(BRANDON HANSEN/Managing Editor of the Chewelah Independent)

During the pandemic, social media has been… interesting. Arguments are apparently still allowed by the State of Washington for now and people have gotten into a lot of them.

But I’ve noticed many of them are unnecessary or last way too long. Since we’re not face-to-face, it’s easy to get heated behind a keyboard. So, before your blood pressure becomes deadlier than COVID, ask yourself these questions to see if it’s worth it to get in a Facebook argument.

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(BRANDON HANSEN/Managing Editor)

During this pandemic, it feels like I have had to wade through an Olympic swimming pool of rumors, conspiracy theories and partisan bickering.

But for the most part, it is really heartening to see many people just trying to help their fellow human and do the right thing. From the school district employees delivering meals to kids, our delivery workers and mail carriers making sure goods are still shipped, first responders still putting themselves in harms way and our medical workers forming our line of defense against this virus. Make no mistake, this is a war-like situation.

But still we need to stay vigilant as Americans when it comes to our rights. More

(BRANDON HANSEN/Managing Editor of the Chewelah Independent)

It has been pointed out more than once that it feels like we get too much information thrown at us. Going into 2020, I wanted to do a bit of an exercise by keeping a journal of what news events happened during the year where something actually happened.

Despite our constant 24/7 news cycle, there are a lot of days where something Earth-shattering doesn’t happen. There are also some pretty big incidents that quickly get skipped over for the newest slate of gossip and speculating. Keeping tabs in January and early February, I made sure to immediately nix any political grandstanding, a “they said this” news story and speculative stories. Talk is not something happening.

So let’s see what has happened in 2020 so far… More

(BRANDON HANSEN/Managing Editor of the Chewelah Independent)

Everybody has complaints about the government, but where does all the blame go? It generally gets pushed towards the other political party that you’re not a member of.
We’ve all heard “there are two different realities” and “facts don’t matter anymore.”

But to me, maybe something even more disheartening is occurring: Results don’t matter anymore.

Very rarely anymore do you hear about what goals have been achieved. We hear vague things like “combating homelessness,” “world security,” “getting people out of poverty,” “strengthening borders,” “solving the healthcare crises,” “solving the opioid epidemic,” but very rarely is the finish line ever described.

Remember when we started the War on Drugs? Are we any closer to a drug-free America or have things gotten more convoluted? More Americans now die from drug overdoses than auto accidents. More

(BRANDON HANSEN/Managing Editor of the Chewelah Independent)

With another legislative session in Olympia, there is another slate of gun control bills that have conservative Facebook whipped up in a frenzy. For the umpteenth year, gun control is among the top issues when it comes to politics and that probably will never change.

We hear the same tired stats that have been thrown out and modeled for everyone’s argument. While I do like to look at some sort of basis when it comes to political topics, it almost appears facts really don’t matter anymore because you can cherry pick basically any subset of data to support your view. More

(BRANDON HANSEN/Managing Editor of the Chewelah Independent)

“Have you gotten Disney+ yet?”

This was a question that has been proposed to basically everyone with internet in the past few months. Say what you will about “The Mouse” company, but they know how do entertainment and make money off it.

Their new streaming service has basically every Disney movie and cartoon every made, which equates to me sitting on the couch, eating popcorn and telling my fiancee “You know they don’t make movies like ‘Swiss Family Robinson’ and ‘20,000 Leagues Under the Sea’ anymore! What’s wrong? Society is doomed and Game of Thrones ended poorly. I’m angry and going to write a blog about it.” More

(BRANDON HANSEN/Managing Editor of the Chewelah Independent)

An interesting point brought up by one of my favorite podcasters, Dan Carlin, has my brain spinning more than usual this week: what if we can’t keep up with our own technological progress?

The growth and advancement of technology in our society has reached breakneck speeds. From the rise of the computer, internet, smartphone and social media, things that are part of everyday life now are completely different from what they were 10 or 15 years ago. Computer chips and capabilities are getting faster and more capable every few months and everyone talks as if artificial intelligence will be taking over any day now.

And how are we supposed to adjust to all this?

While the older person who can’t use a cellphone, or the worker who looks at email like Egyptian hieroglyphics are funny jokes for the watercooler, it’s only the surface level of how technology is advancing almost too quickly for us to adapt. More

(BRANDON HANSEN/Managing Editor of the Chewelah Independent)

I really do apologize for the four to five years that your opinion page has been hijacked by a glasses-wearing nerd who has steered the editorial page away from national politics grandstanding to top ten lists and satire.

But here we go again, to really kick off 2020 with one of the most ridiculous articles to grace the Chewelah newspaper, here are some lessons “we can learn from the movie Tremors.”

What is Tremors, you ask? Tremors is a 1990 American monster comedy film where people in the small desert town of Perfection, Nevada fight for survival against giant, worm-like monsters hungry for human flesh. It stars a very young Kevin Bacon, and was basically on repeat on satellite TV over and over from 1995-2005.

Why is this important now? Well, let’s get started.

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(BRANDON HANSEN/Managing Editor of the Chewelah Independent)

With a new year, we usually come up with some kind of resolution to better our life that we forget by Valentines Day. I am no different. One time I wanted to start writing a novel and ended up getting “Chapter One” written and that was it. Another time I decided I would go to the gym a lot but then realized Chewelah’s Dick Zornes works out longer and harder than I do, and I am many years younger.

(There was also a time I pledged to drink no coffee. That was the worst three days of my life.)

But despite failing at most resolutions, here we are again. I have scoured the internet for the best New Years resolutions that are actually achieveable!

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(BRANDON HANSEN/Chewelah Independent)

Oh look, another news story about Spokane Valley Representative Matt Shea! Shea, who was at least a champion of the 51st State Movement that really got its start here in Stevens County, is under fire after a House of Representatives report says he participated in domestic terrorism.

However, in this time of different political realities, one side can say that Shea is a danger to us all, while the other side can say it was a smear campaign put on by the Democrat-controlled house.

I for one, am suffering from some serious Matt Shea fatigue. More