Abuses not accounted for will then be surpassed
Granby, Conn.: I was disappointed that James Vanderbilt’s film “Nuremberg” has earned middling reviews. Rami Malek stars as a U.S. military psychiatrist assessing Nazi leader Hermann Göring, played by Russell Crowe, in the lead-up to the Nuremberg International Military Tribunal which held the German elite accountable for their crimes during World War II. It’s hard to think of more timely subject matter.
President Trump’s administration has not yet metastasized into the danger represented by the Nazi regime. However, the Make America Great Again movement clearly belongs to the same fascist lineage. It’s a far-right, authoritarian movement that blames racial and sexual minorities for the nation’s problems. The White House has built a massive secret police force tasked with ethnic cleansing. Increasingly, the force is used to crush all forms of internal dissent. Republicans have learned, perhaps since the pardoning of Richard Nixon, that Democrats, as currently constituted, will never hold them accountable for their crimes and extremism. As a result, they’ve grown more lawless and radical. The up-and-coming generation of conservatives, represented by figures like Nick Fuentes, are open admirers of the Nazis.
When MAGA is eventually removed from power, we must hold its leadership accountable in trials akin to those depicted in Vanderbilt’s film. God willing, this legal reckoning will come before Republicans descend into barbarism on the scale of their ideological forebears. Sadly, I have no faith that the current stewards of the Democratic Party have the stomach for such bold, necessary action. We must replace them with those who do. Jon Hochschartner
‘Due’ means it’s due
Whiting, N.J.: To Voicer Elliot Marcus: The Constitution affords due process to “all persons.” So if it takes five years to prove someone guilty of a crime, so be it. That’s the system. You go on to blame the victims of ICE murderers for their “aggressiveness” instead of acknowledging the reality of the poorly trained armed and masked forces that invaded Minneapolis. And you outrageously claim that ICE targets people of all colors! As a white male, I like my chances of passing the “illegal” eye test a lot more than any Black- or Brown-skinned person. Bill McConnell
Piece peddling
Manhattan: You are invited to join Comrade Trump’s Board of “Piece” for a paltry $1 billion. And for $20 more, you can get Trump’s Mount Rushmore talking statue. Free delivery if you buy two. I just had a vision of people scrambling to use their credit cards. Can’t help myself. A limit of 10 statues per person. Michael Malewich
A Beltway hit
Somerset, N.J.: Re “Supremes trample Trump’s tariffs” (Feb. 21): Who would have thought Diana Ross had such clout? Rock on! James Zielinski
Impressive lineage
Camden, N.J.: To Voicer Sheri Clemons: My regards to your family genealogy, as it surely made major contributions to the establishment of our country. Many of us, because of certain historical circumstances, are not as fortunate to have such an elaborate family history. Much regard to the current president of record as well. Wayne E. Williams
Doesn’t seem right
Manhattan: Jumble miracle? Call me stupid, but how can there be endless combinations of five or six letters that can spell only one word? Joel Griffiths
Rent-favoritized
Smithtown, L.I.: Mayor Mamdani and his appointed crony Cea Weaver are tenant activists with a renter’s mindset that all landlords are greedy and all rent-stabilized tenants are barely able to pay their rent. That’s likely their motivation to enter politics. Their equity-and-fairness policy is to freeze the rent on only rent-stabilized tenants and let everyone else — market-rate tenants, co-op owners, homeowners and landlords — bear the burden through tax increases. How about placing income limitations on the privileged rent-stabilized tenants to address the equity and affordability housing issues in NYC? There’s plenty of rich people living in rent-regulated units, many who voted for him. Andrew Ross
Tax inflation
Bronx: I’m having trouble understanding what the mayor’s proposed 9.5% property tax hike actually entails. Apparently, the NYC real estate tax has not been increased in 20 years. I bought my house in 2000, at which time my taxes were about $1,200 a year. They’re now more than $4,600 a year. If there’s been no increase, what exactly have I been paying? Maria Bonsanti
Migrant workers
Brooklyn: You need five forms of ID to shovel snow, yet no ID to vote. Why doesn’t Mam-dummi have the illegals shovel? At least they will be working for all they get for free! Maureen Deman
Better bills
Brooklyn: “Energy costs are key to an affordability agenda” (op-ed, Feb. 15) is true, but supporting Gov. Hochul’s “all of the above” plan will accomplish the opposite. Nuclear power delivers the most expensive electricity by far, and that doesn’t include the enormous cost borne by taxpayers of building and continually subsidizing the plant. Adding to gas capacity is also a poor idea. The price of gas is highly volatile and dependent on world events we can’t control. During this latest cold snap, energy prices as a whole surged to $1,000 per megawatt hour. Presuming Trump doesn’t succeed in halting Empire and Sunrise Wind again, their energy prices are locked in at $150 per megawatt hour. The two small offshore wind plants already in operation are as reliable as gas plants because offshore wind always blows, and they supplied electricity during the cold snap at about one-tenth the cost of gas. Ella Ryan
Losing ground
San Rafael, Calif.: Wall Street is pricing the energy transition: $2.28 trillion in stranded fossil fuel assets by 2040; oil companies paying shareholders instead of reinvesting; oil below 30% of global energy; EVs displacing 1.3 million barrels a day. Federal agencies ignore this reality. A January 2025 California settlement at Point Reyes overrode a completed National Environmental Protection Act process through secret mediation, $30 million from The Nature Conservancy, NDAs and no hearings. This allows any corporation to gain public land leases without congressional approval, NEPA studies or public input. Interior extended this: skipping NEPA for 1.27 billion offshore acres and 80-million-acre Gulf sales while pausing New York’s offshore wind. Fire Island National Seashore has the same National Park Service vulnerability as Point Reyes. New York pension systems have massive fossil fuel exposure. Federal lease revenue ($7.6 billion) versus one wildfire ($95–$164 billion). New York taxpayers share the gap. Sen. Chuck Schumer has the legislative power. Use it. Gregory Burgess
Allow for evolution
Manhattan: To Voicer Gary Perl: Rev. Jesse Jackson apologized and changed his views, and you should too. Distinguished Rabbi Marc Schneier said: “The Jesse Jackson I knew didn’t just repent toward Jews — he became a hero for us.” Abe Foxman, former director of the Anti-Defamation League, also praised Jackson as a treasured ally. As Albert Einstein, a Jew, famously wrote: “The measure of intelligence is the ability to change.” Janet Barnhart
