Three things happened this past year that drew increased membership:
Reagan's death (around Dem Convention season)
Buckhead shooting down CBS in the memo scandal
Bush and Republicans winning the election
Were people led here because they were of like-mind, or were they led here to propogate dissent and divide? With so many, how is one to know? Either way, the culture is different.
There was so much conjecture, mixed in with facts, mixed in with innuendo, mixed in with rumor, mixed in with fantasy, that it completely drove everyone off the deep end in a desperate attempt to help Terri or at the very least figure the dang thing out.