Readers sound off on state education failures, the Fauci inquiry and TV chefs 30%
By Voice of the People86%
8/2/2026, 12:00:08 AM
BS Summary: This article contains 22 faulty reasoning types, including Negativity Bias, False Dilemma, and Politically Left Leaning Bias, with Hasty Generalization as the most egregious example at 20.4% saturation with 239 hits. Analysis detected 1,279 faulty-reasoning hits from 1,172 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 35% and a BS Rank of 30% (17,927 of 25,269 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 70.90% of the article peer group.
Schools’ data says what the state denies
Manhattan: The New York State Education Department can’t accept its own data.
As its op-ed “Success Academy report doesn’t tell all” (July 27) reveals, the department is in denial about the state of public education in New York, the subject of the recent report “By Any Honest Measure.”
Drawing entirely on publicly available data, the analysis discloses a horrendous state of public education in NYC: 400,000-plus students trapped in 906 failing public schools — district and charter — where less than half of students can pass low-level state exams in math or reading, or both.
The facts are admittedly unpleasant, but accurate and verifiable.
Unable to refute any of the information or analysis, NYSED attacks Success Academy.
NYSED governs nearly all of these 906 schools and is responsible for the outcomes.
Instead of taking responsibility for trapping hundreds of thousands of kids in failing schools, they deploy deflection and dodging.
The report focused on NYC schools, but the failures are statewide.
Syracuse and Rochester have terrible results.
Buffalo saw pass rates of 28% in ELA, 24% in math, 57% on the Regents ELA, and 30% on Regents Algebra.
Chronic absenteeism was 59% in elementary and middle schools and 72% in high schools.
Until we get our political leadership to acknowledge persistent educational failure at massive scale in our government-run schools, we won’t be able to solve the problem.
Eva Moskowitz, founder and CEO, Success Academy
Start peeling
Brooklyn: I recommend getting a peeler to increase your consumption of fruits and vegetables.
You can buy a good one for less than $15.
It can help you become thinner by making it a lot more enjoyable to eat fruits and vegetables.
Shlomo Klein
Full-throated support
Manhattan: Regarding the pro-Israel song released by Boy George, the rocker didn’t allow for ambiguity pertaining to his sentiments.
The first line communicates the message: “You say genocide, I say war / When you’re attacked, that’s what the army’s for.”
I can say with some confidence that Boy George does not support Israel due to his unconventional fashion or because he's racist against Palestinians, or because he prefers gefilte fish to halal shawarma (I can attest to that).
Boy George supports Israel because he's an intelligent person who’s sensible enough to know the good guys from the bad guys in the Middle East and elsewhere.
Today, unfortunately, the same can't be said about many Americans in positions of political and socioeconomic influence.
Lloyd Litwak
Foreign entanglement
Kitchener, Ontario: The war in Iran that President Trump launched because Bibi Netanyahu told him to is exploding across the Middle East, with dire consequences for the world economy, U.S. national security and human life on all sides.
Meanwhile, under pressure from Trump and Bibi, the Senate is considering provisions in the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act that would integrate U.S. and Israeli military technology so closely as to pose massive security risks and further limit America’s ability to act independently in times of war.
For the moment, thanks to unanimous opposition by every Democrat in the Senate, led by Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, these dangerous measures can't be passed into law.
It’s time for Republican senators to place their country over their party by deleting these measures from the NDAA, cutting funding for Trump’s misbegotten adventure in Iran, and reimposing Congress’ control over America's power to make war.
Al Daigen
Faulty arguments
Deer Park, L.I.: To Voicer Charles Whaley: Maybe you should tell Army Sgt.
Angel Rampersad's family that she was killed in Jordan by a missile Iran launched for defensive purposes only and see how that goes.
Joe Biden's $5-a-gallon deal was when he stopped all oil drilling in the United States.
More inconvenient facts.
Larry Nekola
Unhealthy obsession
Narrowsburg, N.Y.: Regarding your July 29 article on Dr.
Anthony Fauci taking the Fifth Amendment, this is a total waste of time, and the GOP should be ashamed.
The pandemic is over, thankfully, but more than 1 million U.S. citizens died, including more than 45,000 New Yorkers.
Central Park became a hospital and Bellevue a morgue during that time.
What exactly is Fauci being accused of?
Trying to save lives instead of ignoring the pandemic the way others did and pretending it didn’t exist?
If it was taken more seriously, all those people might still be alive.
From my recollection, Fauci tried to get the administration to do so, but to no avail.
COVID was a terrible illness, not a political stance.
To persecute Fauci now, particularly with so many hardships and traumas facing the American people, is a travesty.
Judy Chicurel
Elected bleaters
Manhattan: “Elderly man assaulted by white mob” is the headline I saw in a dream after learning about the public Republican inquiry into Fauci and his diary.
I was nauseated.
I still am.
These senators have work to do.
Relentlessly attacking an 85-year-old doctor with decades of lauded public service was disgraceful and doesn’t qualify as work.
Get to work fellas, or get another job!
Frankie Turchiano
Exhausting claims
Ithaca, N.Y.: To Voicer Michael Greaney: I’d love New York to have data centers powered by renewable energy and providing thousands of good-paying jobs.
That wasn’t what I wrote about.
I was (sarcastically) supporting regulation of this burgeoning industry so we don’t suffer from its unchecked pollution.
Now you add nonsense and misinformation, saying that data centers can use “latest-generation generators that run silently on renewable energy and capture their exhaust to provide power.”
Huh?
Renewable energy, i.e. wind and solar, doesn't emit exhaust.
More birds are killed by cats and buildings than by wind turbines, and “windmills” don't kill whales — except in Trump's mind.
Let's agree that we need both jobs and regulations, and go back to scrolling on our phones.
Christine Sheppard
Epic film
Brooklyn: Voicer Jack Weiss decried “The Odyssey” and said he walked out after a mere 44 minutes.
Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but as a longtime fan of Greek mythology films (e.g.
“Jason and the Argonauts,” the “Sinbad” series), I was overwhelmed by the brilliance of filmmaker Christopher Nolan and his depiction of a man's long and winding journey, yearning to find his way home.
Nolan's portrayal of the cyclops Polyphemus as a sorrowful outcast made him more human, glossed with scintillating cinematography.
Accounts of Homer's poem depicting this ancient tale of victory, tragedy and human resilience differ, yes, but that's what makes the theater enjoyable.
Not only is the filmmaker recounting history, whether true or fictional, but he's giving us what we want from a movie: entertainment, a few hours away from our daily grind.
As for this three-hour epic, I wished it was four.
William R.
Sarnataro
Tats of the trade
Brooklyn: I’m curious — does having your arms, and in some cases hands, fully tattooed make you a great chef?
It seems that way.
Almost all the TV chefs are tattooed, both men and women.
Why?
Andrew Cioffi
Analysis
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