set and they are still expected to do their jobs

some are now realising that working remotely like this, something they have never done before, is starting to suit them. Particularly those with children, who are saving quite a bit on pre and after  school care which they would otherwise have had to pay for, by being at home for their children. Bosses too who were adverse to this work practice before are also coming around to think the same, as they are working from home also

also some of my whanau are hospital workers so have to go into work.  One is a hospital manager who prior to this had to spend quite a lot of their week in face to face meetings. Now most of the meetings have been moved to remote. Which they are finding to a bit of a time saving boon as the remote/conference meetings tend to be quite a bit shorter, because people tend to stick to the agenda more readily. Do the business and get off the phone/device.  So the management group is thinking seriously about doing meetings this way more frequently in the future

Edited April 9, 2020 by Mollymews
ing

[Maitimo]

28 minutes ago, Mollymews said:

some are now realising that working remotely like this, something they have never done before, is starting to suit them. Particularly those with children, who are saving quite a bit on pre and after  school care which they would otherwise have had to pay for, by being at home for their children. Bosses too who were adverse to this work practice before are also coming around to think the same, as they are working from home also.

I'm working from home for the first time and enjoying it, mainly because I'm not having to sit on a bus for 2 hours a day. My colleagues with children are finding it much harder because the schools are closed and not only are the children at home being a distraction, the parents are also expected to be homeschooling them at the same time as they are working. Needless to say this is not working out at all well on either side. It would be a lot different for them if their children were in school.

 

[Mollymews]

33 minutes ago, Matty Luminos said:

My colleagues with children are finding it much harder because the schools are closed and not only are the children at home being a distraction, the parents are also expected to be homeschooling them at the same time as they are working. Needless to say this is not working out at all well on either side. It would be a lot different for them if their children were in school.

yes you are right, it is affecting families differently

one of my cousins has 3 school age girls. He is a self-employed builder, builds new homes and all his work has stopped.  So is he is at home looking after his bubble.  His wife works in a supermarket and has to go to work.  So the children have Dad to themselves all day, which they and he are really enjoying.  Their cats now have their own little cat houses, there is now a bird house in the big tree out the back, and a swing. A shed for the girls bicycles and a now working outside spa pool on the deck which had been sitting not hooked up for ages waiting for Dad to find some time in his previous life to do. And the outside of the house got repainted

all the while the children doing their school work class assignments under Dad's supervision. Mum being super happy with all of this, and also because Dad has worked out how to press the buttons on the washing machine to get it to go, and has also discovered that he can cook food other than bbq

also as well, he was always a pretty good line drawing comic artist in his younger days, but it got all set aside in the effort to feed the family as happens sometimes. There is money to be made building houses, not so much in drawing comic characters. This enforced non-work time has  resurfaced this talent, and he has been teaching the girls how to draw, which they are loving. As they loved learning how to do carpentry for the cat houses, bird house, swing and bike shed and plumbing the spa. And helping to paint the house. Which for the littlest one ended up like it does with more house paint on her than on the house

[Vanity Fair]

I think this pandemic will have far-reaching impacts on all of society, all around the world. I am lucky that I live up here in the frozen Canadian prairie hinterlands, relatively far from other cities, so we only have 12 people in our hospitals so far with COVID-19, a little over 200 cases in total, and only 3 deaths. I cannot imagine what life must be like in places like New York City.

As a blogger, I have heard anecdotes from a number of social VR platforms and virtual worlds that are seeing an uptick in business (one company I know is working overtime right now!). Many real-world conferences have shifted to a virtual conference model. For example, the Educators in VR conference spanned six days over five different platforms (mostly in AltspaceVR, but also in Mozilla Hubs, Somnium Space, rumii, and the educational social VR platform ENGAGE, which has been profitable to quite some time).

Things will NOT be going back to "the way they were". The pandemic is exposing more and more people to virtual worlds (and bringing a few people back, too). A rising tide lifts all boats, as the saying goes. Many companies are going to pivot to support remote workteams (and there are dozens of software products out there already that support this to some degree). 

And (if you can get your hands on a VR headset despite the factory production interruptions in China), there might be new business for social VR platforms. I have coined an acronym that I dearly hope catches on: YARTVRA (Yet Another Remote Teamwork Virtual Reality Application): EVERYBODY is jumping on the bandwagon now during the pandemic: https://ryanschultz.com/2020/04/02/nathie-looks-at-yartvra-apps-nineteen-virtual-reality-apps-for-remote-work-and-education/

Even Zoom is getting into YARTVRA, although what they have so far is actually one of the worst things I have seen:  https://ryanschultz.com/2019/10/07/zoom-goes-vr-yet-another-remote-teamwork-virtual-reality-app-avatars-who-needs-avatars/

I have a short list of YARTVRA platforms here last August, and since then the list has easily doubled in size: https://ryanschultz.com/2019/08/13/immersed-a-brief-introduction-yet-another-remote-workteams-vr-application/

Linden Lab would be smart to seize every opportunity to host conferences (like the recent MuseWeb), non-profits, and educational institutions. They lost a lot of business and a lot of goodwill when then abruptly and without warning cancelled the educational/non-profit discount for sims between 2011 and 2014. Most of those users never returned, and I doubt they will now, even with a significant discount. Once burned, twice shy.

Edited April 10, 2020 by Vanity Fair

[Drayke Newall]

21 hours ago, Shansi Kenin said:

It could happen.

The very fact that you said 'could' means you don't understand the economics of what has been happening around the world due to coronavirus and the impact the necessary lockdowns have made to the individual and to businesses.

Your sentence should read "It will happen". Maybe not to every country, but many of the western world. America has seen over 10 million people apply for unemployment in 2 weeks the most since the great depression, and despite any $1200 payment, it is no where near enough to continue to support these people or even those furloughed. Whilst trump may say its all smelling roses, most major economists have already stated America IS already in another recession due to this and is why Trump and most governments want to get back to normal asap as if they don't, it will be depression.

England is looking to be in recession. Italy given the extent of which it has impacted them as well as Spain will likely see a deep recession. France was already in austerity measures with protests and so will likely see a recession. The entire sub-Saharan area is looking to be in deep recession and studies released today are showing potentially 100-200 million people going into poverty there, with estimates poverty levels world wide potentially going back to 1990 levels.

Australia which has the longest running recession free period for the world in history and has negated about 5 recessions since early 1990 (including the larger dotcom bust and GFC) is predicted to go into recession, despite the government literally paying $1500 PER FORTNIGHT for 6 months at this stage to pretty well most of its working or recently unemployed population (i.e. far greater than USA's once off $1200).

So no, it isn't a matter of could at this stage. It is looking like a certain will.

Whilst Linden Lab have a company to run and profits to make, I am sure there is a lot of pondering happening in the offices at this stage (and minor panic) in wondering how they are actually going to be able to stay afloat if these lockdowns last anything past May. If they do, most extra funds people spend on luxuries like Second Lab will dry up very quickly and given land is their only real source of income and the most expensive commodity, they will need to plan very carefully on the SL economy and methods to generate income if they see major drops in that. Second Life is a world wide business model. This means that, whilst America may be their primary users, without the EU support they will not see much in profit should/when recession hit the EU.

You also need to realise the impact this is going to have on the economy for future generations. The handouts during this time to unemployed and businesses etc, like Americas 2 trillion bailout, or the hundreds of billions from other countries to their citizens, doesn't grow on trees and will need to be paid back by the tax payer. This will likely mean much higher tax rates not only for individuals but also possibly businesses for years. This does not bode well once again when inflation sets in due to quantitate easing systems of the reserve banks need to print money to keep the economies afloat now directly impacting on the individuals budget.

14 hours ago, Matty Luminos said:

I do think that lifestyles are going to take a shift in the coming months and years; I think a lot of businesses in the hospitality and tourism industries will collapse, and things like foreign holidays and nights out just won't be such a high priority for most people as they were before. People will be staying in more than they go out, and people who stay in need things to do; whether that's SL or Netflix or the next big thing on PlayStation or whatever, so I think some of the thriving businesses of the future will be those providing home entertainment. 

I certainly hope not unless you're happy with perpetual unemployment. Governments have for a few years now being trying to work out how to implement a Universal Base Income (UBI) so that when the time comes that the majority of people that cant work because of AI, robots and 'environmental factors' can still live on an income from the government. If you are correct and there is a shift, if there is no UBI in place, it will not be a very pretty picture, let alone for those countries/cities/towns that rely majorly on tourism.

14 hours ago, Matty Luminos said:

I also think that there will be a further shift away from salaried employment and more towards short contracts and gig work. More people doing what they can, when they can, for those who need something done when they need it. Rather like the way tradespeople such as plumbers and electricians work now, except that I think the format will spread to other industries too, like manufacturing, service and administrative roles etc.

And any employment benefits or protections will be out the window. Contract work and Gig work is never secure and generally people are worse off. You have no rights in this form of employment where you can be fired without notice, hours being variable meaning less money rather than a sustained income. Trades are usually sole traders whereby they struggle most times to keep work in a competitive business world as it is now and you are suggesting it would be good to add even more competition? Some competition is good, but to much and you will see business and people needing to reduce profits to the point of being unsustainable and move to bankruptcy.

Edited April 9, 2020 by Drayke Newall

[FairreLilette]

24 minutes ago, Drayke Newall said:

America has seen over 10 million people apply for unemployment in 2 weeks the most since the great depression, and despite any $1200 payment, it is no where near enough to continue to support these people or even those furloughed. 

Regarding that $1200 to (most people, not all)..."Crumbs, You Gave My Family Crumbs" one headline read.  I agree, it is crumbs...and some of those crumbs may not reach people until September.  America should have put up payment center drive thrus where you show your ID'S and 1099's etc and receive a check that day...not sometime....maybe by September?   FEMA is usually on the spot ready with disaster relief.  Not this time.  Nancy Pelosi (apparantely?) was dragging it along.  Now there is a petition going around for Nancy Pelosi's resignation that I just saw this morning but do not know exactly what it is all about regarding Pelosi.  There is unemployment relief too but I don't think any of those payments have even gone out yet either.  

Back to the OP:  Linden Lab and Second Life will weather this changed world just like every other business.  Things will change here; things will change there....and so on....and so on....and so on....  

Things have changed period.  

[Drayke Newall]

19 minutes ago, FairreLilette said:

Regarding that $1200 to (most people, not all)..."Crumbs, You Gave My Family Crumbs" one headline read.  I agree, it is crumbs...and some of those crumbs may not reach people until September.  America should have put up payment center drive thrus where you show your ID'S and 1099's etc and receive a check that day...not sometime....maybe by September?   FEMA is usually on the spot ready with disaster relief.  Not this time.  Nancy Pelosi (apparantely?) was dragging it along.  Now there is a petition going around for Nancy Pelosi's resignation that I just saw this morning but do not know exactly what it is all about regarding Pelosi.  There is unemployment relief too but I don't think any of those payments have even gone out yet either.  

Back to the OP:  Linden Lab and Second Life will weather this changed world just like every other business.  Things will change here; things will change there....and so on....and so on....and so on....  

Things have changed period.  

Didn't get a chance to update my post before you quoted it, but now seems 16 million unemployed in USA 10% of working population. As to your idea of drive thru's, why would that be needed? Surely your tax office or social security can simply send it direct deposit into your bank account like they do over here in Australia. Also why is it taking till September to get the money? Took Australia 2 weeks to organise our one off payments of $750 to our unemployed and senior citizens and deposit it directly in to their banks. Unless you are serious and America is actually still handing out cheques? If that's the case, I have no words as to how ancient the USA is looking right now.

As to Linden Lab and Second Life, I am not suggesting at all they would not survive this, however blanketly claiming "will weather this changed world just like every other business" isn't the best way to describe business at this time, when we have mass bankruptcy claims going through, requests from governments for bailouts of major companies. I wouldn't call those businesses weathering the storm with a change here or there. That's called sinking.

Edited April 9, 2020 by Drayke Newall

[FairreLilette]

28 minutes ago, Drayke Newall said:

Surely your tax office or social security can simply send it direct deposit into your bank account like they do over here in Australia. Also why is it taking till September to get the money? Took Australia 2 weeks to organise our one off payments of $750 to our unemployed and senior citizens and deposit it directly in to their banks.

Most Americans have private checking, no direct deposit.  It could take until September because those (most all people) since they do not have direct deposit, each one of those checks has to be enveloped and mailed by hand.  

 

28 minutes ago, Drayke Newall said:

when we have mass bankruptcy claims going through, requests from governments for bailouts of major companies. I wouldn't call those businesses weathering the storm with a change here or there. That's called sinking.

I don't know how many bankruptcy claims have gone through.  But the 2 trillion American "bailout" has a lot of monies in there that goes towards helping businesses stay afloat as the whole 2 trillion is not for individuals only.  It's a whole bunch of things.  

I don't know how much this is going to help businesses nor each and every business, though I would think it safe to say that airlines are bankrupt.  

But, I don't think there is anything else to do but weather it for LL as it's kind of one day at a time right now.  

But, also you're right...I should have said "attempt to weather it".  Attempt is all people can do right now.  

 

Edited April 9, 2020 by FairreLilette

[LittleMe Jewell]

The first batch of US folks -- roughly 50-60 million -- will be getting their stimulus money starting today through next week. This applies to people that have filed a tax return in 2018 or 2019 AND gave the IRS their bank info, either for a direct deposit of tax refunds or for payment of a tax bill.  That first group will also include Social Security 'beneficiaries' that have filed tax returns that included bank info.

The next batch, starting April 20th, will be people receiving Social Security benefits via direct deposit, but whom didn't file 2018 & 2019 taxes.  

The last batch will be the ones that have not filed taxes in the last couple of years and that do not currently receive any Social Security benefits.  Those are the ones that will get checks.  Depending on how many checks the IRS ends up having to send, the final ones might not be received until July.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2020/04/08/stimulus-money-hit-u-s-waves-some-arrives-april-15/2971312001/

[FairreLilette]

2 minutes ago, LittleMe Jewell said:

The first batch of US folks -- roughly 50-60 million -- will be getting their stimulus money starting today through next week. This applies to people that have filed a tax return in 2018 or 2019 AND gave the IRS their bank info, either for a direct deposit of tax refunds or for payment of a tax bill.  That first group will also include Social Security 'beneficiaries' that have filed tax returns that included bank info.

The next batch, starting April 20th, will be people receiving Social Security benefits via direct deposit, but whom didn't file 2018 & 2019 taxes.  

The last batch will be the ones that have not filed taxes in the last couple of years and that do not currently receive any Social Security benefits.  Those are the ones that will get checks.  Depending on how many checks the IRS ends up having to send, the final ones might not be received until July.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2020/04/08/stimulus-money-hit-u-s-waves-some-arrives-april-15/2971312001/

They upped it a little.  It's been changing every few days regarding the when.  Now that it's starting today, perhaps there is a clearer picture here, hopefully.

And, the 50-60 million people is roughly the population of the U.K.

Populuce of the USA:   327.2 million

[Beth Macbain]

49 minutes ago, FairreLilette said:

FEMA is usually on the spot ready with disaster relief.

WHAT?! WHAT?? Do you remember a little incident called Hurricane Katrina?? FEMA is a disaster in and of itself.

50 minutes ago, FairreLilette said:

Nancy Pelosi (apparantely?) was dragging it along.

The Democrats were "dragging" it along because Mitch and the rest of his crooked congressmen wanted the money to go to their big business cronies - you know, the ones who don't actually pay taxes. Mitch tried to make America believe that giving money to the corporations would trickle down to their workers. Those of us with any sense (and who are old enough to remember how well Reagan's trickle down economics DIDN'T work) know the corporate CEOs and boards would pocket the money and tell their employees to go f**k themselves. The Democrats weren't having it. Thank god they dragged it out.

19 minutes ago, FairreLilette said:

Most Americans have private checking, no direct deposit.

Simply false. 82% of Americans have their paychecks direct deposited. 

21 minutes ago, FairreLilette said:

It could take until September because those (most all people) since they do not have direct deposit, each one of those checks has to be enveloped and mailed by hand.  

Equally false. It's a completely automated process that can spit out a metric f**k ton checks, shove 'em in envelopes, printed, and mailed in hours. No one is hand writing checks, addressing envelopes, and licking stamps. 

[Drayke Newall]

10 minutes ago, LittleMe Jewell said:

The first batch of US folks -- roughly 50-60 million -- will be getting their stimulus money starting today through next week. This applies to people that have filed a tax return in 2018 or 2019 AND gave the IRS their bank info, either for a direct deposit of tax refunds or for payment of a tax bill.  That first group will also include Social Security 'beneficiaries' that have filed tax returns that included bank info.

The next batch, starting April 20th, will be people receiving Social Security benefits via direct deposit, but whom didn't file 2018 & 2019 taxes.  

The last batch will be the ones that have not filed taxes in the last couple of years and that do not currently receive any Social Security benefits.  Those are the ones that will get checks.  Depending on how many checks the IRS ends up having to send, the final ones might not be received until July.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2020/04/08/stimulus-money-hit-u-s-waves-some-arrives-april-15/2971312001/

Interesting, thanks for the clarification. Must say though that the last batch is still a bit odd, though suppose different countries different systems.

Generally, when submitting a tax return over here in Australia you give your primary bank account details for them to deposit any refund into, however the tax office already has all of our bank details anyway as the bank has to declare to the ATO interest earned etc on any monies for each account. When opening an account with the bank we have to give our tax file number to them so this allows the bank details to be directly linked to our tax file.

Edited April 9, 2020 by Drayke Newall

[Drayke Newall]

2 minutes ago, Beth Macbain said:

Those of us with any sense (and who are old enough to remember how well Reagan's trickle down economics DIDN'T work) know the corporate CEOs and boards would pocket the money and tell their employees to go f**k themselves.

The legacy of The Untitled States of America to the world. Capitalism.

[Beth Macbain]

1 minute ago, Drayke Newall said:

The legacy of The Untitled States of America to the world. Capitalism.

Yeah, we're embarrassed, too. 

[Drayke Newall]

Just now, Beth Macbain said:

Yeah, we're embarrassed, too. 

Don't be to embarrassed after all it was a Scotsman that holds the title of The Father of Capitalism for the ideology (which was flawed). Just that America embraced it more than any other country.

[LittleMe Jewell]

12 minutes ago, Drayke Newall said:

Interesting, thanks for the clarification. Must say though that the last batch is still a bit odd, though suppose different countries different systems.

Generally, when submitting a tax return over here in Australia you give your primary bank account details for them to deposit any refund into, however the tax office already has all of our bank details anyway as the bank has to declare to the ATO interest earned etc on any monies for each account. When opening an account with the bank we have to give our tax file number to them so this allows the bank details to be directly linked to our tax file.

When we open bank accounts, we also have to give our Tax ID number, but if the account does not ever earn enough interest to be taxable, then the bank never sends any info to the IRS.  Even when it does send info, the info is sent at the Tax ID level, not at the bank account number.  I have a checking account and multiple savings accounts at my bank.  I get a single statement each year with the total interest earned on all accounts.  That is the amount I have to claim and the IRS is also getting a single statement from the bank that simply gives the total interest and my Tax ID number.

Most of the super low income folks do not have to ever file taxes and so the IRS wouldn't get their bank info that way.  Many of those super low income folks actually don't have bank accounts at all.

[Luna Bliss]

I'm sure more pandemics will come. We need to analyze carefully what went wrong with governmental responses so we can respond better in the future. Obviously such faith in markets solving the problem delayed responses to the point where many will die unnecessarily (referring specifically to getting PPE and tests to appropriate destinations).

Edited April 9, 2020 by Luna Bliss

[FairreLilette]

25 minutes ago, Beth Macbain said:

WHAT?! WHAT?? Do you remember a little incident called Hurricane Katrina?? FEMA is a disaster in and of itself.

1 hour ago, FairreLilette said:

 

Some of my family, my ex and I lost our homes in the 1994 Northridge Earthquake.  FEMA was there that morning with instant relief within hours of the earthquake.   But then I realized I only know FEMA from my actual experience that morning of 1/17/1994, the date of the Northridge Earthquake.

 

25 minutes ago, Beth Macbain said:

The Democrats were "dragging" it along because Mitch and the rest of his crooked congressmen wanted the money to go to their big business cronies - you know, the ones who don't actually pay taxes. Mitch tried to make America believe that giving money to the corporations would trickle down to their workers. 

I don't really know what's going on there that's why I put a question mark.  Pelosi apparently is the current scapegoat it appears....for...?  

 

 

Eighty-Two perfect of American's have a direct deposit?  That's not the information that's going out.  I've read the number as 50-60 million for direct deposit (this does not include those on SS and many of those on SS not all even direct deposit; checks are mailed to home).

Where do you get this figure from?  

As to how they are doing these checks or why the articles have read months for those with no direct deposit, I gather there is much to sort through then or the checks would arrive sooner.  Maybe they will.  

Edited April 9, 2020 by FairreLilette

[Luna Bliss]

18 minutes ago, Beth Macbain said:

The Democrats were "dragging" it along because Mitch and the rest of his crooked congressmen wanted the money to go to their big business cronies - you know, the ones who don't actually pay taxes.

I could not believe the first draft by the Republicans -- really shows who they are. Too bad this can't be posted somewhere prominent for all to see -- nobody would vote for them again.

[Beth Macbain]

2 minutes ago, FairreLilette said:

Where do you get this figure from?  

Google is a magical tool. 

[Selene Gregoire]

1 hour ago, Drayke Newall said:

Didn't get a chance to update my post before you quoted it, but now seems 16 million unemployed in USA 10% of working population. As to your idea of drive thru's, why would that be needed? Surely your tax office or social security can simply send it direct deposit into your bank account like they do over here in Australia. Also why is it taking till September to get the money? Took Australia 2 weeks to organise our one off payments of $750 to our unemployed and senior citizens and deposit it directly in to their banks. Unless you are serious and America is actually still handing out cheques? If that's the case, I have no words as to how ancient the USA is looking right now.

As to Linden Lab and Second Life, I am not suggesting at all they would not survive this, however blanketly claiming "will weather this changed world just like every other business" isn't the best way to describe business at this time, when we have mass bankruptcy claims going through, requests from governments for bailouts of major companies. I wouldn't call those businesses weathering the storm with a change here or there. That's called sinking.

Whether or not someone gets a check depends on whether or not they filed income tax for 2018 for those who haven't filed yet for 2019. If the IRS has their bank info on file, it will be direct deposit. If no bank info is on file they will get a check mailed to them.

[LittleMe Jewell]

13 minutes ago, FairreLilette said:

Eighty-Two perfect of American's have a direct deposit?  That's not the information that's going out.  I've read the number as 50-60 million for direct deposit (this does not include those on SS and many of those on SS not all even direct deposit; checks are mailed to home).

Where do you get this figure from?  

There is a difference in the number of Americans that get their paycheck via direct deposit and the number that have given the IRS that info.

For Americans getting paid via direct deposit, here is one source:

https://www.ngpf.org/blog/checking-accounts/question-of-the-day-82-of-employees-receive-their-paycheck-via-a-cash-b-direct-deposit-c-check/

[FairreLilette]

12 minutes ago, Beth Macbain said:

Google is a magical tool. 

Terrific!   That is good news to know!  I have it as well.  I've talked to so many people who think direct deposit is too intrusive.  For me, IDC...it's not too intrusive to me.    

Edited April 9, 2020 by FairreLilette

[FairreLilette]

2 hours ago, Luna Bliss said:

I could not believe the first draft by the Republicans -- really shows who they are. Too bad this can't be posted somewhere prominent for all to see -- nobody would vote for them again.

It's a blame game happening now.  It's gonna be a circus for a while with scapegoat du jour.  

Don't let what you can't change nor have control over stress you out too much though I know you already know that....and some of these hyperbolic articles will be placed for the sole purpose of phishing.  I have never had pop windows constantly asking me for my age like I do now.  

My viewpoint was, they should have sent out emergency aide first as part 1.  Then argued over "business" as part 2.  I think it took too long to get emergency aide to people but have no particular person to blame as I don't want to be involved in politics as in political parties.  I don't care for either quite frankly.  It's usually a mud-slinging fest as I always say and here it goes again.  And, I don't mean a mud-slinging fest from you, Luna, I mean the politicians themselves.  I wanna have some peace in my life.  I opted out of politcs.  

But, I think some the best input I've gotten into all this "circus" is right here on this forum of SL.  It cuts through the BS pretty quickly.  I kinda knew that if I posted what PT said about the anti-malaria drug...I'd hear real opinions here that would cut through whether that was BS or not right here on SL forum.  But, still cutting through the BS hasn't helped my nerves much.  

I miss my real life best friend, my sister is a school teacher...my niece is out of work with a 1-year-old...yada...yada...yada...my life has changed.  

Edited April 9, 2020 by FairreLilette

[Beth Macbain]

@FairreLilette - I don't know what sites you're visiting that ask your to verify your age, but I'd advise you to just stop looking at anything other than official government websites. Clear your browser history and just start all over. Don't read anything posted on social media. Here is California's COVID Response Page.

Anything you read other than what is on that page is just crap. 

No one is forcing you to read the fake news articles that you're finding, so just don't. It really is that simple. 

As for politics, you do have control and can change things. When it's time to vote, go to the candidate's OFFICIAL websites and read their positions, make your choice, and most importantly VOTE!

If you don't vote, quite frankly, you don't have any business complaining about anything any politician is doing. It's not only our right to vote, it's our obligation, and one far too many people ignore. There are some damn fine people out there who run for office for the right reasons, but they don't get elected because people don't bother doing any research, and then don't bother voting. It's shameful.