Oh go spend another 3/4 million on smile signs to put all over rich white people's lawns, that'll help the colored children for sure.

Please stop pretending this was ever about helping poor children.

Let it go, douchebags.

Let's see, some people tried to push fluoride through without a vote, springing it on us right after an election when they might've faced electoral consequences, but the people who said "wait a minute here" are the ones forcing others to suck their balls. Hyperventilating a bit?

Communism has always been a religion of elitists. Neo-Progressives seem to believe that if only THEY were the elite, that things would be different.

Cash
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlShSNc2dMA

I live in southeast and there are three different hand-drum stores within walking distance of my apartment. It wasn't the Pearl that voted Fluoride down.

this town is too cute

Thank you Aestro. I don't think people are grasping who the "No" coalition really was. It wasn't conservatives. It was hippie airheads.

What the hell is a Dansko?

It's just like when the Green Party voted the same as Libertarians.

I'll correct my own error above. The fluoridation proposal came along before the fall 2012 election, of course, but well after the mayoral primary, thus preventing fluoridation-skeptical candidates from entering the race and garnering significant funding and support.

I agree with Blabby and Aestro that a good chunk of the 'No' voters were liberals (or, to be less diplomatic, "hippie airheads") -- probably most of them. But i also believe that a significant number of them were solid right-wingers. And conservative libertarians. College grads and high school drop-outs; kooks and sanes; poor and rich; commies and capitalists; clean-cuts and mohawks.

Unlike almost any other topic up for vote/public debate in memory, BOTH sides of this issue brought together an amazingly diverse group of people into the same bed(s). Many of us woke up this morning next to quite an unfamiliar partner, hurriedly grabbed our clothes, scribbled down a fake phone number, gave a quick peck, and uttered an insincere "Call me!" as we walked (ran) out the door.

How fascinating it would be to read a poll about how the 'No' voters feel about vaccines, Obama, global warming, chem-trails, homeopathy, national healthcare, gay marriage, GMO crops, etc. I bet the results would be ALL OVER THE PLACE.

Remember: the Mercury isn't anything if not liberal. And i bet i'm not the only one here who sides with the Mercury on every single one of the above topics, with fluoridation being the only point of dissension. Weird.

I think what it really does is separate the people that think more analytically from the ones that think emotionally. And there's more diversity in the people that think analytically.

Analytically there's very little reason to put fluoride in our water. Our teeth our improving as much and better than many fluoridated places in the country. We don't have a city wide dental crisis and there are far better ways to spend time and money to target the groups that do. (translate and distribute educational material and info about access to free programs, toothpaste, toothbrushes, etc)

But the emotional appeal of saving the children and colored people is just too enticing. It's almost got a catholic style "wash your sins away with one simple vote YES" thing going on.

Plus languages are hard.

There's plenty of alternative medicine idiots in the Pearl, and plenty of libertarian idiots there, too.

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.

Since when did standing up to Stimplot, their paid lackeys and paid-off politicians equal "defeating the science-oriented middle class that made America great"?

Never mind, I'm sick of humoring the willfully ignorant.

Yes, I'm willfully ignorant of the vast fluoridation conspiracy.

"B-but! There are CORPORATIONS! That SELL FLUORIDE!!!" Jesus.

Yes, any time someone points out a very obvious vested monetary interest in something it's a "conspiracy".

Like the McDonalds sodium "conspiracy". The Apple tax break "conspiracy". And the ever so talked about Monsanto seed "conspiracy".

If we didn't have science folk like @jamdox to point out how totally not driven by money corporations are we'd all be running down these crazy conspiracy paths and forget what the real problem is: Stupid people like us asking questions.

Dumb people always got to give themselves excuses on why not to do the right thing.

Huh. I feel like anon does not live in any of the neighborhoods of which he speaks. Because I am one of those poor souls (according to anon) who lives east of 82nd. And I voted against fluoride. Had a yard sign an everything.

I guess I'm one of those folks whom @human in training speaks of. Except he can't figure out if the people who are against fluoride are 'hippie airheads' or actual practical people who can't just be grouped into random subsets of Different Kinds Of People.

And @Horny Hippo, I'm not sure what you're talking about, but I was reminded of when a bunch of Democrats posed as Green Party members and thwarted Ralph Nader's chances getting on the Oregon ballot. I'm not a Green Party member any more, but it cuts both (all?) ways.