This past Monday, January 7, the Lethbridge Herald printed an article about Fluoride Free Lethbridge’s efforts to persuade City Council to remove fluoride from the public drinking water (http://www.lethbridgeherald.com/front-page-news/brushing-up-on-fluoride-1713.html). The Herald also ran an online poll to determine if Lethbridge citizens wanted City Council to revisit the science and ethics of fluoridation.

I was very disappointed with how the whole thing turned out. The online article was followed by a heated discussion between pro and anti-fluoridation advocates. The thread remained available for viewing, even though many of the pro-fluoride advocates were behaving slanderously. Last night Mark Benson and Dr. Bob Dickson, a general practitioner from Calgary, made very effective cases against fluoride. By about 9:30 this morning, the entire thread was removed and the article was closed for commenting.

The poll turned out worse. The percentages this morning were showing that most voters believed the City Council should reconsider fluoridation. About 11:00 this morning, somebody (or several people) noticed that they could vote as many times as they pleased, if they deleted their internet browsers’ “cookies” after voting. They flooded the poll with “cheater” votes and threw off the percentages. When a Lethbridge Herald employee was questioned about it, he confirmed that the voting pattern was very irregular (too many votes in a small time period), and grounds for suspicion.

I want this issue dealt with fairly. Let’s not pick each other apart. Let’s pick the issue of fluoridation apart. Let’s talk about this openly. No fraudulent accusations, no falsified polls. Let’s clear the air and have a polite and factual discussion about this issue.