Water perfectly fine without fluoridation

Returning to the fluoride issue, I must disagree with one of your correspondent's assertion ("Fluoride letter called for some fact-checking," letter by Campbell Scott, Oct. 29) that this unneeded element is to be added to our water "in purified form"--you cannot purify a poison.

Were you to imbibe in sufficient quantities you would die. This stuff is so toxic that until other more modern mediums came along it was advertised as a "rodent suppressor"--it was a rat poison!

I wrote to our local water company asking why they intended using this substance. Part of their reply was that "community water fluoridation is supported by most major national and international health organizations." That statement in itself is of dubious value--nearly all the European countries have discontinued (or outright rejected) accepting fluoride in their drinking water, as do most other countries throughout the world. We in the United States are the greatest users of this dangerous compound.

I fail to understand why they are taking this step--they have no need to. The Californian water mandate does not force any change upon them. Why then this decision?

Don't be misled on this issue. Fluoride is put into the water supply purely for cosmetic purposes (which is in itself by no means uncontested). It has absolutely no purification value.

Anyone who so wishes can personally use a toothpaste with flouride added (read the label carefully). For the rest of us, our local water company has arbitrarily taken upon itself the right to force this unnecessary adulterant into our area with (as far as I can see) no public discussion. This is too important to ignore--nobody can live without water. The Santa Clara Water District provides us at present with perfectly good water.

To ensure this is to remain, we must protest now, before they start breaking ground on these new plants. Tell them we wish our water to be pure--we do not want this enforced contaminant.

Malc Sheehan

Los Gatos

League's intent: to clarify what new law does

Thank you for acknowledging the work of the Southwest Santa Clara Valley League of Women Voters in a recent editorial ("League offers an objective look at the issues we all face," Oct. 15), and in particular, our recent program on the Affordable Care Act.

Since the Affordable Care Act is now the law, the intent that day was not to discuss pros and cons of the legislation but rather to clarify what the law does or provides.

Our speaker, Bob Brownstein, organized his presentation around three aspects that the law attempts to address: lack of insurance, cost and improved outcomes. Feedback we have received indicates that our speaker's presentation successfully communicated this information.

The League of Women Voters is a volunteer organization interested in recruiting men and women who care about and want to work on civic issues. Our motto is "Democracy is not a spectator sport." Our goal is to help educate the electorate so they are more informed voters, and we do this through our program events, candidate forums and pros and cons presentations on ballot issues.

If this volunteer work is appealing to you, please contact one of our membership chairs--Barbara Lea (barbara.lea@comcast.net) or Ann Roberts (aroberts22@comcast.net)--for more information about our work and/or how to join our organization.

Eleanor Yick

Los Gatos

Eleanor Yick is the president of the League of Women Voters of Southwest Santa Clara Valley, which serves Los Gatos, Saratoga, Monte Sereno and Campbell.