DoubleSpeak with Matthew and Peter Slutsky

It Came from Wasilla: Todd S. Purdum on Sarah Palin

Joshua Skaroff — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:17:43 +0000

It Came from Wasilla: Todd S. Purdum on Sarah Palin

Norm Coleman Concedes: “We Have A New United States Senator”

Joshua Skaroff — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 20:36:05 +0000

Norm Coleman Concedes: "We Have A New United States Senator"

ESPN Outside The Lines: The Power Game

Joshua Skaroff — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 19:15:17 +0000

ESPN Outside The Lines: The Power Game

“A Texas nurse said she lost her coverage, after she was diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer, for…”

Joshua Skaroff — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 14:25:05 +0000

“

A Texas nurse said she lost her coverage, after she was diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer, for failing to disclose a visit to a dermatologist for acne.

The sister of an Illinois man who died of lymphoma said his policy was rescinded for the failure to report a possible aneurysm and gallstones that his physician noted in his chart but did not discuss with him.

The committee’s investigation found that WellPoint’s Blue Cross targeted individuals with more than 1,400 conditions, including breast cancer, lymphoma, pregnancy and high blood pressure. And the committee obtained documents that showed Blue Cross supervisors praised employees in performance reviews for rescinding policies.

[…]

Late in the hearing, Stupak, the committee chairman, put the executives on the spot. Stupak asked each of them whether he would at least commit his company to immediately stop rescissions except where they could show “intentional fraud.”

The answer from all three executives:

“No.”

”

- Health insurers refuse to limit rescission of coverage - Los Angeles Times

Me…On Your TV…

Peter Slutsky — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 17:04:45 +0000

Late last week, I was on MSNBC discussing Rusho and Obama’s speech in Cairo, Egypt. Check out the video.

Rush Limbaugh Does Sean Hannity

Peter Slutsky — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 18:25:27 +0000

I’ll be on MSNBC today at 3:45pm ET discussing Sean Hannity’s interview last night with Rush Limbaugh. Here’s the video… PART 1: PART 2:

Watch Me On The Tevee

Matthew Slutsky — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:01:53 +0000

Last night I did a spot on Al Jazeera English to discuss President Obama’s major speech in Cairo, Egypt. Here’s the video. If you haven’t yet done so, you should read the full text of the Obama speech. This speech is critically important and while it’s still to be determined whether it accomplishes a [...]

White House Profiles Muslim Americans

Peter Slutsky — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 13:14:28 +0000

The White House put together this video of various Muslim Americans speaking about being Muslim in America and about Obama’s speech in Cairo, Egypt. Check it out.

President Obama Speaks In Cairo [Video and Text]

Peter Slutsky — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 13:07:30 +0000

Here’s the speech, video and text (after the jump): Remarks of President Barack Obama A New Beginning Cairo, Egypt June 4, 2009 I am honored to be in the timeless city of Cairo, and to be hosted by two remarkable institutions. For over a thousand years, Al-Azhar has stood as a beacon of Islamic learning, and for over a century, [...]

Jeffrey Toobin On Sonia Sotomayor

Joshua Skaroff — Tue, 26 May 2009 20:35:57 +0000

“And what of Sotomayor’s opinions? It’ll take some time to sort them all out, but there appear to be few surprises. She’s a prudent, careful liberal, respectful of Supreme Court precedent, but willing to push its limits to defend the rights of the individual. Sort of like another kid who grew up in a single-parent home and received an Ivy League education—the President who nominated her.”

- Jeffrey Toobin on Sonia Sotomayor, Obama’s Supreme Court Justice nominee

see also: Toobin on Chief Justice John Roberts.

Leonard Nimoy On Obama

Joshua Skaroff — Fri, 08 May 2009 18:14:20 +0000

“We were standing on the back patio, waiting for him. And he came through the house, saw me and immediately put his hand up in the Vulcan gesture. He said, “They told me you were here.” We had a wonderful brief conversation and I said, “It would be logical if you would become president.””

- Leonard Nimoy on President Obama

“So, right there in the Cabinet Room, the President put a proposal on the table, according to two…”

Joshua Skaroff — Tue, 05 May 2009 16:20:13 +0000

“

So, right there in the Cabinet Room, the President put a proposal on the table, according to two people who were present. Obama said he was willing to curb malpractice awards, a move long sought by the Republicans and certain to bring strong opposition from the trial lawyers who fund the Democratic Party.

What, he wanted to know, did the Republicans have to offer in return?

Nothing, it turned out. Republicans were unprepared to make any concessions, if they had any to make.

”

- The Health Care Talks: Will Obama Get More Involved? - TIME

Google Founder Larry Page’s Commencement Speech

Peter Slutsky — Sun, 03 May 2009 21:57:43 +0000

I spent this past weekend in Ann Arbor, MI and had a chance to see Google founder Larry Page speak at the University of Michigan commencement. The speech was fantastic - check out the video below and text after the jump. Larry Page’s University of Michigan Commencement Address Class of 2009! First I’d like you to get [...]

QOTD: Dick Durbin

Joshua Skaroff — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 16:14:45 +0000

“And the banks — hard to believe in a time when we’re facing a banking crisis that many of the banks created — are still the most powerful lobby on Capitol Hill. And they frankly own the place.”

- Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL)

“This was, in my view, the unfinished Bobby Kennedy campaign – the idealism, the passion, the…”

Joshua Skaroff — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 03:20:00 +0000

““This was, in my view, the unfinished Bobby Kennedy campaign – the idealism, the passion, the inspiration he gave to people, it was organic and it was real and it wasn’t manufactured at a tactical level in the campaign.””

- Steve Schmidt, McCain Campaign Manager

An FBI Agent on Torture

Joshua Skaroff — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 15:13:38 +0000

“There was no actionable intelligence gained from using enhanced interrogation techniques on Abu Zubaydah that wasn’t, or couldn’t have been, gained from regular tactics. In addition, I saw that using these alternative methods on other terrorists backfired on more than a few occasions — all of which are still classified. The short sightedness behind the use of these techniques ignored the unreliability of the methods, the nature of the threat, the mentality and modus operandi of the terrorists, and due process.”

- My Tortured Decision - by Ali Soufan an F.B.I. supervisory special agent from 1997 to 2005

Playboy Jounalist Waterboarded

Peter Slutsky — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 15:14:39 +0000

Interesting video. For those of you out there who still believe that waterboarding is not torture, watch this.

Hysterical…

Peter Slutsky — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 13:09:15 +0000

This is a little uncomfortable to watch, but funny, nonetheless…

RIP Harry Kalas

Peter Slutsky — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 02:38:43 +0000

Harry Kalas, the longtime voice of the Philadelphia Phillies passed away today while getting ready to call a game in Washington, D.C. He was adored by all Philadelphians and he will be deeply missed. He was one of the voices of my childhood and I hope wherever he is tonight, there is a good ball [...]

The White House - Slideshow - In Europe

Joshua Skaroff — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 16:25:54 +0000

The White House - Slideshow - In Europe