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Letters: Recount needed to find and fix problems with electronic voting machines

Recount would be worth it The federal court's denial of Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein's bid for a statewide recount is another example of how backwards Pennsylvania has become with regard to voting ("Stein rebuffed on Pa. recount," Dec. 13).

Recount would be worth it

The federal court's denial of Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein's bid for a statewide recount is another example of how backwards Pennsylvania has become with regard to voting ("Stein rebuffed on Pa. recount," Dec. 13).

Why not investigate the reliability of the Direct Record Electronic touch-screen machines? Why not have transparency? Why not be the showcase state for the rest of the country by uncovering voting machine problems and resolving them?

The court gave up an opportunity to shine a light on the DRE voting machines' defects and vulnerabilities. Pennsylvania has long enjoyed its reputation as the nation's seat of democracy; but without a reliable method of recording votes and recounting them, we have no democracy.

|Emily Cook, , Elkins Park, ejc510@yahoo.com

Clinton was lousy candidate

Hillary Clinton didn't lose the presidency because Russia hacked her or the Democratic Party's emails, or because of "fake news," or because the man in the moon ate blue cheese. She lost because she was a lousy candidate who didn't connect with the voters; and because the candidate to whom she lost - love him or hate him - did connect with the voters and represented change. And, not incidentally, President-Elect Trump won the electoral votes, fair and square.

|Robert Cherry, Wynnewood, robertcherry2@aol.com

Addiction starts with doctors

I have a friend who became a heroin addict after becoming addicted to pain pills following surgery. He's been in rehab several times. I've also had experiences with my young adult children being "over-prescribed" opioids after surgical procedures. I've tried to talk with the doctors, telling them too many pills could lead to unintentional addiction. I was met with blank stares.

Luckily I've taken care of my kids by only giving them opioids for a few days post-surgery and prescription-strength ibuprofen after that. I shudder to think of what could have happened if I had left them to their own pain management. This problem needs to be addressed where it starts: in the physicians' offices.

|Bonnie Warren, Plymouth Meeting

Nonbelievers are citizens too

May we suggest to Archbishop Charles J. Chaput that the Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution for believers and nonbelievers ("A Moral Grounding in Faith," Dec. 11). While it is certainly admirable that there are people who believe in God, belong to an organized religion, have an organized faith community, and strive to be free from sin, there is a whole segment of the population who do not, but strive under the term spirituality, which the archbishop uses with some derision, to lead a good life.

Archbishop Chaput's worldview is not based in reality. It is much more rewarding for religious leaders to see the good in others rather than to always curse the darkness.

|Robert & Mary Jane Girondi, Ardmore, mjgirondi@aol.com

Media chase Trump like dogs

Slap my face for saying this, but Charles Krauthammer is absolutely right ("Transition is entertaining, but still a sideshow," Dec. 12). The media are still following Donald Trump around like an adolescent male dog running after a starlet in heat. It's not enough that the media helped make him popular, now they can't stop sniffing around for the most inane story.

|Janet Amighi, , West Chester

Clearing the record

A Dec. 13 column stated incorrectly that the city of Philadelphia relies on Kickstarter, a web-based fund-raising program, to purchase naloxone to treat heroin overdose victims.