Letters to the Editor: 11.24.16

Proudly Waving

East Hampton

November 19, 2016

Dear Editor,

What a pleasure to drive down Main Street and see our flags proudly waving on Election Day and Veterans Day. I was gratified also to see the flags were taken down in the evening, following proper flag protocol.

Respectfully,

KEVIN MILLER

So Appreciated

Montauk

November 15, 2016

Dear Editor,

For many, many years the poll workers at the Montauk electoral districts were the recipients of meals by caring Montauk locals. On behalf of the Montauk poll worker team, I would like to extend our thanks to them now. 

Most notable is Chip Duryea Jr., who has sent boxed lobster roll lunches for everyone since anyone can remember. Paul Monte and Gurney’s supplied most welcomed urns of coffee and pastries to keep us going. The poll workers are forbidden to leave the Montauk Playhouse during the almost 17-hour workday, so these gifts are so appreciated. 

Montauk is a small town, and our small-town values showed in the way we treat each other. During the recent presidential election, Enzo from Primavera Pizza and Pizza Village sent more pizza than could be eaten. Past years brought surprises from John Keeshan Real Estate, Goldberg’s Deli, and Joe Bloecker and the Republican Party. The poll workers cannot thank you enough. 

JULIE EVANS

Heartfelt Thanks

East Hampton

November 17, 2016

Dear Editor,

I am sending out my heartfelt thanks to the East Hampton Town Adult Day Care program.

I am grateful to the program leaders, Lisa Charde, Maura Platz, and the wonderful group of caregivers and the transportation team.

Sincerely,

CECILIA SHEA

Brave Creativity

Springs

November 18, 2016

Dear David,

The Neo-Political Cowgirls have had a very busy spate of things to be wildly thankful for this year. Our latest show of stunning support came from Holly Li, Christine Sciulli, Nancy Atlas, Peter Honerkamp and the entire Stephen Talkhouse staff; the N.P.C. board of directors, gorgeously brave women sharing their creative joy; local business owners, and our powerfully present community.

We had such a fun time at our first annual Battle of the Fantasy Girl Bands fund-raiser on Nov. 10, and it is the most successful fund/friend-raiser event we’ve ever had in our nearly 10-year history. Loads of work and passion for our Empowering Girls and Women creative education workshops was put in by Christine and Holly, and it landed us with a gorgeous array of gifts in our Chinese auction from generous local businesses and a vocal and celebrity-filled audience that shocked us all in their show of excitement for our cause. 

What was so beautiful in its alignment with the work we do at N.P.C. was the sharing of brave creativity by the karaoke singers and the women who made up the fantasy bands. It is clear when we witness it, that celebrating women stepping out of their usual day-to-day and into full-out artistic expression brings joy and power to all of us. 

Thank you to the ladies of sptnktn, a local mama-band we hope to see more often around town. They and Nancy Atlas inspire us to step up, sing out, own our power and talents, and share them with our community. Thanks, Nancy, for always being here for N.P.C. and our work, and over-the-moon gratitude for the sister-love Holly and Christine showed us all by their dedication. Two of our young cowgirls, Lua and Nezi, held their own in selling the auction tickets and are two girls already bringing positive change and support to our community. Thank you! 

Big congrats to the winning band, the Dirty Debs, who will be opening for Nancy Atlas at the Talkhouse on Dec. 3. We are so proud of all who competed — we know the work put in to make it happen. Any women wanting to take part next year, get your gals together and start practicing. We can’t wait!

Till next year, with warm thanks, 

KATE MUETH

Founder, Artistic Director

At Eighty

The podiatrist tells me 

I have young feet  

the feet of a 50-year-old

 

The optometrist says

my eyes are young

just keep eating dark green

vegetables

he encourages

 

So if my eyes are young 

and my feet are, too,

what the hell happened

to the parts in between?

CAROL SHERMAN

An Entitlement

East Hampton

November 20, 2016

To the Editor,

While I appreciate the tone of your coverage of “Maidstone Pitches Bridge Over Hook Pond” (Oct. 20), I feel there is more to be said.

Living a scant few thousand steps from the proposed location and as an active member of the community, I pass this beautiful untouched vista often several times in one day on my way back and forth to St. Luke’s, Guild Hall, or other points in our special village.

As the Ladies Village Improvement Society chairwoman of the Nature Trail committee, I am also a determined supporter of the wildlife that our Village of East Hampton has so generously nurtured through its maintenance of the 24-acre Nature Trail. 

I venture to say that there is hardly another village in America that has devoted 24 acres in its extremely valuable heart to a natural habitat such as ours. The 342-foot-long bridge being proposed by the Maidstone Club is not natural.

I understand that the suggested site of this bridge actually belongs to the Maidstone Club, but we inhabitants of the village perceive this precious spot as an intrinsic part of our landscape, while to our wildlife it is a breeding ground and habitat. 

The Maidstone Club is citing safety issues as the patina for establishing this alternate passageway. A bridge of this nature is proposed, I understand, to carry golfers in their carts from the tee of the second hole to its green so they might avoid the increasing traffic on Dunemere Lane, although there has never been in recorded history an accident in this spot. Therefore, this bridge seems simply to be an entitlement to be enjoyed by a scant few, that will endanger the health of our waters and our wildlife, while not eliminating any safety hazard for our pedestrians, bicyclists, or joggers.

Because this proposed bridge requires driving 42 pilings 11 feet into the bottom of the Hook Pond dreen, it seems unconscionable not to look for an alternative that would better provide for the safety of all our inhabitants — whether human, fish, fowl, or any of the other animals with which we are blessed here in East Hampton.

Sincerely,

DIANNE BENSON

Under Attack 

East Hampton

November 20, 2016

David,

Once again, our beautiful nature is under attack in the village. This time, the Maidstone Club has proposed to build a very large and invasive bridge over the portion of the Hook dreen between Dunemere and Pondview Lanes. 

Accessorizing the deer population for a failed experiment wasn’t enough, now we have to consider losing yet another extremely important location where many of our awesome species of wildlife thrive? And for what, so the handful of club members don’t have to contend with the safety issues related to the summer traffic, as they are forced to travel 20 feet from one side of the road bridge to the other? That is absolutely ridiculous, and this is why: 

There are five public and busy roads that bisect the Maidstone Club golf course: Dunemere, Further, Egypt, Old Beach, and Highway Behind the Pond. Within these public roads are 14 entry and exits from the golf course either leading onto or across the public roads, each one more dangerous than the next. Each one a clearly potential traffic obstruction in which unlicensed vehicles (golf carts) are either crossing the public roadways or merging onto them. 

Each of the 14 locations is a risk to both vehicles and pedestrians and should be higher on the safety priority list than an accommodating cart bridge through a naturally preserved area. 

At the Highway Behind the Pond and Dunemere Lane triangle intersection, golfers and carts are forced to cross the busy street at a merging intersection. The same applies to the crossing at Further to Egypt. I’m actually surprised that the village hasn’t realized the danger at these locations and required the club to make them safer for the public, as well as for their members. No safety signage or road markings exist at any of these locations, which should be mandatory. 

The public uses these roads more than the club members, yet they remain extremely dangerous, unmarked, and unmanaged crossings. Now that is a safety issue that should be corrected before they propose to decimate even more of our natural beauty. In fact, the public should demand these safety issues be taken care of by the Maidstone Club since they are the ones who created them and the folks responsible for putting the public at risk.

The silly bridge in general is not even necessary. If traffic laws were enforced as they should be, there wouldn’t be speeding issues. Our stop signs have all evolved to yield signs all over the town and village, which further breaks down the traffic laws and the strict need of better enforcement on all roads, but specifically Dunemere and Further Lanes, where the 25-mile-per-hour posted limit is now the East Hampton autobahn. 

East Hampton seems to be comfortable about the rest of the public’s safety, painting bike lanes on our roadways, so why not just paint a golf cart lane for the safety-conscious club? Better yet, how about another stupid flashing crosswalk? The village seems to feel they are safe enough for the public, so why not the Maidstone Club members? 

I love how they have found it safe to replace human traffic officers with machines. One of these flashing crosswalks was malfunctioning this morning. Half the side was blinking and no one was even around. In the summer when folks are crossing the streets in large numbers, I’ll feel so much safer knowing a machine susceptible to failure will be protecting everyone. That is expensive ignorance that will take a life, mark my words. 

You still want your bridge? There is an absolutely obvious, minimally invasive, nondestructive, and much less expensive alternative to the huge steel-span monstrosity that the club is proposing: A much smaller yet certainly accommodating cart bridge could easily be built against the already existing road bridge. 

Separation from the roadway would already be in place (by the stone bridge wall that’s already there) and both landings for a small bridge are already graded on either side (as clearly seen from an aerial view). 

A simple cart-width bridge could run level with the roadway leaving zero obstruction to the scenic view and zero obstruction to the areas where the abundance of wildlife thrive. It would take less time to construct, use less invasive materials, and create a strong safety pathway for the golfers, keeping them off the public road, just like they want. 

The club can then take the money saved and use it to post signage or road markings and crosswalks at all the other 14 dangerous crossing locations around the course where their accommodations already conflict with the safety of the public, and have for many years. And, if their contention is there has never been an accident at any of these 14 locations, then might I remind them that neither has there been an issue at the bridge crossing either. 

Enough of this special interest bullshit, Mayor Rickenbach. Stop taking away from the natural beauty and do something to preserve it.

DELL CULLUM

Renewable Resources

East Hampton

November 21, 2016

Dear David,

Living in a coastal community, we continue to observe alarming effects of climate change closer to home. We are witness to sea levels rising and coastlines eroding. Walking on our beaches, we can sense a different ocean. Extreme weather events are more frequent, causing higher temperatures, stronger storms, deeper droughts, shifting seasons. Nature is not getting meaner; it is the climate that is changing, impacting the Earth’s weather patterns and balance of natural systems.

The Earth’s atmosphere continues to register even higher levels of carbon dioxide, trapping more heat, threatening the planet’s well-being. Climate change is not a hoax perpetrated by an international community of scientists. We have heard from climate deniers, ignoring the impacts and challenges to Earth’s natural resources, who are now poised to control the technology and industry addressing climate change, specifically the future of the new clean energy industry in the United States.

East Hampton is poised to transform its fossil fuel power generation to clean renewable resources. Through a working menu of solar, municipal, and business and residential energy efficiencies, East Hampton has already begun the transition. 

Returning wind power to its 350-year East Hampton history encourages and strongly contributes to a clean, sustainable and economically viable energy for the future. East Hampton leadership will make history with an offshore wind farm capable of providing power to 50,000 East End homes annually. Contract negotiations between the Long Island Power Authority and the developer, DeepWater Wind, for the offshore wind farm are in progress.

The much-anticipated signed contract could be announced at the LIPA trustee meeting in Uniondale on Dec. 20. Now is the time to again reach out to LIPA, adding our voices in support of its investment in the clean energy industry transformation that climate change demands in order to deliver the planet a sustainable future.

LINDA JAMES

No One Would Stop

Springs

November 18, 2016

Dear Editor:

My name is Alli Miller. Most people who know me know that I am an avid animal rescuer and that my husband and I have a small-scale rescue in our home called Justus Animal Rescue. Not only do I have a passion for providing love and safety for domestic animals in need, but I care deeply about the wildlife in our area. 

The other morning I was out early to feed a few colonies of feral cats, as I do periodically, and I came across a doe sitting up in the middle of the road with a terrible compound fracture to her right hind leg. She clearly had been struck by a vehicle that did not stop for her. Seeing her sitting there in horrific pain and terrified was an awful image, but what was worse was seeing vehicles just go around her. No one would stop to try and help her. I couldn’t believe my eyes. 

I’m not sure why I was so surprised, because I experienced this same exact situation a year or so ago on Route 27 in Water Mill. I simply cannot wrap my head around the fact that there are people out there who turn a blind eye to a helpless animal. Because I’m not someone who does that, I blocked traffic, got a blanket from my car, and did what I could to assist her out of the road. I did all I could to keep her calm by gently placing the blanket over her head to try and relieve her stress. 

After a phone conversation with a local wildlife rescuer, we came to the conclusion that it was best I call the Police Department to relieve her of her suffering, as the rescuer was not nearby to help her. Thankfully, an incredibly kind and compassionate officer named Troy Metzler arrived. I could see in his eyes that it saddened him to have to shoot her, but we knew it was what had to be done. I will always be grateful for his compassion. 

I write to you because I want people out there to understand that it is our duty as human beings to care for this planet and all that live on it. People need to stop turning a blind eye to the suffering of animals. People need to stop contributing to the suffering of animals.

To those of you reading this letter, I beg of you: If you see an animal in distress, whether it be a cat, dog, deer, bird, etc., please step up, be the kind human you’re supposed to be, and help it any way that you can. 

Call a rescuer, call a veterinary clinic, call the police — just do something.

ALLI MILLER

My Thanksgiving

East Hampton

November 19, 2016

Dear Editor,

President Obama is taking a break from Trump transition to pardon two turkeys. Every one of us can exercise that presidential pardon power on Thanksgiving by giving thanks for health and happiness, while skipping gratuitous violence. 

The 235 million turkeys killed in the U.S. this year have nothing to be thankful for. They are raised in crowded sheds filled with toxic fumes. At 16 weeks, slaughterhouse workers cut their throats and dump them in boiling water to remove their feathers.

Consumers pay a heavy price too. Turkey flesh is laced with cholesterol and saturated fats that elevate risk of chronic killer diseases. Package labels warn of food-poisoning potential.

But there is good news. Annual per capita consumption of turkeys is down by a whopping 35 percent from a 1996 high. A third of our population is reducing meat consumption. Food manufacturers are developing a great variety of healthful, delicious, plant-based meat products.

My Thanksgiving dinner will include a “tofurky” (soy-based roast); mashed potatoes, stuffed squash, chestnut soup, andied yams, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, and carrot cake. An internet search on vegan Thanksgiving and a visit to my local grocery store will provide me heaps of recipes and delightful plant-based turkey alternatives. 

Sincerely,

EDWIN HORATH

‘Facts’ Are Misleading

East Hampton

November 20, 2016

Dear Mr. Rattray,

The East Hampton School District recently distributed a “fact sheet” that was less than factual. 

The sheet says the district conducted an “exhaustive” search for a location for a bus depot in the town and found none. It also states that a district-owned facility is the only viable fiscal alternative. These “facts” are misleading at best and totally disingenuous at worse.

There is at least one viable alternative and that is the recently cleared town-owned property on Springs-Fireplace Road that was the former location of the municipal water treatment plant. It is widely known that the town is looking to sell the three-acre lot that has all utilities readily available and has been approved for sale by the Department of Environmental Conservation and other regulatory agencies. It is in a commercial area with access that has proven to be capable of handling vehicle traffic from the recycling plant and the Town Highway Department.

In fact, the close proximity of the vacant land to the Town Highway Department means it is within several hundred yards of the spanking new joint town-village fuel facility. We are told the facility could be made available to school districts, which could take advantage of low contract fuel prices and the cost savings associated with a shared facility.

The junction of the vacant land becoming available and the completion of the new fuel facility could not have come at a better time for a school district looking for a new site for its bus fleet. Yet, neither the school board nor the superintendent has approached Town Supervisor Larry Cantwell regarding this alternative.

The “fact sheet” circulated by the school district states in its conclusion that the on-site alternative is the only one that makes financial sense. The district’s estimated low-ball cost of $5 million has not been compared to any alternative. 

A truly fiscally responsible move would be for the district to compare the cost of the on-site facility with the town property alternative. The district would have to purchase the land from the town, but in the purchase price are savings which would not be realized by building the bus industrial complex at the school. Such savings would be on additional costs which include: extending utilities to the construction site on Cedar Street, having to build a new fuel facility on school property next to playing fields, increased insurance costs, deforestation of existing vegetation, vegetation and landscaping for sound buffering and screening, traffic impact studies, and environmental impact reports.

The “fact sheet” also includes a picture of the depot’s location at the school. Nowhere on the picture is there any indication of the parking spaces for bus drivers, the parking for buses, or the fueling station. Nor does the picture show the proximity to the intersection of Hand’s Creek Road and Cedar Street — already a congested intersection. The picture also does not include the adjacent playing field or the number of residents impacted. What they offered is not a very factual representation of the bus depot.

An alternative to the on-site Cedar Street bus depot does exist, in spite of what the school district’s “fact sheet” states. It is time for the East Hampton School Board to present a detailed analysis that includes and explains costs and also spells out the long-term traffic and safety impacts to the students and citizens of East Hampton.

CHUCK COLLINS

Co-chairman 

Concerned Citizens 

Against the Bus Depot

Total Disregard

East Hampton

November 20, 2016

Dear Editor,

Don’t you hate it when someone lies to you? Don’t you hate it even more when you call them on their lies and they continue to lie more? This is what the East Hampton School Board is doing to the people of East Hampton. Let’s have a look at their recent “fact sheet” posted on the school board website.

The school board says it needs to relocate the school bus depot from its present location. Lie. The board could negotiate with the owner to stay in the current location or have an appraisal done and negotiate with the owner to purchase that property. Start the conversation now.

The school board says it has conducted an exhaustive search for another location. Lie. Concerned Citizens Against the Bus Depot has identified several locations that are correctly suitable and appropriate for this industrial-commercial project. Guess where? In the areas of town that are zoned industrial commercial instead of a residential neighborhood on an already too-busy street and main artery around the village. Duh!

The board says state law prohibits a facility outside the district. Lie. What the board fails to mention is that a state waiver can be easily gotten and the facility placed on a proper industrial-commercial property, of which there are several in the town.

The board says it contacted Assemblyman Fred Thiele’s office about getting such a waiver but that his office never responded. Lie. I personally met with Assemblyman Thiele last week and guess what? Yup. Assemblyman Thiele looked at me and said, “That’s not true.” He told me he could certainly obtain a waiver for the board to use a better location.

The school board says its solution is fiscally sound. Lie. Whoa! Stop right there. It said that its big-dollar spending spree is only $5 million? When was the last time any of us in town have seen a big-spending boondoggle come in on budget? How about $7 million to $8 million, and that’s before all the lawsuits. 

Also, no one has seen the site plans, surveys, traffic impact studies, detailed cost analysis, work sheets with factual data compiled by professional and independent accountants, health department and state environmental reviews, emergency preparedness plans that include all scenarios involving the town and village and fire departments, which are also impacted on Cedar Street. No, we haven’t seen these plans, and we won’t because the board in its lack of transparency is trying to do an end run around everyone. 

The board appears to operate under the old saying, “The only statistics you can trust are those you falsified yourself.” 

The school board says it will conduct an independent review. Lie. When the board hires a consultant, the board becomes the client. The client pays for the information it wants to see. It’s like a trial where the defense calls their “expert.” Let the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office oversee the “independent” reviews and legal filings.

The East Hampton School Board is determined to ram this stinky project down the throats of everyone in town with total disregard for dangerous effects it will have on the community in terms of noise, traffic safety and congestion, pollution, illegal zoning and usage, ambulance and fire department response, and quality-of-life issues for everyone. 

I urge everyone to contact the members of the East Hampton School Board and tell them no to the proposed bus depot on Cedar Street. 

Listen to the people, East Hampton School Board!

PAUL D’ANDREA 

Do the Math

Plainview

November 20, 2016

To the Editor,

I think Semira Breitwig, who wrote the Oct. 27 “Enough Is Enough” letter about the Springs School superintendent’s $200,000 salary, would be very interested in the analysis of Long Island superintendent compensation that this retired teacher conducted five years ago when the Springs superintendent was then being paid the 18th highest superintendent’s salary on Long Island (when calculated on a per pupil basis).

At that time, the Syosset superintendent’s total compensation was the state’s highest at $541,454. It made me think about the greater difficulty of “superintending” a large district comprised of thousands of students, compared with a smaller district’s student enrollment in the hundreds (or even fewer). So I recalculated the total compensation of every Long Island superintendent on a per pupil basis. 

It was fascinating to discover that while the Syosset superintendent was being paid $73 per pupil (exceeded by more than half of Long Island’s 120-plus superintendents), the Fire Island superintendent was being paid $9,208 per pupil. And, interestingly, the Springs superintendent at the time, with a gross salary of $170,000, had the 18th highest (out of 123 districts) total compensation of $282 per pupil. 

Although the figures may have changed marginally since 2011, this alternate way of looking at school salaries would probably be of interest to many of your readers. They say everyone complains about the weather, but no one ever does anything about it. Similarly, it seems that almost everyone complains about teacher salaries, but almost no one complains about school superintendent salaries — even though they’re often double or triple the salaries paid to teachers.

  But when Gov. Andrew Cuomo proposed lowering superintendent salaries down to a range from $125,000 to a maximum of $175,000 based on district enrollment, I decided it would be instructive to do the math and calculate how much money Long Island superintendents are currently being paid per pupil. The results are fascinating, and some are amazing. 

While, on average, the 120-plus Long Island superintendents are being paid $65 per pupil, their individual per pupil salaries range from a low of $14 per pupil to a high of $9,208 per pupil. While at the same time, the $250,000 salary of Cathy Black, the New York City school chancellor, for overseeing the education of 1.1 million students works out to only 23 cents per pupil. That’s not 23 dollars but rather 23 cents per pupil. But then, sometimes you only get what you pay for, and she was fired on April 7.

RICHARD SIEGELMAN

Unabated Assault

Wainscott

November 15, 2016

Dear David,

Now that the courts have ruled we cannot even try to control our out-of-control, costly, taxpayer-funded airport, it is once again obvious that the East Hampton Town Board’s attorney, Peter “Pay Me” Kirsch, is incapable of helping us in our battle to rein it in, even a little teeny bit. Now that the board has actually rehired “Diamond Jim” Brundige as airport manager (yes, the same Brundige who led the upgrade to heliport and routinely misled us on what was happening), we can see clearly that the current town board intends to expand the airport, not limit it. (See clear-cutting 22 acres of trees over a public watershed to make it easier for big jets to land.) 

All we need to complete the circle is to re-elect Bill Wilkinson and Dominick Stanzione. Then it will all be out in the open, and our airport can continue its unabated assault on our environment, quality of life, and pocketbooks. 

There is a logical, sensible solution, of course — close the airport and use our land to benefit our community, economically, environmentally, and recreationally. It looks more and more like that will mean a new set of elected officials — as the current ones resemble their predecessors.

BARRY RAEBECK

Hateful Views

Amagansett

November 15, 2016

To the Editor: 

What follows is an open letter to Representative Lee Zeldin about anti-Semitism in the incoming Trump administration.

Dear Congressman Zeldin: I write to you as a Jewish-American voter who lives in Amagansett.

President-elect Trump’s selection of Steve Bannon to work in the White House requires that you explain your stand on anti-Semitism in the Trump administration.

As I am sure you know, Mr. Bannon was quoted by his ex-wife as saying he didn’t want his daughter to go to school with Jews because he doesn’t like them and they are “whiny brats.” Although Mr. Bannon denies this, a quick scan of his Breitbart.com site turns up articles with headlines like “Bill Kristol, Republican Spoiler, Renegade Jew,” as well as comments and sections full of vitriol.

Breitbart’s tech editor, Milos Yianno­poulos, is on record in an interview as defending gross anti-Semitism as “mischievous, dissident [and] trolly” behavior: “[W]hen Jonah Goldberg of National Review is bombarded with these memes, and anti-Semitic ‘take a hike, kike’ stuff, it’s not because there’s a spontaneous outpouring of anti-Semitism from 22-year-olds in this country.”

Mr. Trump, whom you enthusiastically endorsed, himself told Wolf Blitzer on air he wouldn’t stop his “fans” from besieging Jewish reporters with horrifying and threatening content. I am attaching [Star readers can view at www.spectacle.org/zeldin/] a tweet received by reporter Julia Ioffe after she published a profile of Melania Trump in GQ magazine, in which her head is Photoshopped onto the body of an Auschwitz inmate. The caption refers to “Camp Trump.” Mr. Trump told Mr. Blitzer, “I don’t have a message to the fans. A woman wrote an article that’s inaccurate.”

A study released recently by the Anti-Defamation League found that 800 predominantly Jewish journalists (some aren’t, but have Jewish-sounding names) have been besieged with “19,000 anti-Semitic tweets sent by 1,600 users.” These include the writers’ head Photoshopped into an oven, sometimes with Mr. Trump throwing the switch; hateful caricatures, images of trails of money leading into an oven as a trap, and the statement “Why do Jews get so triggered when we mention ovens?” The Atlantic writer Hadas Gold was sent an image “showing a bullet in her forehead and a Jewish star on her chest. ‘Don’t mess with our boy Trump or you will be first in line for the camp,’ ’’ the message read.

Congressman Zeldin, this has passed beyond the point at which either silence or denial is possible. I would therefore ask you to check one of the following items, as there is no third choice:

• This is acceptable.

• This is not acceptable.

If you check the first choice (or do not respond), I will regard you as an apologist and enabler of the anti-Semitism which (as Joel Rubinfeld of the Belgian League Against Anti-Semitism said recently) is “the canary in the coal mine, and when the canary is dying it means bigger problems are coming.”

If you check the second choice, then I ask that you publicly tell Mr. Trump that Mr. Bannon and anyone else expressing these hateful views should be severed from his administration.

Sincerely,

JONATHAN WALLACE