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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Letters

How Great Thou Art and its Nazi rhythm

A general view at the Mar-a-lago Club Pool view at the Andrea Bocelli concert at The Mar-a-Lago Club on February 28, 2010 in Palm Beach, Florida.
‘As host DJ at Mar-a-Lago, Donald Trump routinely finishes an evening with the hymn How Great Thou Art.’ Photograph: Capehart/Getty Images

You report that, as host DJ at Mar-a-Lago, Donald Trump routinely finishes an evening with the hymn How Great Thou Art (80s hits and nuclear secrets: security concerns plague Trump’s Mar-a-Lago, 20 September). As a deputy organist, called on to play it on several occasions, I eventually realised why doing so had made me uneasy: the Horst Wessel song, the Nazi party’s anthem, is rhythmically identical.
Peter Davis
Welwyn, Hertfordshire

• I recall a TV series in which the economist JK Galbraith described the trickle-down theory (Ed Davey: Truss government is probably most rightwing in modern UK history, 21 September) as a bit like feeding oats to a horse on the assumption that some would pass through the horse to the benefit of the sparrows below. This image, and its underlying message, has stayed with me ever since.
Lisa Green
High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire

• I support the call for a 95% tax rate on bankers’ bonuses (Letters, 20 September). Churchill was well aware that high tax rates were essential for an equitable society regenerating after financial stress. But he did go a bit far with the 99% rate, I’ll admit – 95% seems perfect.
Kit Jackson
London

• Will the theory that “vibrating anal beads” were used to cheat at chess (Report, 20 September) help to get to the bottom of the scandal?
Harold Mozley
York

• What, no Bigelow, Campion or Zhao among the film directors in your Wordsearch (21 September)? No, only men, of course…
Anne Noonan
Cork, Ireland

Have an opinion on anything you’ve read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication.

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