Letters to the editor for Tuesday, Dec. 23

Watching the senatorial recount and its problems of lost ballots, improperly disqualified ballots and the so-called "found" ballots (or ones added by fraud), only one conclusion can be reached: Our secretary of state, Mark Ritchie, should resign his post immediately.

Confidence and trust in Minnesota's public elections have been cast in doubt not only locally but nationally as well.

STEVE TRIPP, MAPLE GROVE

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After reviewing the live feed of ballot challenges in the U.S. Senate race, I am beyond disgusted by the actions of Norm Coleman's campaign. The vast majority of the challenged ballots have been awarded to Al Franken, and they should be. There is no doubt as to the intent of the voters on the ballots, and the fact that the Coleman campaign would engage in such bad faith efforts and waste of taxpayers dollars says a great deal.

It appears to me that the Coleman campaign somehow hopes to prevail in the court of public opinion by dragging this out as long as possible. We can only hope more rational heads prevail.

KIM HUNTER, ST. PAUL

My prediction: The Democratic-controlled U.S. Senate will decide that the Minnesota recount was so messed up that it will seat Al Franken even if Norm Coleman "wins" it.

JACK MCHugh, Edina

I could not be happier that the Minneapolis school board has decided to bring the International Baccalaureate (IB) program to Edison and Washburn high schools. As a product of the Minneapolis system and the IB program at Southwest High School, I will always feel privileged to have studied an IB curriculum for four years.

Offering the most rigorous college preparatory program in the world to students who are not typically given such chances is bound to yield higher test scores, lower dropout rates and, most important, allow continued success for every student who yearns for a brighter future.

DAVID PREMACK, NEW YORK

MARY CARTER, DELANO

Regarding the Nov. 29 article "Our homes: Where health care is really hurting": Home care rating scores are the result of assessments done when a Medicare-certified agency provides "skilled care" to clients. So it's not an across-the-board measure of all home care services.

The scores may either show improvement, stability or decline. Home Health Compare (www.medicare.gov/HHCompare) lists the results of 12 of the 40-plus measures that are monitored. Most show improvement. This works well for someone recovering from an illness, surgery or injury. However, for agencies serving long-term care needs, remaining "stable" is a good outcome not given credit in this scoring methodology.

Another important factor is that scores from the best to the worst states only vary by about 10 percent (2,195 to 1,963). This means that very small changes in scores can move a state significantly in the ranking.

What other factors affect Minnesota's scores? We serve a high volume of Medical Assistance recipients and have a high number of people qualifying for both Medicare and Medical Assistance. We have low Medicare use rates, driven by managed care, a high median age and a healthy aging population. Minnesota also has a high use of skilled nursing facilities and transition care facilities where clients stay before going to home care.

NEIL JOHNSON, ST. PAUL;

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR,