Be Wary of Statistics, Very Wary

My 9th grade trigonometry teacher used to tell us that when anyone shares percentage statistics with you, you should always ask, "Percent of what?" She was teaching us to be wary of statistics. They can easily be, and often are, manipulated inappropriately in order to fool you into believing something the presenter wants you to believe.

John Stossel exposes that exact tactic regarding public education studies in this article in the Jewish World Review (HT: Carol Platt Liebau).

Is it redundant to say, "Shame on the New York Times."?