Fluoride: who to trust?

[doodle]

I can't make heads or tails of this fluoride issue. Is it a poison or beneficial? Lots of strong opinions on both sides. For starters, I think the "conspiracy" argument is absurd so let's not go in that direction.

Weston Price comes out on anti side:http://www.westonaprice.org/environment ... we-thought

However plenty of reputable scientists say it is harmless and beneficial: http://www.quackwatch.com/03HealthPromo ... oride.html

[doodle]

Even if it is beneficial, why would it be added to public water supplies?  Shouldn't the individual choose whether they want to take the medication?  If not, why stop with fluoride.  We could add vitamin D, etc. 

I don't disagree with you, but for the time being my tap water is fluoridated....so what to do?

1. Has anyone honestly dug through both sides claims and come to any conclusion for themselves.

2. What cheap options exist to remove fluoride from water?

[Ad Orientem]

http://youtu.be/HarB55u6ms0

[Stewardship]

For starters, I think the "conspiracy" argument is absurd so let's not go in that direction.

What argument is that?

[Stewardship]

For starters, I think the "conspiracy" argument is absurd so let's not go in that direction.

What argument is that?

that the harmful effects are known, and it is added on purpose to dumb down (among other things) the population and make them docile, ill and dependent... 

Thanks for the answer.  So the non-conspiracy (non-absurd) theory is that the govt may just be poisoning us because it doesn't know any better?

Edit:  I love the tinfoil smiley!  I'll check out that site for smileys in the future, since the built-in options here are extremely limited 

[Ad Orientem]

For starters, I think the "conspiracy" argument is absurd so let's not go in that direction.

What argument is that?

See my earlier post or any literature from the John Birch Society.

[MachineGhost]

However plenty of reputable scientists say it is harmless and beneficial: http://www.quackwatch.com/03HealthPromo ... oride.html

This again?  Its simple.  Its poison to drink.  Externally beneficial for teeth.  Though technically the flouride used is different between the two.  Don't swallow it.

[MachineGhost]

I don't disagree with you, but for the time being my tap water is fluoridated....so what to do?

1. Has anyone honestly dug through both sides claims and come to any conclusion for themselves.

2. What cheap options exist to remove fluoride from water?

I have.  And I bought a mini RO system to get it out of the water supply.  We've discussed this already at least a year ago.

[Pointedstick]

I don't disagree with you, but for the time being my tap water is fluoridated....so what to do?

1. Has anyone honestly dug through both sides claims and come to any conclusion for themselves.

2. What cheap options exist to remove fluoride from water?

I have.  And I bought a mini RO system to get it out of the water supply.  We've discussed this already at least a year ago.

What product did you wind up going with?

[MachineGhost]

What product did you wind up going with?

http://www.purewaterproducts.com/economy-ro

[WildAboutHarry]

There are far more detrimental things "fed" to us via government than fluoride.  Trans-fats (margarine is better than butter!), the food pyramid, et al.  I would prefer fluoride not be put in drinking water, but I'm not convinced that it has turned us into a nation of brain-dead zombies.  Television has already done that (tinfoil hat firmly in place).

And Sterling Hayden's performance as Major Jack Ripper is brilliant (see Ad Orientem's YouTube link above)!

[Stewardship]

Dr. Strangelove is currently on Netflix streaming.  I've added it to my list 

[MachineGhost]

Dr. Strangelove is currently on Netflix streaming.  I've added it to my list 

It is a mind-blowing movie for its time.  Sadly, not much has changed.  I often wonder what it is about the political elites and bureaucrats that make them so ignorant; do they not watch the same anti-establisment movies as everyone else?  Do they just miss the social-wide mockery of their profession and abilities?  Do they have a secret discussion forum they all participate in?

[Stewardship]

It is a mind-blowing movie for its time.  Sadly, not much has changed.  I often wonder what it is about the political elites and bureaucrats that make them so ignorant; do they not watch the same anti-establisment movies as everyone else?  Do they just miss the social-wide mockery of their profession and abilities?  Do they have a secret discussion forum they all participate in?

"It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it!" (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Upton_Sinclair)

[Pointedstick]

It is a mind-blowing movie for its time.  Sadly, not much has changed.  I often wonder what it is about the political elites and bureaucrats that make them so ignorant; do they not watch the same anti-establisment movies as everyone else?  Do they just miss the social-wide mockery of their profession and abilities?  Do they have a secret discussion forum they all participate in?

I think it's more like people with a particular combination of ignorance and hunger for power are inherently attracted to politics and bureaucratic positions, as both grant the power they lost after and actively reward stupidity and lazy thinking.

[WildAboutHarry]

[quote=MachineGhost]It is a mind-blowing movie for its time.  Sadly, not much has changed.[/quote]

Many aspects of Dr. Strangelove really do transcend their time, but most of the movie is very firmly lodged in its time.  I think it is hard to realize now, how paranoid we all were about "nuclar combat, toe to toe with the Ruskies..." (and rightly so).  Although Putin might be rekindling some of that paranoia.

The Dr. Strangelove character is really a manifestation of the "our Nazis (the ones the US got after WWII) are better than their Nazis (the ones the Russians got after WWII)" situation.  The Coca Cola hegemony was kind of real ("You're going to have to answer to the Coca Cola Company...", and see James Cagney in One, Two, Three for some more cold war Coca Cola versus the commies).  And of course fluoride.

[MachineGhost]

I think it's more like people with a particular combination of ignorance and hunger for power are inherently attracted to politics and bureaucratic positions, as both grant the power they lost after and actively reward stupidity and lazy thinking.

But that didn't really answer my question....  how do these people stay ignorant of all the memes floating around against them in society?  Are they like men and intentionally don't watch the equivalent of chick flicks, etc.?  Do they read only self-affirming pro-government publications?  Because it would take a concerted effort to intentionally ignore all of the negative sentiment and I thought they are sensitively dependent on the tenous power of their audience/victims/voters.  Or maybe they are so drunk with wealth and power from their privileged positions, they can remain in a blissfully ignorant bubble of their own choosing?  I want a satisfying answer.

[Pointedstick]

I think it's more like people with a particular combination of ignorance and hunger for power are inherently attracted to politics and bureaucratic positions, as both grant the power they lost after and actively reward stupidity and lazy thinking.

But that didn't really answer my question....  how do these people stay ignorant of all the memes floating around against them in society?

Total speculation on my part, but I think it's two things:

1. Good old fashioned cognitive dissonance
2. Living in a social bubble

A sociological study of this phenomenon would be fascinating!