“Partisans from both sides plan civil debate on political philosophy - Weblogs.sun-sentinel.com” plus 1 more

Partisans from both sides plan civil debate on political philosophy - Weblogs.sun-sentinel.com

Posted: 02 Feb 2011 06:10 AM PST

They're diametrically opposed on most issues, but they're coming together Thursday night for an unusual two-hour conversation about the different philosophical approaches to the nation's most pressing problems: health care, energy, jobs, taxes.

Called "The American Experiment: Where Do We Go From Here," the event is the brainchild of Karin Hoffman, founder and president of the Broward-based DC Works for US, which is part of the tea party movement. Hoffman is also Broward a Republican committeewoman.

Her partner in the effort is Franco Ripple, vice president of the Broward Young Democrats and the southeast regional director of the Florida Young Democrats.

They've assembled a three-person "liberal team" and a three-person "conservative team." Each will offer its sides' solutions to a particular problem. The other side will get a rebuttal – not for attacks, but to refute the positions. Then the other side will get to offer its solutions followed by a rebuttal.

The idea is that each side will present how America would look if it could achieve its goals.

"We surround ourselves in our bubbles. It's almost like a group think," Hoffman said. The idea is to "challenge what you believe…. It's not a political debate. You're getting beyond issues and discussing ideology."

One thing it will not be, Hoffman promised: "Candidates that are spouting platforms for their party and sound bites."

That's the key reason the gathering is this week, Ripple said. He and Hoffman wanted to do it now, when there aren't big campaigns going on that force people interested in politics to be more guarded in their comments. "We can have an honest dialog before the next campaign cycle heats up."

Ripple said it's a conversation about the different ways that the two main ideological streams in the United States approach the country's problems.

"What we're really trying to drill down to is the ways our various philosophies solve our nations' emergent problems – without the campaign platforms and sound bites," he said. "It's not designed to be a gotcha kind of thing.

"They're not gotcha type questions. We're not making anyone look stupid. We're interested in what unites us, what divides us, what makes us different. But at the end of the day what unites us.

"What we're hoping for is that the tone of this event will be very different from some of the congressional town halls that you've seen. This is not an event for people to come to be nasty to the person sitting next to them," Ripple said. "You're going to be sitting next to someone who probably believes something different from you."

The unlikely pair met last year at a Florida Atlantic University forum where both spoke. "It was a great discussion, and we've become friends," Hoffman said. "I said we need to take that and build on it."

The event is Thursday from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Coral Springs Christian Academy, 2251 Riverside Drive, Coral Springs.

It's open to the public. Organizers will request donations with proceeds to the Wounded Warrior project. "This way we can support the soldiers who have sacrificed everything so we can have this discussion," Hoffman said.

It will also be streamed live online here. And here's a secondary site for the online stream.

And if they run out of questions, more will be solicited here via Twitter.

The liberal panel (Franco calls it "progressive"): Ripple; Laura Hammad, president of the Orange County Young Democrats; and Alexander Lewy, Hallandale Beach city commissioner and president of the Florida Young Democrats.

The conservative panel: David Gobeo, board member of the Republican Business Network in Coral Springs and Parkland; Sheela Venero, secretary of the Broward Republican Party and president of Broward County Young Republicans; Robert Lowry, president of the South Broward Republican Club and an unsuccessful candidate for a Republican congressional nomination last year.

Hoffman is the moderator.

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Excerpt: Dr. Jessica Wu's 'The Feed Your Face Philosophy' - ABC News

Posted: 02 Feb 2011 05:35 AM PST

Feb. 2, 2011

Dermatologist Dr. Jessica Wu explains how her diet improves your skin by eliminating blemishes and reducing wrinkles.

Read an excerpt from "The Feed Your Face Philosophy" below or click here to check out her website.

Dr. Jessica Wu reveals surprising food that may or may not be helping your skin.

The Feed Your Face Philosophy

A few years ago a young father of three came to my office with what he thought was a rash. He was a strong, sturdy guy— a construction worker— with no health problems to speak of except for this per sis tent itch that was keeping him up at night. His pharmacist gave him oatmeal baths, his wife bought him all sorts of lotions and creams, but nothing worked. Even as we talked, he scratched and scratched and scratched, but when I examined him, I couldn't fi nd any rash. All the marks on his skin were self- infl icted, left over from his fi ngernails digging into his flesh.

There are all sorts of reasons for why someone might develop "itching of unknown cause," but it's a long and scary list (think liver problems, cancer, etc.). I didn't want to freak the poor guy out— at least not without knowing anything for sure— so we took some blood, I wrote a prescription for a soothing cream, and we sent his sample out for tests. The next day I got a call from the lab. This was not good news: The lab never calls unless something is seriously wrong. As fate would have it, the young man was in full kidney failure and very, very sick. I referred him to an internist who put him on dialysis that very same day. And all he had was an itch.

The Feed Your Face Philosophy

It is not my intention to scare the living daylights out of you here but, rather, to point out a simple fact: Your skin is important. It's not just what keeps your insides in; how it looks is an indicator of your overall health, and it's often the first (and sometimes the only) sign of serious illness elsewhere in the body. If your liver is in bad shape, you'll get jaundice (you'll turn yellow). Pale skin and hair loss are often the first signs of anemia. People with lung disease can appear pale and sallow (because they're not getting enough oxygen to the skin). Crash dieters can look gaunt, as if their skin were sagging. In fact, every time you visit a doctor— any doctor, not just a dermatologist— he or she checks out your skin as part of the overall examination. Taking care of your skin is a big part of keeping your whole body healthy.

Here's the good news: Getting beautiful, healthy skin doesn't have to be time- consuming, expensive, or intimidating. You don't have to forgo getting a great tan. You don't have to stop wearing makeup. And you definitely don't have to keep Olga, the Rus sian facialist, on speed dial. But before we can talk about looking good, we have to talk about how the skin— your body's largest organ— works. Here's a look at what's really going on in there.

It's Aliiive! Your Skin Is Living and Breathing

Just as your digestive system takes in food, processes nutrients, and gets rid of waste, your skin takes in nutrients from the blood, produces by- products (such as oil and dead skin cells), and sends what it doesn't need back into the bloodstream. For this reason we say it has its own metabolism, and how it functions is directly related to the fuel it receives (i.e., the food you eat).

Your skin is also what we call a microbiome; it's teeming with microorganisms, most of which are invisible to the naked eye. Even when you think you're clean (like right after a long, hot shower), you still have bacteria, fungus, yeast, and parasites living on and in your skin (gross, but true). They're supposed to be there, of course, and normally they all live in harmony, but when that delicate balance gets disturbed (by hormone fl uctuations or changes in your diet, for example), one component overgrows, and your skin reacts. Rosacea, acne, and many rashes are caused, at least in part, by bacterial overgrowth or imbalance.

The Feed Your Face Philosophy

Hey, Dr. Wu

Q: So, how many skin-care products do I really need?

A: Two to three products— tops—should do the trick: a cleanser, sunscreen (typically in the form of a moisturizer with SPF), and a treatment of some kind in the evening, depending on your particular needs.

Over the years I've come to realize that skin care basics often confuse people the most. In fact, the majority of questions I receive from my online newsletter are about the simple stuff, such as the proper way to wash one's face or what to look for in a moisturizer. That's why I'll be sharing tips and tricks, as well as specifi c product recommendations, along the way.

Is It Hot in Here? Your Skin Controls Your Core Temperature

The skin maintains your core temperature of 98.6°F by controlling the amount of water that evaporates from your body. The evaporation of water from the skin is what cools you down. If it's very cold outside, you won't sweat as much because your body is conserving heat. On the flip side, if it's really warm outside, your body increases perspiration (obviously); as the water evaporates from your skin, you cool off. That's why people who live in dry heat don't feel as uncomfortable as people who live in more humid parts of the country. It could be 110 degrees outside, but if you're in, say, Arizona, the sweat on your skin will evaporate quickly because the air is dry. On the other hand, if you're in south Florida, it might be only 85 degrees, but there's already so much water in the air that the sweat evaporates much more slowly. It's like being in a steam shower— sticky and uncomfortable.

Were you to lose large areas of your skin— in a fire, for example— you'd also lose your ability to regulate your internal temperature. That's why burn victims have to be wrapped from head to toe and kept in warm beds. There's a huge risk of developing hypothermia when you can't prevent water loss or hold in heat. That is also why a serious sunburn (as in second degree or worse, when the skin blisters and peels off) can make you shiver and shake.

The Feed Your Face Philosophy

Skin Enemy #1: Inflammation

Your skin is an important part of the immune system— it is the fi rst line of defense against outside "intruders" such as bacteria, allergens, and foreign objects (like dirt or splinters). When the skin is breached by one of those unwelcome guests, your body sends a rush of investigative immune cells to the affected area, triggering inflammation in the form of redness, heat, and swelling. That is why your eyes will puff up during allergy season, why you'll spike a fever if you have an infection. Typically, your body's natural immune response is temporary. Once you've recovered from any trauma, infection, or allergy, the associated redness and swelling will subside. For some people with imbalanced immune systems, however, that infl ammation never really dies down; and the longer their body stays inflamed, the worse it is for their health.

Recently, chronic inflammation has become a hot topic in the medical world as more and more studies suggest that it's a root cause of conditions ranging from heart disease, cancer, and Alzheimer's to osteoporosis and other diseases associated with aging. Doctors now think that cardiovascular disease, for example, is caused in part by inflammation of the arteries, not just an accumulation of plaque. Long- term inflammation can damage healthy tissue, including your arteries (leading to atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries) and your joints (causing arthritis).

Inflammation is also a hallmark of skin conditions such as acne, eczema, psoriasis, rashes, and even sunburn. And while you might be tempted to think of acne as a form of infection (due to the pus), it is really your body's inflammatory response that produces redness, swelling, and whiteheads. In fact, a number of the antibiotics we use to treat acne are prescribed not for their ability to kill bacteria (the dosage is too low) but to reduce inflammation. Learning how to manage and prevent infl ammation is important for your overall health and is essential for maintaining the health of your skin. And one of the most eff ective tools in regulating and preventing infl ammation is— you guessed it— eating the right foods. Altering your diet can help modulate the eff ects of infl ammatory conditions such as eczema and acne as well as help slow the signs of aging. Keep reading. I'll show you how.

Philosophy

Wednesday, February 2, 2011