Focusing on the right things is sometimes trying

By Tony Farkas

For most folks, this week is for reminding ourselves about the things in life that are important, for giving thanks to God and everyone for the many blessings we enjoy throughout the year and our lives.

Even me, who dodged a health issue recently, has plenty to be thankful for.

What keeps coming to the front of my mind, though, is the bizarre and frankly non-Thanksgiving topic of accountability.

Recently, newly minted Speaker of the House Mike Johnson released the tapes of the Jan. 6 “insurrection,” which have been scrutinized quite a bit. However you interpret that, it seems that what actually happened was in no way what was widely reported or even investigated by the execrable J6 committee.

Yet, has anyone involved from the media on up said word one about any of the mischaracterization?

It was also widely reported that Trump was colluding with Russians, had hookers and other suspect peoples in hotel rooms, all of which had been debunked. Has anyone, including the person responsible for the report, Hilary Clinton, backtracked at all?

The hallmark of proper discourse is admitting when you’re wrong. When such lies are perpetuated, even when proven false, speaks not to solving problems but to vile attacks and winning at all costs.

More than just “mischaracterizations” of events, there is a tendency in government to ignore problems that have occurred based on bad legislation, which in turn was based on bad or unfounded information. Numerous examples of this exist — the Affordable Care Act is one such — yet instead of scrapping the bad idea, the government tends to double down on its inability to solve problems by making more problems.

I saw a comparison online the other day that illustrated this perfectly.  In the 1960s, we were told the oil would be gone within a decade.

In 1970s, we were warned about a new ice age coming; in the 80s, it was acid rain destroying crops; in the 90s, it was the destruction of the ozone layer; in the 2000s, it was global warming, or climate change if you prefer, which will destroy the ice caps.

These were presented to us as matter-of-fact, Nostradamus-level predictions and that we, through the benevolent auspices of our kind and all-knowing government, would only need to pay more taxes and follow regulations that were more and more stringent, and we’ll reverse the trend.

Just like the necessary and oh-so-effective COVID protocols, which required shelter-in-place and masking mandates, forced vaccinations and the destruction of the education system to “flatten the curve,” all of which were found to be ineffective and unnecessary.

The taxes and regulations remain in place, and not a person responsible for any of it has come forward to take responsibility for the overreach, much less try to rectify the problems that cropped up through poorly thought-out remedies.

You could say that we should be thankful for a kind and benevolent government that tries to keep us safe from the evils in the world, but I’m pretty sure that’s not the intent. The intent is control, and we at least can be thankful with live in a country that will allow us to hold them accountable, since it won’t happen any other way.

Tony Farkas is editor of the Trinity County News-Standard and the San Jacinto News-Times. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..