http://www.portlandmercury.com Comments On: Portland Mercury en-us Copyright 2013 Portland Mercury. All rights reserved. This RSS file is offered to individuals, Portland Mercury readers, and non-commercial organizations only. Any commercial websites wishing to use this RSS file, please contact Portland Mercury. webmaster@portlandmercury.com (Portland Mercury Webmaster) Thu, 23 May 2013 00:00:01 -0700 Thu, 23 May 2013 04:00:00 -0700 Foundation http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss
Thanks for your reporting on this clusterfuck. It's respectable that the Mercury took the stand it did on this issue; you all were right, and when you have a far better job and look back on this and laugh, I hope you pat yourself on the back for having the stones to take a stand on an issue sure to upset many of yr paper's target audience.
Posted by jake]]> Thu, 23 May 2013 04:35:20 -0700 Portland Mercury
Fluoridation is statistically proven (and admitted in a HKHP debate too btw) to not reduce tooth decay.
There is not and never was a "dental crisis" in Portland. The 2012 SMILE survey that HKHP tried to suppress shows that. Portland's decay rate is better than areas that fluoridate!
The "fluoride" in fluoridation comes from the industrial toxic waste of fertilizer production. It is not any sort of natural "mineral", nor is it the same kind of fluoride used in toothpaste. If it weren't sold to cities for fluoridation it would have to be disposed of as toxic waste!
Fluoride is not required by the body for any reason. It is a cumulative toxin that causes numerous problems with the body. Pro-fluoridationists admit that fluorosis is a disease caused by excessive consumption of fluoride. It causes a disruption in the bone matrix which is visible on the teeth but affects all bones in the body. It disrupts the thyroid, calcifies the pineal gland and is a neurotoxin.

Even if you think it is safe and effective as a dental treatment. Ingesting it is not a proper way to use it! Fluoride is already available as toothpaste and it's used *topically* outside the teeth. You don't eat your toothpaste.
The public water is not an appropriate way to medically treat the entire city without their consent, without a diagnosis, without a means to regulate the "medicine".
And then there's the matter of efficiency. Only about 1% of the water is ingested the rest is used to flush toilets, hose of driveways, showers, etc.

For fuck's sake any way you cut it there's about a 100 reason why fluoridation is totally FUCKED. Yet the Merc did it's best to demonize, discredit and mock people who are trying to stop this insane policy?

People have been duped, or are in the pocket of the extensive forces shoving fluoride on us. I hope everyone will figure it out, not just the 60% majority that voted against it. I think people will more and more.

Rather than have "sour grapes" that you lost what was a little game, be happy that you won't be living in yet another city with toxic waste added to the water. If you really really love fluoride that much you can still get it at the store in a tube of toothpaste. That's your choice. Let people have a choice in the toxic-waste/medicine they ingest.
Posted by Jay Sun]]> Thu, 23 May 2013 01:05:28 -0700 Portland Mercury And you still don't get it. The arrogance to say "don't fuck this up Portland". It was the Portland Mercury that fucked up.

Look into the facts and use common sense. I don't see how adding industrial toxic waste to the water is a good idea. Or even if you think it's an effective dental treatment, the public water isn't there to mass medicate people.
It was really low to jump on the ad hominem bandwagon that the corporate snakes use to justify their dumping of toxic waste in the water.

"It's never a good idea to take health advice from the same publications that exhort you to make your own porno... " @MediaMonarchy on twitter

Posted by Jay Sun]]> Thu, 23 May 2013 00:12:48 -0700 Portland Mercury
And by that I mean the talking points that a lobbyist got paid to dumb down for me.
Posted by Chunty McHutchence]]> Wed, 22 May 2013 22:49:26 -0700 Portland Mercury Posted by eldepeche]]> Wed, 22 May 2013 22:41:52 -0700 Portland Mercury
Now don't get me wrong; the tinfoil hat bad science crowd loved the other side, and maybe that's "wingnut" Portland liberal, sure. But it's not "lives-in-a-$600k-Alameda-home" Portland liberal. (So many different varieties!) We could split hairs further and say that the Hot Yoga Moms would be voting GOP anywhere else, but hey, this is Portland! We're all liberals and we're all really excited about eco-equality and outdoor activities and whatnot. Common ground. At least most of the time.

Somehow the wingnuts found themselves in bed with the curmudgeonly libertarians this time around, adding to the confusion. So yeah. But the "save the children" appeals weren't aimed at them; they were aimed at anyone who's decided that they exist on some sort of figurative perch, high above the unfortunate. This crowd might drive redevelopment, food culture, etc but they're not the majority. They're not really hippies, just like they're not really progressive or really into yoga. They're just good at throwing money and time at pretentious self-serving causes.
Posted by Chunty McHutchence]]> Wed, 22 May 2013 22:41:11 -0700 Portland Mercury Posted by Tommy]]> Wed, 22 May 2013 22:34:32 -0700 Portland Mercury Posted by Abusive]]> Wed, 22 May 2013 22:31:04 -0700 Portland Mercury Posted by The Showstopper]]> Wed, 22 May 2013 22:29:14 -0700 Portland Mercury 1) It's a new shopping experience for Portland and;
2) Union Way finds it's origins from global precedents.

To use your closing line:
So, yeah, not so "new" really, but new for Portland. Apparently Stu is one of those loathsome people who lives in America but thinks America doesn't exist because he wishes he lived in Europe or Asia or the Middle East...
Posted by General Electric]]> Wed, 22 May 2013 22:12:03 -0700 Portland Mercury Posted by Chunty McHutchence]]> Wed, 22 May 2013 22:01:15 -0700 Portland Mercury Posted by David F Morgan]]> Wed, 22 May 2013 21:25:37 -0700 Portland Mercury Posted by ill paxton]]> Wed, 22 May 2013 21:15:58 -0700 Portland Mercury Posted by Andy from Beaverton]]> Wed, 22 May 2013 20:58:23 -0700 Portland Mercury
"B-but! There are CORPORATIONS! That SELL FLUORIDE!!!" Jesus.
Posted by jamdox]]> Wed, 22 May 2013 20:52:01 -0700 Portland Mercury Posted by Maxims&Arrows]]> Wed, 22 May 2013 20:50:47 -0700 Portland Mercury
Never mind, I'm sick of humoring the willfully ignorant.
Posted by disastronaut]]> Wed, 22 May 2013 20:46:57 -0700 Portland Mercury
The point: it's NOT been a scientific debate in any way-- see the comment from your mixed flavor amigo above and from numerous other merc posts, radio shows, TV interviews, etc over the past 2 weeks.

The vote was an advancement of an emotional anti-authority, anti-government, pro-"purity" argument, and unashamedly so. It's a little too late to suggest science supports your claims of harm of proposed water fluoridation. (Many of your cronies don't care and have said as much.) So with this campaign, you clearly HAVE joined the ranks of the idealogues, and are NO different than the religious right in that way. Welcome to the bliss of ignorance.
Posted by Spoolo]]> Wed, 22 May 2013 20:29:15 -0700 Portland Mercury Posted by Todd Mecklem]]> Wed, 22 May 2013 20:15:15 -0700 Portland Mercury Now get up off your ass and do something.
Posted by frankieb]]> Wed, 22 May 2013 20:08:58 -0700 Portland Mercury Posted by Todd Mecklem]]> Wed, 22 May 2013 20:05:37 -0700 Portland Mercury Well, I hope that cop gave him 35 grand worth of punishment.
Posted by frankieb]]> Wed, 22 May 2013 20:00:06 -0700 Portland Mercury Posted by buddy]]> Wed, 22 May 2013 19:52:32 -0700 Portland Mercury
Humans have been putting that extra carbon there because, in small part, at one time, science said that was safe.

True story, but yea totally unrelated to this whole save the children with fluoride thing. Because, ya know, children.
Posted by myscreennameistaken]]> Wed, 22 May 2013 19:49:44 -0700 Portland Mercury
But the minorities also came out against fluoride as well as the hippies and right-wingers.

Basically, the idiots from above and below who want to go back to the dark ages defeated the science-oriented middle class that made America great.

Again. The country can't take much more of this.
Posted by jamdox]]> Wed, 22 May 2013 19:47:48 -0700 Portland Mercury