Between a slight dip in activity levels and the general time you joined it was unfortunately a rather rough storm. You'll get yourself on a team soon enough and it gets significantly better from there, just keep working at it.
As for the political stuff. Do you mean like actually political for league political? League wise we're at a bit of a crossroads regarding big decisions so that means more stuff getting drug through the muck. If you mean actual political: that likely has to do with the simple median age of our members. The VHL is a forum of slightly older members so politics naturally are important in our daily lives (unfortunately) and therefore get discussed sometimes.