9mo ago

RFK Jr. says a Trump White House would immediately push to remove fluoride from water

www.nbcnews.com

Summary

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced that a Trump administration would prioritize removing fluoride from public water systems, a position at odds with major health organizations like the CDC, the American Dental Association, and the American Academy of Pediatrics, all of which endorse water fluoridation as safe and beneficial for dental health.

Despite Kennedy’s controversial stance on health and environmental issues, which includes previously debunked claims linking vaccines to autism, Trump has praised his passion, stating that Kennedy would have significant freedom to influence health policy if Trump were elected.

128 comments

Roe v Wade: "This should be decided by the states!"
Fluoride in water: "This should be decided by the federal government!"
???
- They're proposing to ban vaccines too, and they're not mentioning particular vaccines, just "vaccines". So no healthcare for trans people or pregnant women, and no vaccines. It's only a matter of time before someone convinces them antibiotics are the devil's work.
  
  I mean...
  At this point let's just tell them we forbid them from drinking arsenic because, even though it massively increases testosterone production, all liberal science says most humans aren't strong enough to handle it.
  Fucking let moron nature take its course.
  
  someone convinces them antibiotics are the devil's work.
  Antibiotics are proof of evolution, since the various microorganisms create resistances to vaccines.
  
  Nothing says pro life like returning to 18th century childhood mortality rates 😎
  
  Antibiotics shouldn't be used as easily as people think, though. Because, ahem, antibiotic resistance is a thing.
  It's a responsible position to only use antibiotics when you really need it. Not when you have cold. EDIT: just in case, by cold I mean cold, not covid
  
  Anti-what? Ohhh you mean Satan Pills.
- Breaking: Trump vows to repeal Ohm's Law: "States should handle resistance at the local level."
- That’s because they don’t actually have principles.
- Not putting fluoride in the water isn't the same as prohibiting it. If you want to drink it or not simply becomes optional, rather than mandatory. Give people a choice to make with their healthcare provider, otherwise you're forcing medicine down peoples throat.
  https://pharmacy.amazon.com/Sodium-Fluoride-Chewable-Tablet/dp/B084BTB8TY?
  
  Violating your principals for some undetectable flouride in the water is a small price to pay for an entire area of people to receive better dental prospects.
  Flip this round. You still have a choice, buy bottled water.
  
  Oh stfu
  
  Nobody is forcing you to drink tap water.
  
  Fluoride isn't medicine.
Don't we have real problems to solve? Why are Republicans always making up new shit?
- More like rehashing old shit. Vaccines are pretty settled science as well.
- Because Democrats tend to agree with reality, so if republicans want to oppose them they must insist that reality isn't true.
- Distraction 101. If we’re too busy fighting about stuff like this, we won’t come after them for the stuff they absolutely do not want to address. More often than not, the other side doesn’t really want to do the hard work either, so it’s easy to just fight with them about the meaningless shit and get credit for being the reasonable ones. Meanwhile the homeless camps get larger, the health care gets more expensive, the one income family with a pension for retirement becomes a two income family juggling multiple part time jobs with no benefits, higher education becomes something that traps you in a lifetime of loan debt, and we spend billions to elect people who will address none of it.
  Pick up a fiddle and enjoy the view of Rome.
  
  Sometimes I hope I’ll see a starship Enterprise, but it’s looking more like Bell riots and Eugenics wars for the rest of my lifetime.
  Vote blue and punch a nazi whenever you can, be the change you want to see.
- Mental health.
- People like you are the reason I want a forum that makes you read the articles before you can comment on them.
Great way to send a lot of business to dentists.
- A Pynchon-level conspiracy. I suspect we’ll be seeing some more dentist-on-trampoline accidents.
- That paper specifically concludes that despite all that, there is no reason to even look into whether fluoridation in drinking water might be a problem because there has clearly been no corollary deleterious effect. So, knowing what it would look like if it was a problem, was enough to know that it isn't even close enough to warrant checking how close it is. The highest reported extremes of exposure already didn't cause issue, so there is certainly no cause for concern at normal levels.
  Basically, normal levels are so far below potential risky levels, that they aren't even concerned of accidental overexposure due to mistakes or accidents. They concluded they had literally zero concern...
  So linking that paper isn't really supporting your opinion.
  
  Those concerns are for unrealistically high doses though. The last sentence of the abstract you linked:
  In conclusion, based on the totality of currently available scientific evidence, the present review does not support the presumption that fluoride should be assessed as a human developmental neurotoxicant at the current exposure levels in Europe.
  Calling concerns about the safety of fluoridated water “founded” is a bit of a stretch.
  
  The issue is not whether fluoride is good or bad. Conservatives vilify medical experts as "woke" and it that as a reason to dismiss their advice.
  I too can cherry pick an article to support my position. The number of cavities in children born in Calgary, Canada within the decade after they removed fluoride from their water was higher than nearby Edmonton who kept fluoride.
  We can argue about who has more links to support their argument; or we can argue about whether politicians should govern based on the recommendations of experts, or trust that "they know best".
  
  Removed for clearly misrepresenting health research findings.
where are brain worms when you need them to finish the job
- starved to death.
  
  It's like a joke unto itself. A brain worm couldn't survive in RFK's brain.
  
  Poisoned by his thoughts
How about making sure 100% of US residents have access to clean, safe tap water first? Eliminate lead and forever chemicals. I don't feel strongly about fluoride, I do feel strongly you should be able to drink water from your kitchen sink without having to worry.
- Wow are you a commie? Tap water should only contain flammable gas from nearby fracking plants! Yeehaw
  
  That’s how you know what Freedom^TM tastes like!
- There actually is a huge push to replace ALL lead service lines in the next few years. Also the EPA has extra funding for treatment of "emerging contaminants" which includes PFAS. Republicans are trying (and succeding) to reduce this funding.
- See that would require 100% of Americans to be rich enough for these chucklefucks to care about us.
We don't have it in Quebec, we have more dental health issues on average than in Ontario (our neighbors)
- That's interesting. I thought it was more or less universal. Any idea why?
  
  It was never introduced on a large scale to begin with (Montreal never did it for example) and there's a group that helps citizens fight it where it's still done (5 cities still do it).
  One of their main argument is that the studies that most cities refer to to defend it date from the 60s/70s and their methodology was so so, more recent research don't seem to find as much of a difference if socio-economic criterias are taken into consideration (but again, Quebec as a whole vs any other province as a whole should cover that, Quebec is richer than New-Brunswick yet kids have more cavities in Quebec) and there's the environmental question considering that about 1% of the water is used as drinking water, it's 99% of the fluoride being wasted.
- Sounds like the residents of Quebec just have shitty dental hygiene, and I suspect the same in Ontario. It's just that the residents of Ontario are having their teeth taken care of by the government, because they can't do it themselves.
  
  The same thing is seen all over the world when comparing places with and without fluoridation so I guess people in general have shitty dental hygiene so you can cut the holier than thou attitude.
  
  Yea, small children just need to pull themselves up by the bootstraps!
What year is this? This was a scare back in the 1970.
Un-fortify the wheat now!
/s
- That's about the time the worm ate through his brain and stopped any further thinking.
  
  It already starved to death.
- "Precious bodily fluids..."
"Immediately" means a tweet or Truth Social post by Trump that is so vague no one under him knows exactly what they're supposed to do to enact his order.
And then right back to Day 1 dictatorial stuff like imprisoning political opponents and the press.
Maybe it's the brain worm talking because the fluorine would kill it?
- This made me laugh so hard, I spit my drink all over my desk. Well played, sir.
My precious bodily fluids ! https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xQyf3QgRP-c
What fucking year is this? And while he's at it, that horses's ass can get tinfoil hats into circulation to protect against
<dumb old ass boomer conspiracy theory bullshit>

God damn it, will all these fossils with their lead poisoned brains just die already?
- I used to respect the hell outta my boss. Chief engineer, man can fix and diagnose just about anything. Then he started talking about this guy and how great he is... Like how can someone be so smart yet so so dumb? How can you not apply the same critical thinking into politics as you do into your work? Where does the disconnect come in?
Let’s bring back leaded gasoline and asbestos too!!
Seriously? The bit from Dr.Strangelove? I mean, it's not terribly surprising anymore but I still wish we could get these fucks on some stupid theory that kills them more directly and immediately so they take less of the rest of us with them.
- It was a John Birch Society talking point at one time. It was condemned as a communist conspiracy. Of course. Just like civil rights are a communist conspiracy.
  Anyway. A few years ago I discovered that my home town newspaper had digitized all the old issues and made them searchable online. I decided to search for family members.
  Found my dad mentioned in a report of a hearing on fluoridation. He was talking about it being a communist plot.
  Edit:
  I just listened to this episode of revisionist history recently. If you aren't familiar with the beginnings of the shit show we're living in, you might find it interesting and/or horrifying.
  https://www.pushkin.fm/podcasts/revisionist-history/john-birch-vs-the-pta
Is fluoride the new Frog-engayening agent? 🐸
- Flouride makes teeth white. White light passing through a prism makes a rainbow. Therefore, fluoride makes my teeth gay.
RFK, Antivax shit head moron.
Wait what? Oh, for a second I thought he was going to remove Florida.
- Reasonable confusion!
Ignore that buzzing noise.
It's just the sound of 200,000 dentists rubbing their hands together at the thought of all the extra money they're going to make.
- A lot of people don’t drink tap water so I don’t think there would be much of a surge
  
  The vast majority of Americans drink tap water.
Make Cavities Great Again
Executive Order #1: No American shall receive more than ONE SCOOP of ice cream at a time, EXCEPT the Chief Executive.
The real issues! /s
Welp, that explains the parasites.
Ah yes, RFKJR, the original cavity creep.
The old John Birch society hated fluoride too. So much so, that Barry Goldwater took up the cause when he ran against JFK. Of course, he lost. Now they try to dress it up with junk science and it's RFK and Trump.
I guess I didn't need teeth anyway
In the universe of bad and crazy things that brain worm addled RFK jr. would do, this is one of the least bad and crazy.
- It's quite bad and crazy though. fluoridated water helps to protect people's teeth, and all you need to do is drink tap water. This means that anyone with access to tap water will get at least some basic protection against tooth decay and all the health problems that stem from that.
  Without fluoridated water, the people who do not have access to regular dental care (including toothbrushes and toothpaste) will be the ones who suffer the most. Those are the people who will end up in emergency rooms with infections, heart disease, etc. and will also not be able to pay the hospital bill, thus not only adding stress to already stretched thin emergency rooms, but also overall creating a larger financial burden on the industry.
  Something something an ounce of prevention and all....
Such an ignorant man
The brain worms anti vax weirdo being in charge of the CDC seems like an excellent idea, Americans. What even is fucking going on?
Not the lead. The fluoride!
PRECIOUS
BODILY
FLUIDS!
- Did you do your own research on google?
  
  Dude. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/ger.12294 (and many other) actual research paper and meta analysis are saying you're wrong.
- I think it's stupid.
  Literally why?? It's one of the most effective things we can do for the vast majority of our population. And every expert thinks it's a good idea. Some random bozo thinking it's "stupid" is fucking stupid, but apparently you're in good company with Kennedy here lol
Brigadier General Jack D. Ripper:
I can no longer sit back and allow Communist infiltration, Communist indoctrination, communist subversion, and the international Communist conspiracy to sap and impurify all of our precious bodily fluids.
(...)
[through his cigar] Mandrake,
Group Captain Lionel Mandrake:
Yes, Jack?
Ripper:
Have you ever seen a commie drink a glass of water?
Mandrake:
Well, no I... I can't say I have, Jack.
Ripper:
Vodka. That's what they drink, isn't it? Never water?
Mandrake:
Well I... I believe that's what they drink, Jack. Yes.
Ripper:
On no account will a commie ever drink water, and not without good reason.
Mandrake:
Oh, ah, yes. I don't quite.. see what you're getting at, Jack.
Ripper:
Water. That's what I'm getting at. Water. Mandrake, water is the source of all life. Seven tenths of this earth's surface is water. Why, you realize that.. seventy percent of you is water.
Mandrake:
Uhhh God...
Ripper:
And as human beings, you and I need fresh, pure water to replenish our precious bodily fluids.
Mandrake:
Yes. [chuckles nervously]
Ripper:
You beginning to understand?
Mandrake:
Yes. [chuckles, begins laughing/crying quietly]
Ripper:
Mandrake. Mandrake, have you never wondered why I drink only distilled water, or rain water, and only pure grain alcohol?
Mandrake:
Well it did occur to me, Jack, yes.
Ripper:
Have you ever heard of a thing called fluoridation? Fluoridation of water?
Mandrake:
Ah, yes, I have heard of that, Jack. Yes.
Ripper:
Well do you now what it is?
Mandrake:
No. No, I don't know what it is. No.
Ripper:
Do you realize that fluoridation is the most monstrously conceived and dangerous communist plot we have ever had to face?
(...)
Mandrake, do you realize that in addition to fluoridated water, why, there are studies underway to fluoridate salt, flour, fruit juices, soup, sugar, milk, ice cream? Ice cream, Mandrake. Children's ice cream?
Mandrake:
Good Lord.
Ripper:
You know when fluoridation first began?
Mandrake:
No. No, I don't, Jack. No.
Ripper:
Nineteen hundred and forty six. Nineteen fortysix, Mandrake. How does that coincide with your postwar commie conspiracy, huh? It's incredibly obvious, isn't it? A foreign substance is introduced into our precious bodily fluids without the knowledge of the individual, and certainly without any choice. That's the way your hard core commie works.
Mandrake:
Jack... Jack, listen, tell me, ah... when did you first become, well, develop this theory.
Ripper:
Well, I ah, I I first became aware of it, Mandrake, during the physical act of love.
Mandrake:
[sighs fearfully]
Ripper:
Yes a profound sense of fatigue, a feeling of emptiness followed. Luckily I was able to interpret these feelings correctly: loss of essence.
Mandrake:
Yes...
Ripper:
I can assure you it has not recurred, Mandrake. Women... women sense my power, and they seek the life essence. I do not avoid women, Mandrake, but I do deny them my essence.
Honestly there have been studies linking fluoride to lower intelligence and there are many studies stating that it doesn't really make a difference in dental health. If you're brushing your teeth properly you'll be fine.
Most of Europe does the put it in their water and they're fine.
Edit: I say this as someone who absolutely does not want trump or rfk dealing with any of this. Even a broken racist worm ridden clock can be right once in a while
- You can find studies saying anything you want if you look. Find a meta-analysis and see what it says about all the studies together.
  
  https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3491930/
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/oct/04/fluoridation-water-epa-risk-assessement
The Obama-appointed US judge Edward Chen found fluoridation could cause developmental damage and lower IQ in children at levels to which the public is generally exposed in drinking water. Though the ruling did not state the level at which fluoridation would damage brains, the levels in US water present an unreasonable risk, the court found.
Even a broken clock is right two times a day.
You know, I just love how no one is addressing why they think this is a bad idea with facts, they just rush to insult him. If this doesn't prove how toxic of a political climate we're in right now, I don't know what will.
- The facts are presented and linked in the article.
  Major public health groups such as the American Dental Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention support water fluoridation, citing studies showing that the mineral helps fight cavities. Health groups also emphasize that the practice is safe.
- Just read the article. The fact are right there backed by science and major health orgs.
- Im JuSt AsKiNg QuEsTiOnS
  
  Ok.

128 comments