Earlier this week, while I was preoccupied with some medical issues, Rob Love, one of Fluoride Free Austin's most active and creative members - he designed our new Facebook page -  organized a telephone campaign .  Rob's, and John Bush's, initiative in their recent self-appointed tasks are examples of the flexibility that I consider one of our organization's great strengths.

Rob's letter to our membership, somewhat edited, appears below: 

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Dear Fluoride Fighters,

If each of us just makes a few calls we will make a huge difference. So here is the story.

John Bush has been lobbying City Council hard, asking that they move on the Environmental Board’s recommendation that the costs and benefits of Fluoride be evaluated.

City Council has sat on this recommendation for 9 months. But with your help, they won’t be able to delay any longer.

This week we are having a phone-calling campaign. We will inundate City Council with phone calls on this issue, forcing them to take action on this item.

Today, Wednesday, please call and leave messages for:
Lee Leffingwell – Mayor: Phone: (512)974-2250
Chris Riley -Phone: (512)974-2260
Mike Martinez - Phone: (512)974-2264
Randi Shade - Phone: (512)974-2255

On Thursday, please call:
Laura Morrison - Phone: (512)974-2258
Bill Spelman - Phone: (512)974-2256
Sheryl Cole - Phone: (512)974-2266

If you can’t make all the calls on by Thursday, feel free to call Friday.The idea of calling as a unit is to really flood each office.

If you aren’t sure what to say when calling, here is an easy script to follow:

“Hello, my name is ____ and I am an Austin resident. I am very concerned with the safety of the water in Austin, specifically the amount of fluoride that is added to it.

I want the City Council to move forward with the Environmental Board’s recommendation  and set up an independent task force to evaluate the costs and benefits of water fluoridation.”

If you want to say more, you can add: “I want fluoride removed from our drinking water. Fluoride is medication. It says on the back of my toothpaste tube not to swallow it. Adding fluoride to the drinking water is forcing medication upon the people. I am strongly
against forced medication. No government should have the right to dictate what medications I ingest.”

Or, if you want to keep it simple, you might say, something like, “Adding Fluoride to the drinking water is forcing mass medication  with a toxin well-known to harm the bones, thyroid and kidneys of many people, some more than others..  Please remove it from our water.”’

And please, say whatever you like. You are the concerned citizen, so voice your concern however you see fit.

If you get really inspired, please write letters to the council members,saying something similar to the above. I find calling pretty easy, and I don’t want to ask anybody to pay 50 cents per stamp to write each council member. But if you are motivated, rock on!

This is our first collective action as a group. So have fun with it!

Yours in Liberty,

-Rob

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Since I learned of this campaign too late to pre-publicize it in this blog, I propose that those of you who haven't already made your calls do it today (Friday) or next Monday.  You get another chance!