Stop attacking Airbnb renters

Brooklyn: As a responsible city homeowner who uses Airbnb to help make ends meet, I am disgusted with the recent efforts of the hotel cartel and the politicians they fund to block hardworking New Yorkers from sharing their homes. If the Hotel Trades Council or their bought-and-paid-for politicians were really concerned about safety, they would support common-sense regulation that establishes mandatory registration and data-sharing to weed out bad actors.

But instead of coming to the table with real proposals, HTC and its lapdog officials waste their time with cheap political stunts, like trying to tie constituent hosts like me in with Donald Trump.

As a longtime city resident, I agree that taking apartment units off the permanent housing market should not be tolerated. But I also know that people like me need the added income in order to stay in our homes. To try to brand us with the stench of millionaire con men is dishonest at best, duplicitous at worst, and surely beneath the dignity of the offices they hold. Richelle Burnett

Lessons from Elijah

Ronkonkoma, L.I.: The death of Elijah Silvera, the 3-year-old boy who died of an allergic reaction from a grilled cheese sandwich while in day care, is tragic and sad (“‘Thorough’ death probe for day care,” Nov. 10). Measures need to be taken to ensure something like this never happens again. Every child in day care, whether private, city, county or state run, should be identified upon arrival every morning, with the parent or guardian as witness, and given a hospital-type identification band, listing any and all allergies, medical conditions or special needs of that child so that all day care staff can properly care for each child. The bracelet can then be simply snipped off by a parent or guardian, witnessed by day care staff, upon departure. It’s such a simple, obvious safe solution that can probably save lives. What a great tribute it would be to have these bracelets named for Elijah so that his death will not be in vain.

Lynn Hartnett Manhattan: How unfortunate that Wilhelm de Blasio was elected for a second term considering the decline in the quality of life for our once great city since he has been mayor. The only consolidation is that we are getting rid of the other Communist, terrorist supporter and New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, due to term limits.

Joseph Criscuolo

City of shame

West Sand Lake, N.Y.: Shame on New York City! Shame on a system that allows voter apathy to ensure the election of a corrupt socialist. Shame on the U.S. attorney’s office for not aggressively pursuing the investigation into the pay-to-play scandals. Shame on the Republican Party for not going to the polls in droves to vote for their party’s candidate. Shame on Comrade de Blasio for smugly crediting his reelection on President Trump. Shame on him for further hamstringing the dedicated police and correction officers who will be working in further intolerable conditions. The only (hopefully) good thing I can see for the next four years is less of Melissa Mark-Viverito’s scowling puss in the papers. John Grimmick

Defining Louis problem

Bronx: Well-said (“Louis C.K. is a pervert, not a predator — a big difference,” Op-Ed, Nov. 10). I was reading The Times’ article Thursday thinking the same exact thing. Where’s the crime? Doesn’t he talk about masturbating all the time in his shows? The Times tried so hard to paint a picture of a predator but he was just a man who asked to do things, was rejected, and moved on.

Marvis Ramirez

Avoiding Louis’ problem

Brooklyn: It’s really sad that some just don’t get it. Any person who has power and uses that power to engage in unwanted behavior of any kind is a predator. Abuse is abuse and it’s all wrong, no matter what. Dismissing the experience of the women who have come forward to speak out because they weren’t drugged into unconsciousness, somehow making Louis C.K. less of a predator, is wrong. Or contending that not engaging in extreme violence makes Louis C.K. a distasteful but ultimately OK guy, is unacceptable. Louis C.K. knew what he was doing over and over again, and that it was very wrong, but he kept doing it. He tried to cover his tracks. He was supported in his predatory behavior by his friends, his management and anyone else who was afraid of his abuse and wrath, proof that it was acknowledged criminal behavior. That is a clear abuse of power and predatory. Please stop making excuses for predators who, know very well what they are doing and would happily continue engaging in damaging, predatory and criminal behavior if we would all just turn a blind eye like in the good ol’ days. Enough. Pamela Brandt

Air farce academy

Astoria: Turns out the racist messages directed at black cadets at the U.S. Air Force Academy was a hoax perpetrated by one of the black cadets (“Reality is bad enough,” editorial, Nov. 10). No surprise there. Lt. Gen. Jay Silveria’s impassioned speech decrying this racism went viral — and the racist messages were determined to be a hoax. His response, that what he said needed to be said anyway, even though that was a response to something that didn’t happen, is the coward’s way out and further evidence of black privilege. Instead of apologizing to the real victims of this racist cynicism — the white cadets — he sticks by what he said as if racism is somehow ingrained in them and in whites in general. Kinda reminds me of one of the responses to the Tawana Brawley hoax: “It doesn’t matter if she’s telling the truth.” Brad Morris

Stand up for New York

Brooklyn: Rep. Dan Donovan decrying Congress assaulting New York is ridiculous (“Repealing SALT is an assault on New York and other states,” Op-Ed, Nov. 10). He gladly voted in this House speaker and all the committee chairs who punish New York for their own purposes. He has not called out President Trump for hiding his tax returns. Neither we nor Donovan know if Trump files or pays state taxes. It is delusional to expect that Donovan or Rep. Pete King can, or really want to, protect us from their masters.

Elliott Kramer

Republican bait-and-switch

Utica, N.Y.: It has become crystalclear that the Republicans, who have passed no legislation after nearly a year controlling government, have now become obsessed with ramming a tax plan through Congress, in order to claim a desperately needed legislative victory. While they haggle over technicalities, everyone knows that this party really stands for one thing only — creating laws that will further enrich wealthy American citizens and corporations, while pretending that these benefits will then trickle down to the middle class and eventually to the poorest and neediest Americans. The Republicans know very well that “trickle down” is a lie, but they believe when this lie is repeated enough times, by enough people and by Fox News, maybe battered, glassy-eyed Americans will be hypnotized into allowing their congressional representatives and senators to vote for it and not face a political consequence. Wrong! Last week’s election results show that Americans are fed up with GOP attempts to convince us that we should just believe what they say and ignore what we see. And we see our political leaders and representatives scratching, clawing and lying their way to pass laws that favor the Sinclair family, the Mercers, the Koch brothers HOTEL ASSOCIATION OF NEW YORK and corporate America. So make no mistake, those who choose to vote with President Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan to take from average Americans in order to give more to the wealthy will be swept out of office by clear-eyed Americans next Election Day!

Jeff and Joan Ganeles

More background checks

Kew Gardens: A thought for today: You can’t purchase certain cough medicines from your local pharmacy without verifying your age, yet others can purchase semiautomatic weapons without universal background checks.

Glenn Hayes

Word up

Manalapan, N.J.: Friday’s Confidential column stated that Stella is worth 6 points and Arizona is worth 16 points in Scrabble, when the actual count should be 8 and 17. If you are going to cheat on your score (which you shouldn’t) at least favor yourself!

Michael Meskin

Victim blaming

Forest Hills: To Voicer Gladys Zenon: You told me to put myself in Paz de la Huerta’s shoes. The first time she got raped was not her fault, and she was the victim, but she could easily have prevented the second rape by simply not opening the door, so what you characterized as my heartless comment was a criticism of her lack of judgment when she let Harvey Weinstein in a second time. The second time she victimized herself. Linda Sperling