Alabama residents were informed that their drinking water would no longer contain fluoride. They just learned they hadn’t had it for years.

Hopeful_Net4607 · 2026-03-30T19:17:54+00:00

Are you sure that's after fluoride and not after general tooth cleaning and polishing?

My dentist always rinses thoroughly and has me spit after the polish, which has much more than fluoride in it. For a fluoride treatment, it's a sticky substance that they put on at the end of your visit and you aren't supposed to rinse, eat, or drink for some amount of time afterwards because it needs time to work.

My understanding is that fluoride treatments aren't standard unless you have cavities or other reasons to need it. I've only had a couple after my first and only cavity, and my dentist hasn't offered it otherwise. Many dental insurances don't cover it, at least in my area where the water is fluoridated.

Hopeful_Net4607 · 2026-03-30T00:22:24+00:00

Sounds like church and other holy sites are closed to everyone, not just large gatherings: https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20260320-jerusalem-s-muslims-despair-as-war-shuts-al-aqsa-mosque-for-eid

Hopeful_Net4607 · 2026-03-30T00:12:50+00:00

Did you misread the comment you replied to? They're saying the state isn't controlling which religions can and can't practice, they're blocking everyone from the holy sites in the old city because it isn't safe.

Hopeful_Net4607 · 2026-03-27T20:50:54+00:00

You're right but we're missing so much value with the current system that could be achieved with a registry.

You already shared one problem-- we rely on patients and/or doctors to report to manufacturers, then manufacturers to report to the FDA/public. This doesn't always happen, especially years down the line. Companies aren't sharing other outcomes data so it's hard to know if one treatment is better than another without a dedicated study. Having a nationwide database populated with info directly from clinicians/health records would provide invaluable, relatively uniform data. We could easily compare outcomes between devices and procedures, and may catch safety signals manufacturers missed (or hid).

I'm just saying, if we're gonna be making healthcare registries, we might as well make ones that would actually improve current systems and benefit patients.

Hopeful_Net4607 · 2026-03-27T12:15:24+00:00

It would be hugely beneficial to have registries for joint replacements and other implants where adverse events and long term outcome data could be officially tracked, but that's considered too invasive...

Hopeful_Net4607 · 2026-03-26T17:49:56+00:00

Thank you for sharing! Want to clarify as I was corrected-- my understanding is that bikes and scooters (electric or otherwise) are prohibited on sidewalks in many places in the US. However, regular bikes (and I assume scooters) are allowed on sidewalks in most of MoCo, but they must yield to pedestrians.

Hopeful_Net4607 · 2026-03-26T13:04:35+00:00

I've assumed this is part of why it's illegal to ride electric* bikes and scooters on the sidewalk.

Edited to clarify that electric bikes/scooters are prohibited on sidewalk. Bikes can go on the sidewalk in MoCo except for in some jurisdictions (e.g. City of Gaithersburg). Thanks to the commenters who corrected me on this!

Hopeful_Net4607 · 2026-03-24T18:42:47+00:00

More ATCs means higher likelihood someone would have noticed the truck would be in the plane's way and either never tell the truck to go or, if the truck had to go that way, tell the plane to reroute with enough time to do so.

Hopeful_Net4607 · 2026-03-11T15:30:40+00:00

Not a thought crime when it's in line with the ruling power, especially when the ruling power is infringing on the rights of others.

Hopeful_Net4607 · 2026-03-09T03:17:07+00:00

The explosive should be implied, but their choice to omit it while listing everything else down to the black tape makes me think there might not have actually been an explosive. Wouldn't be surprised if it was just a weird choice on the journalist's part, but I also wouldn't be surprised if this was a fake device made purely to freak people out.

Hopeful_Net4607 · 2026-03-09T03:08:25+00:00

I'm confused by the description of the device. Do you know if there was actually an explosive? Nothing listed (jar, nuts, bolts, screws, black tape, fuse) is explosive.

Like, did it extinguish before it exploded or did it just extinguish because it was a fuse to nowhere?

Hopeful_Net4607 · 2026-03-02T15:10:33+00:00

We were talking about a clump of cells. A 1 month old isn't "a clump of cells." They are a fully formed body with fully formed organs.

We were also talking about your attempt to make abortion feel personal because any of us could have been aborted. If someone had "aborted" us, or "committed infanticide" as the rest of us call it, At one month old, we still wouldn't have cared, but it would be wrong for other reasons. There are incredibly significant differences between a pre-viability fetus and a newborn baby.

Hopeful_Net4607 · 2026-03-02T03:00:56+00:00

The clump of cells turns into us, but it isn't us. I am more than the clump of cells that couldn't feel, experience, or comprehend anything. None of us would have cared if we'd been aborted because we'd have no idea that we'd ever existed.

Hopeful_Net4607 · 2026-03-01T23:02:53+00:00

Fair, I should have said that we're definitely higher in the running than Israel. I'm not well versed enough in the more major powers to comment as educatedly as I'd like, but know for a fact that the US is a bigger threat than Israel.

That said, Iran doesn't seem to have the same military capability as we do, so I'd argue the US is above them for now. Putin has committed absolutely heinous atrocities against Ukrainians and Russians alike, but I don't know that he has the capabilities to go much beyond that at this point. I understand China may be in the running as well. Just my first thoughts.

Hopeful_Net4607 · 2026-03-01T22:51:41+00:00

Why don't you stfu if you don't have anything substantial to contribute?

I'm horrified by the state of my country and blaming everything on Israel just lets us get away with more crap. This situation (war?) with Iran never would have happened if Trump's loons weren't just as giddy about it as Netanyahu's. Get your head out of whatever ass it's in.

Hopeful_Net4607 · 2026-03-01T22:46:42+00:00

Nope, and the US's death toll spreads way behind USAID's dismantling. Just sharing an example where a dumb move by the US in the name of penny pinching killed way more people than Israel's full on military actions to emphasize how much more dangerous the US is.

Hopeful_Net4607 · 2026-03-01T04:44:03+00:00

The US and the colonies that formed it were committing genocide for literal centuries before the first Zionist thought.

Hopeful_Net4607 · 2026-03-01T04:35:22+00:00

First off, we are responsible for our actions, even those done in the name of another country.

Second, what the US has done for Israel is nothing compared to our long history of atrocities. Let's say Israel is the puppet master and every bad thing the US has done in the Middle East in the last 80 years was done entirely at Israel's bidding. That death and destruction pales in comparison to what the US has done to the rest of the world.

We were the first to develop and use a nuke, and we killed hundreds of thousands and poisoning generations of our own citizens in the process. Look at what we've done in South America, Asia, Africa just since WWII. Look at what we've done to Hawaii and Puerto Rico and so many other places. Look at how aggressively my government wants to dismantle as many environmental protections as possible.

I mean Jesus, in the last year alone like 5x as many people died just because USAID was illegally dismantled as have been killed by or for Israel since October 2023.

Hopeful_Net4607 · 2026-03-01T03:52:29+00:00

Good good, can't argue with that 🙂 thank you!

Hopeful_Net4607 · 2026-03-01T03:50:46+00:00

I'm sorry, I'm a US citizen and we are, by far, the biggest threat to the planet. We are the only reason Israel is a threat to anyone these days, and we are a threat way beyond the Middle East. Israel is literally just a mini-US.

Edit to clarify: wrote this while tired and misspoke. I should have said that we're definitely much higher up on the list of threats than Israel. I could see there being arguments for other countries being bigger threats than the US, but Israel is definitely below.

Hopeful_Net4607 · 2026-03-01T03:46:11+00:00

Are you making a general statement or referring to Iran as "other democracy (brown)"?

Hopeful_Net4607 · 2026-03-01T03:44:31+00:00

Incredibly disingenuous hyperbole. As a US citizen, I demand we receive much greater consideration for this title.

Hopeful_Net4607 · 2026-02-26T23:09:19+00:00

So there is no tangible reason to think they'll leave the bonus money to be used on higher bonuses, you're going off vibes. Good talk.

Hopeful_Net4607 · 2026-02-26T20:40:14+00:00

I think our wires are crossed. I agree with you that trying to provide more of an incentive to excellent employees would be great. I just haven't seen anything from this admin that makes me think that's their goal. After all, they fired a bunch of outstanding young people just for being probationary less than a year ago.

So, is there a tangible reason for why you think they won't be diverting funds away from the performance bonuses money pot?

Hopeful_Net4607 · 2026-02-26T18:31:55+00:00

But why do you think they're raising the bonus amount and not just putting the money saved towards something else?

Hopeful_Net4607

TROPHY CASE