Readers sound off on misleading media, Daniel Penny and sex abuse reporting

San Francisco: Well, tax season has come and gone, and just how many citizens did the IRS mow down with AR-15s? Zero. Do you remember when conservative media and some GOP members were warning us that the additional 87,000 agents would be coming to get us? Turns out that many of them are office personnel, and in many cases are answering phones to actually help people with tax problems.

The recent Dominion vs. Fox Snooze case has shed a much-needed spotlight on the many purposeful lies from these people. In 2009, these same people were screaming their heads off about how Obamacare was going to set up death panels that were going to decide who lives and who dies. It never happened. Or how about when they told us that same-sex marriage was going to absolutely destroy the American family? My family seems fully intact. And even last year, with the demise of Roe v. Wade, we were told it was a matter of states’ rights, but now we see they’re looking for a national ban. Currently, the new bogeymen (bogeypeople?) are transgender folks and anyone who they consider to be “woke.” This is all not even mentioning the multiple lies surrounding the 2020 election and the Jan. 6 insurrection (which some deny ever happened).

My point is this: Why would any rational, logical, clear-thinking person believe a single word these people say? And please, don’t tell me that they all lie. The degree and frequency of lies matters. Some lies are more serious and dangerous than others. Jimmy Layton

Brooklyn: To Voicer Cassandra Stubbs-Burton: Your letter is one long lie. No one thinks Jordan Neely “deserved to die.” He had more than 40 arrests (and those were the times he was caught), but none of that counts, right? Did he know the difference between right and wrong? He obviously needed help and didn’t get it. Why didn’t he live with his father? In yesterday’s issue of the Daily News, I counted an article for a drive-by shooting, two hit-and-runs (one of them an 8-year-old victim) a 16-year-old shot in the head in a park, two stabbing deaths and an arrest for the murder and burning of the body of a 19-year-old, and none of them mention race or skin color. Where is your selective outrage for any or all of them? Fred Sweeney

Brooklyn: So if you fear for your life and the lives of other innocent people, you shouldn’t defend yourself? Remember, it was the U.S. Marine Corps that taught Daniel Penny how to do just that. ThriveNYC’s billion dollars may have helped Jordan Neely‚ but we still don’t know where that cash went. Our last horrific mayor and his wife are the criminals here! Rocco Conte

Manhattan: To Voicer Jake Diaz: The media didn’t report that anybody inside that subway car was being beaten or robbed. One witness even stated that Daniel Penny came up from behind, so Neely didn’t even see him. Also, I’ve seen videos of men lying on the floor with their legs and arms wrapped around a person, restraining them until the police got there. Vanessa Enger

Brooklyn: Dear Mayor Adams, please stop calling people you barely know racists because you can’t understand another point of view, and please stop using racism as your go-to excuse when your job becomes too hard. Lydia DiBello

Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y.: Has anyone noticed how silent Sen. Chuck Schumer has been about the migrant problem? He is the majority leader of the Senate. Does he have new ideas to solve it? Oh, I forgot, he never has any new ideas of his own. Peter McKenna

New Rochelle, N.Y: It may sound crazy but this mass exodus of immigrants coming through the southern border and into the northern states is not really surprising due to the fact that the vast majority are running from poverty and perhaps violence. This is the land of the free that protects the vulnerable and the persecuted? We keep forgetting that this country is and was built by immigrants. The majority of xenophobes who complain about this exodus had their great-grandparents come from Europe and many other countries. We never talk about the Native Americans whose land was stolen from Europeans. We also forget the policies implemented during the Cold War in which the U.S. intervened in many Latin American countries and created puppet governments to facilitate corruption. Oscar Martinez

Manhattan: How inept is CNN? I’ve never seen a journalist get crushed by a liar as effortlessly as Donald Chump crushed Kaitlin Collins, who was atrocious. How terrible is Collins (who has a voice made for print media) in every way? Her harsh voice and harsh looks are so unpleasant that CNN gave her their top primetime slot! Adios, CNN! You are “the Donald Chump of news networks”! Larkin Novak

Staten Island: Trump still doesn’t accept the outcome of the 2020 election, which means he doesn’t recognize our government as legitimate. Why is this man allowed to run for president if he doesn’t believe in our democracy? Michael Rosenkrantz

Manhattan: The majority of Americans, including many gun owners, desperately want reasonable gun control legislation. It is a no-brainer that, as the majority agrees, automatic assault-type weapons should be banned from the civilian population, strict universal background checks should be implemented and the age for gun ownership should be increased from 18 to 21. Also, laws should be enacted requiring gun owners to maintain certain safety controls for any guns and ammunition kept in the home. It’s not a denial of one’s Second Amendment right to institute such reasonable gun control measures. No right is absolute. Even the First Amendment right to free speech is not absolute and has certain restrictions (it’s illegal to falsely shout “fire” in a crowded theater). If the Democrats in Congress can’t get the necessary votes to enact reasonable gun control laws, then the issue should be presented in a ballot referendum to the voters at the next presidential election. Chana Schwartz

Ledyard, Conn.: It has become common for conservatives to talk about Democrats they say are “pedophiles” who are “grooming” kids for abuse. They don’t have a clue. They have no background in that area. These people, who are partisan at all costs, support Trump, who mocks accusers and denigrates the legal system when it renders a verdict against him. The majority of children who are sexually abused are victims of someone they know. It’s hard enough to disclose abuse when you’re scared that no one will believe you, and even if they do, it will greatly affect your family. Imagine if you know your parents support Trump, and hear people you love and depend on laughing when Trump makes fun of women accusing him of sexual assault. In those circumstances, what are the odds a child would feel safe telling their parents they are victims of actual grooming and abuse? Lisa Allen

Fresh Meadows: As we electrify buildings and cars, there’s no denying that we’re going to need a lot more electric power. But we’re not flipping a switch to all-electric immediately. Thanks to the utility-regulating state Public Service Commission, which is in charge of our energy transition, we’ll be able to maintain grid reliability while closing the dirtiest gas facilities, the so-called peaker plants that turn on during the hottest days, spewing toxins into the most vulnerable communities. A major step toward a healthy electric grid without peaker plants is Con Ed’s new transmission line from Corona to Long Island City. This line, and others planned elsewhere in the city, are efficiently clearing grid congestion. Con Ed’s transmission investment is allowing the NRG gas plant in Astoria to close and be replaced with clean energy. Sara Rebecca Storch