Update at 12:57 p.m.: Sheffie Kadane confirms: He will be there tonight. And he explained why when he called back this afternoon.
“I’ve got stuff from all over the world about fluoride — who uses it, who doesn’t,” he said. “The people who don’t use it have better dental records [than we do]. People just don’t know about it. All I was trying to do was find us some money. I found us a million dollars, and nobody wants to take it. People need to hear about it. Like they say, it’s a drug they put in our water — and it’s also not that good. It’s not even pharmaceutical grade.”
Original item posted at 11:20 a.m.: We haven’t been able to reach Sheffie Kadane this morning — he’s at a meeting in Arlington — and his secretary says she’s unable to access his schedule at the moment. So, long story short, we cannot confirm his advertised attendance at a meeting scheduled tonight at Winfrey Point at White Rock Lake on E. Lawther Drive. But it does sound very much like something up his alley: “The Town Hall on Fluoridation.”
Kadane, you may recall, believes Dallas needs to get the fluoride out of its water supply. He’s said it a few times during recent council meetings, nodding along with he anti-fluoridation faction that keeps popping up to do a few sets at the open mic. The District 9 rep who’s about to get term-limited out of out of office has fought against fluoride on two fronts: We don’t need it, he insists, and we shouldn’t be paying for it — especially since adding more to the city’s water supply runs around $600,000 annually.
“Have you seen toothpaste that has fluoride in the toothpaste?” he asked Dallas Water Utilities officials in May. “Have you read the disclaimer which says do not swallow, and if you do swallow this toothpaste go get your stomach pumped? And it’s only on the fluoridated toothpaste.” Anyway. We’re not sure if he’ll be there. But it does seem like his cup of non-fluoridated tea.
Sheffie Kadane
But we do know who will be there: Dr. Paul Connett, the executive director of the Fluoride Action Network and a former chemistry professor billed as “one of the world’s experts on Fluoride.” He’s certainly one of the most controversial, as evidenced by his brief entry on Quackwatch: “Fluoridation is supported by major health organizations and government agencies throughout the developed world and has been listed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention among the 20th Century’s ten great public health achievements. But Connett would have you believe that fluoridation is ineffective, unsafe, and unethical. In effect, he would like you to believe that he’s smarter than all of them put together.”
He actually spoke to the council in June, where he was warmly greeted by none other than Sheffie Kadane. Their back-and-forth is below, beginning at the 3:40 mark. Just in case you can’t make it tonight.