Readers sound off on press racial bias, GOP con men and teaching phonics

Brooklyn: As I sit here reading the reporting on the death of the human Jordan Neely, I am deeply disappointed and disturbed by the way the Daily News and other news agencies report Black death and crime.

The “free press” is supposed to be unbiased and report the truth, but the truth is that the press does more to stoke the fires of racial discord.

This is done by the words you choose or do not choose to report the story. For example, in your reporting on Neely’s death in your Sunday, May 7, edition (“Just before Neely died”), you used words like “menacing” to describe Neely but “Marine veteran” to describe Daniel Penny. This immediately sets the stage with the hulking Black man, ranting and raving.

You also had no issues with pointing out the arrest record of the man who died, and not that he was a son, uncle or brother, but a criminal who was arrested 42 times. You, the press, vilified him. As usual, you gave all the reasons why his body needed to be restrained for 15 minutes — why this man, this son, this human, deserved to be choked to death.

You, Daily News, have shown your true colors, as always. Just like all other members of the free press who underreport stories of missing, murdered and exploited Brown, Black and other non-white bodies. This makes you no better than Donald Trump and all his MAGA minions who you claim to despise. Cassandra Stubbs-Burton

Manhattan: Jordan Neely’s arrest record for mainly petty offenses demonstrates how “broken windows” policing does little to deter broken people. Voicer Joshua Rago blames “ ‘progressive’ policies that let him loose on society.” While closing the asylum was probably an offshoot of the civil rights movement (or JFK’s regret over his sister’s lobotomization), Gov. Ronald Reagan’s motive in California was budgetary, trading mental hospital patients for prison inmates and street homeless. Overall, deinstitutionalization likely was positive for those who stayed on their meds, but others have become objects of public annoyance or fear. The unkept promise was the failure to provide the necessary community mental health facilities. Chirlane McCray has been pilloried from every quarter for trying to do what had been left undone. ThriveNYC’s design was flawed, expecting the NYPD to be the access point to services. Now the call from Mayor Adams is for re-institutionalization — the nuthouse revisited! Michele P. Brown

Bronx: To Voicer Reggie Amis: I only voiced my opinion as to what happened to the 10-year-old Black boy who was killed by a white police officer. I am not stating that this was right, I am only stating that they should not label anyone. It doesn’t matter if the officer was white, Black, red, green or blue. As far as someone hearing, “Freeze, you Black son of a b—h!” on a police car phone, I really don’t believe that. Again, they should not state that he was killed by a “white” police officer, they should just state that he was killed by the police. Fran Boffa

Stockholm, N.J.: Any truth to that when they told George Santos his bond was $500,000, he asked them if they would take a check? Nat Saraceni

Floral Park, L.I.: Does anyone wonder why these kinds of abominations keep happening in the Republican Party? Donald Trump is arrested for lies and found liable for sex abuse. There are still a lot of women ready to come forward. And now Rep. George Santos is arrested for 13 counts of lying and other frauds. Can someone please explain to me what’s happening inside this Republican Party? Maybe Kevin McCarthy is next! Mathai Easow

Long Valley, N.J.: Wow! Think about this pairing for Republican political perfection: Donald Trump for president and George Santos for vice president. They are both Republican, they are not given to telling the truth, they are pretty careless with how they use political contributions (frequently for personal matters?) and they see nothing wrong with any of the aforementioned. There is a great deal of truth to the adage, “Water seeks its own level.” Ron Stewart

Edinburgh: Dear America, yes, we now have our own entrenched problems with right-wing nutters on this side of the pond. However, while Trump has yet to successfully be convicted under criminal law, he has at least now been pinned down by civil law and his followers, in growing percentages, wear orange (in homage?). Is it not the case that Trump foretold/forewarned/flagged up in his own person that the future is orange? Orange is the new red in America. Amanda Baker

Brooklyn: At the CNN town hall Wednesday night, we got to see Trump give a master class on what a narcissistic, clinical sociopath looks and sounds like. William Gabriel

Woodland Park, N.J.: Donald Trump said that Vladimir Putin never would have invaded Ukraine if Trump were president. He’s right. There would have been no need to. Trump would have handed Ukraine to Putin on a silver platter. John Dent

Brooklyn: Schools Chancellor David Banks is excited about the new phonics-based reading program (“Phonics is fundamental,” May 10). There’s nothing new about phonics. It’s how my generation learned to read 60 years ago, and my friends and family are all excellent and avid readers. I also taught phonics as a teacher in parochial schools. For years, as public school reading scores dropped despite all the new programs, I said schools should go back to teaching phonics. Sometimes the old methods are worthwhile. Pardon my grammar, but if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Louise Veneroni

Richmond Hill: If we want to teach our children how to read better, all our schools have to do is look back to the ‘50s and ‘60s and see how the Roman Catholic nuns and brothers taught us. Then go home and take control of all the games and TV programs that are wasting the time and concentration of our children. Make sure that everyone has a library card and no one rents movies. Families can entertain themselves by reading to each other. My school even gave us speed reading lessons! I am saddened when someone asks me how I can read large books and they can’t or won’t. Robert Clolery

Boynton Beach, Fla.: There’s a simple reason that military-grade assault weapons are so readily available in the United States to anyone who wishes to buy one, and that is because the money supporting Republican politicians comes from gun manufacturers or the NRA and not the children at schools who have to worry about being murdered by those weapons. William T. Bredin

Bethesda, Md.: Re “Don’t favor one kind of Rx drugs” (op-ed, May 9): Howard Dean gets it right when he explains that Medicare negotiation in the Inflation Reduction Act “set[s] the stage for fairer drug pricing at last,” but his analysis wrongfully claims that the new law disadvantages small-molecule drugs compared to biologics. Here’s the truth: In 2010, the industry insisted on and won seven more years of protection from competition for biologic drugs compared to small molecules. The Inflation Reduction Act actually contains more protections for small-molecule medicines because it narrows the difference in years of protection from Medicare negotiation between biologics and small molecules to four years. That’s good news for patients like me who rely on both types of drugs to stay alive. If the drug industry wants equal incentives for all drugs, as Dean suggests, Congress should bring biologics in line with small molecules and equalize them at no more than nine years of exemption from negotiation. David Mitchell, president, Patients For Affordable Drugs Now