Very impartial description "rabid"

Science
Tall, rosy-cheeked, and freshly retired from a professorial post at St. Lawrence University, solid-waste-management expert and rabid antifluoridationist Paul Connett stood before a small crowd in Laurelhurst Monday, May 8, and launched into a screed that made the fringe debate surrounding fluoridation of water seem as grave as that over abortion or gun control. "Swallowing fluoride makes as much sense as swallowing sun block to prevent the skin from the sun's rays," fumed Connett. His central argument: While fluoride might be an effective topical tooth-decay combatant, if ingested by way of greater-than-average tap water consumption, it can take on the qualities of a potentially hazardous toxin that can lead to osteoporosis or brain damage. Nonsense, says the mainstream medical community. Dr. Larry Mast, a pediatric dentist from Bellevue, points to the American Medical Association's endorsement of fluoridated water to rebuff Connett's argument that the debate is too tooth-centric. "I have patients who live in fluoridated areas and some in nonfluoridated areas, and I see a drastic difference. It's one of the most efficient ways we can prevent dental disease." MIKE SEELY
Philanthropies