Bad education is the problem, not a test
Houston: I graduated from Brooklyn Technical High School in 1987 and I’m so tired of the SHSAT debate. Some so-called Black leaders are demanding an end to the test governing admissions to the top schools in NYC. Nobody cared about the falling number of Black and Hispanic kids at these schools until white kids in the area — the ones gentrifying Fort Greene and DUMBO — stopped being able to get in. I don’t hear the same cries about how their parents don’t make education a priority that folks say about Black and Hispanic parents.
And stop trying to blame the Asian kids. They’ve always had some sort of test prep. I grew up a block from the East Broadway F station. I watched my Asian neighbors go to programs at the Chinatown Y or Transfiguration Church on Saturdays for “Chinese school.” Black and Hispanic students all over the city still got into specialized schools. But somehow, the test is racist. No. What’s racist is the school in their neighborhood not teaching algebra in the 8th grade, a skill essential for performing well on the SHSAT. What’s racist is gifted and talented programs being gutted in Black and Hispanic neighborhoods.
When I attended Tech, lots of friends went to non-specialized schools and got great educations. How do we now have more specialized high schools and fewer Black and Hispanic students gaining admission? It’s because the schools suck. It’s not the damn test.
Yusef Johnson
Deemed dead
Indian Harbour Beach, Fla.: To Voicer Ed Greenspan: I too had my pension stopped (I’m now 95) because I did not receive a letter to see if I’m still alive! No phone calls or requests to resend the letter were successful. I had to call my congressman to intervene before three months of payments were released!
John T. O’Connell
Super stupid
Staten Island: The term “artificial intelligence,” or AI, accurately describes what it is: nonhuman technology. Donald Trump wants to rename it “super intelligence,” or SI, which could refer to both human and nonhuman intelligence. A more appropriate term would be “super human intelligent technology.” Converted to an acronym, it would also describe the technology and its creators, as well as Trump.
Ralph D’Esposito
Super scheming
Edgewater, N.J.: Researchers are seeing computer programs created to act autonomously deviate from intended goals, covertly pursue self‑preservation objectives while acting against human interests, disable oversight controls, create deceptions and manipulate narratives to cover their tracks. This phenomenon has been named “scheming,” and one can’t help notice its similarities to efforts from the current White House — another example of American exceptionalism? No guardrails needed here — must stay ahead of China! It appears that we are in the process of abdicating real intelligence in favor of fake intelligence, but since we’ve been instructed to call it “super intelligence,” it would appear that this newspaper and those of its kind traffic in super news.
Jay K. Egelberg
Ripe for the taking
Greenburgh, N.Y.: I keep seeing a commercial in which Long Island GOP congressional candidate Mike LiPetri tells Trump, “America is the hottest nation thanks to you, Mr. President,” and he may be right. Thanks to the moron in our White House and his negative support for renewable clean energy, and his love for Big Oil and other fossil fuels (and the money he and his family make off it), we probably do have the hottest nation in the world!
Steve Howe
Fabled flaws
Belleville, N.J.: Does anyone else realize we have a president who is so much like the one in Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale “The Emperor’s New Clothes”? His vanity, incompetence, foolish utterances and obsessions are an embarrassment to our country.
Jeff Grieco
Spared the details
Plainview, L.I.: Re “Jack Smith’s honesty and the truth on Trump’s crimes” (editorial, Oct. 1): Let’s also credit Smith for never pointing out what might have happened to those classified White House documents stacked up in boxes next to a Mar-a-Lago basement bathroom if Trump ever ran out of toilet paper.
Richard Siegelman
Hold for better
Manhattan: Re “Senate reaches deal to fastrack energy projects” (Oct. 1): Despite the undeniable advantages of permitting reform, the compromises in this deal have me worried. The bill does nothing directly to reduce planet-warming emissions, since Republicans must defer to Trump’s demented rejection of climate science. It doesn’t deter the development of fossil fuels, it loosens environmental protections, and it can’t guarantee that Trump won’t still try to kill wind and solar projects. Energy policy this sweeping and long-lasting is too important to leave to the current Senate and House of Representatives. With a blue wave building for the midterms, Democrats are likely to be in a much stronger bargaining position when a reconfigured Congress takes office after the election. Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, wait and get a better bill.
Linda Novenski
Cast it wider
Bronx: Re “Tax is back on track” (Oct. 1): Dear Mayor Mamdani, please forget that pied-à-terre tax and follow the advice of that patron saint of socialism Warren Buffett, who more than once has proposed a modest wealth tax on rich people like him. A wealth tax is like a bigger fishing net.
Virgilio Carballo
Where’s the hockey?
East Windsor, N.J.: Hello! The NHL has started its 2026/2027 season, and aside from showing the standings, the Daily News hasn’t had a single article about our Rangers, or any hockey stories at all. At this point, I’d even welcome an article about the Islanders or Devils. Come on, Daily News, get with the season! Please!
Bob Grill
Self-deport
Pearl River, N.Y.: With this loser of a rapper Macklemore being so happy that his overseas tour sold out, maybe he should permanently relocate himself overseas. This pro-Palestinian antisemite should not be supported in any way, shape or form, or make a single dollar on American soil. Bye-bye, have a nice life overseas.
Robert Brennan
Freakish flyer
Fresh Meadows: I can tell you in a few short phrases why the attempted Dubai jet hijacking took place: Pure, unadulterated hatred — period. The Jewish and Arab people in this instance have taken the violence to a new level of 30,000 feet. Clearly, the perpetrator was extremely mentally ill, but still, he may not have attempted to kill people of a different nationality. Thank God on high that all innocent people were spared.
Lesley Lewis Paulos
Indicative phrase
Scarsdale, N.Y.: To Voicer Steve Miller: The words “under God” added to the Pledge of Allegiance by President Dwight Eisenhower in 1954 merely reflect our Judeo-Christian values. The pledge itself serves to remind us that we live in a republic, not a democracy. Soon after the Constitution was adopted, Ben Franklin was the first to explain this.
Peter McCarthy
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