Answer the question at the end by quoting:

Norquist grew up in Weston, Massachusetts. He is the son of Carol (nee Lutz) and Warren Elliott Norquist (a vice president of Polaroid Corporation), and is of Swedish ancestry. His brother, David Norquist has served in senior posts in Republican administrations at both the United States Department of Defense and the United States Department of Homeland Security. Norquist became involved with politics at an early age when he volunteered for the 1968 Nixon campaign, assisting with get out the vote efforts.
Prior to the November 2012 election, 238 of 242 House Republicans and 41 out of 47 Senate Republicans had signed ATR's "Taxpayer Protection Pledge", in which the pledger promises to "oppose any and all efforts to increase the marginal income tax rate for individuals and business; and to oppose any net reduction or elimination of deductions and credits, unless matched dollar for dollar by further reducing tax rates."  The November 6, 2012 elections resulted in a decline in the number of Taxpayer Protection Pledge signatories in both the upper and lower houses of the 113th Congress: from 41 to 39 in the Senate, and from 238 to "fewer than ... 218" in the House of Representatives. According to journalist Alex Seitz-Wald, losses in the election by Norquist supporters and the "fiscal cliff" have emboldened and made more vocal critics of Norquist.  In November 2011, Senate Majority leader Harry Reid (D-NV) blamed Norquist's influence for the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction's lack of progress, claiming that Congressional Republicans "are being led like puppets by Grover Norquist. They're giving speeches that we should compromise on our deficit, but never do they compromise on Grover Norquist. He is their leader." Since Norquist's pledge binds signatories to opposing deficit reduction agreements that include any element of increased tax revenue, some Republican deficit hawks now retired from office have stated that Norquist has become an obstacle to deficit reduction. Former Republican Senator Alan Simpson (R-WY), co-chairman of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, has been particularly critical, describing Norquist's position as "[n]o taxes, under any situation, even if your country goes to hell."

what was the taxpayer protection pledge?

the pledger promises to "oppose any and all efforts to increase the marginal income tax rate for individuals and business;



Answer the question at the end by quoting:

Oldman was born in New Cross, London, the son of Leonard Bertram Oldman (1921-1985), a former sailor who also worked as a welder, and Kathleen (nee Cheriton; born 1919). He has stated that Leonard was an alcoholic who left the family when Oldman was seven years old. Oldman attended West Greenwich School in Deptford, leaving school at the age of 16 to work in a sports shop. He was a pianist as a child, and later a singer, but gave up his musical aspirations to pursue an acting career after seeing Malcolm McDowell's performance in the 1971 film The Raging Moon.
Oldman was charged with drunk driving in 1991 after a night out in Los Angeles with actor Kiefer Sutherland. A deputy city attorney stated that Oldman's blood alcohol content was found to be more than twice California's limit for legal intoxication.  Some media outlets reported that Oldman was unhappy with The Contender (2000) because DreamWorks had edited the film to reflect pro-Democratic leanings, stirring controversy. The claims were declared "sloppy sensationalism" by Oldman's manager, Urbanski, who said that Oldman was "the least political person he knew", that "neither he nor Oldman had made the statements attributed to them," that they had "produced the film every last cut and frame," and that "DreamWorks did not influence the final cut or have anything to do with it." It has been suggested that Oldman was blacklisted in Hollywood for several years as a result.  In an interview in the July/August 2014 issue of Playboy magazine while promoting Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Oldman criticized what he saw as excessive political correctness in American media and the entertainment industry's own discriminating hypocrisy, and argued in support of former controversial celebrities Mel Gibson and Alec Baldwin. He stressed that he did not relate with most of their viewpoints, but regarding the former, agreed, "Gibson is in a town that's run by Jews" (referring to Hollywood). After criticism from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), Oldman apologised to them in an open letter. ADL director Abraham Foxman acknowledged that Oldman was remorseful, but felt his letter was insufficient and asked for "a little more introspection, a little more understanding and a little more education". Oldman then made a public apology on the 25 June edition of late-night talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live!, where he stressed that he was "profoundly sorry" for his "insensitive, pernicious and ill-informed" remarks.

What is one of the themes of Oldman's controversies?

pro-Democratic



Answer the question at the end by quoting:

Sanjay Gupta ( SAHN-jay GOOP-t@; born October 23, 1969) is an American neurosurgeon and medical reporter. He serves as associate chief of the neurosurgery service at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, and as assistant professor of neurosurgery at the Emory University School of Medicine. A media personality on health-related issues, he is best known as CNN's multiple Emmy Award-winning chief medical correspondent, hosting the network's weekend health program Sanjay Gupta, M.D., and making frequent appearances on their American Morning, Larry King Live and Anderson Cooper 360deg programs. His reports from Charity Hospital, New Orleans, Louisiana, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina led to him winning a 2006 Emmy Award for Outstanding Feature Story in a Regularly Scheduled Newscast.
On January 6, 2009, CNN announced that Gupta had been considered for the position of Surgeon General by President Barack Obama.  Some doctors said that his communication skills and high profile would allow him to highlight medical issues and prioritize medical reform. However, others raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest with drug companies who have sponsored his broadcasts and his lack of skepticism in weighing the costs and benefits of medical treatments.  Representative John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI), wrote a letter opposing Gupta's nomination. Conyers supports a single-payer health care system, the sort that Conyers' filmmaker friend Michael Moore advocated in his documentary Sicko; Gupta has criticized Moore and the film.  Others, such as liberal commentator Jane Hamsher, defended the appointment, noting that Gupta's responsibilities as a surgeon general would be not that different from those of his CNN position, and that Gupta's media presence would make him ideal for the position. From the medical community, Donna Wright, of Creative Health Care Management, a regular commentator on medicine and politics, also defended the appointment on the grounds of his media presence, combined with his medical qualifications, which she viewed as an ideal combination for the post of surgeon general. Likewise, Fred Sanfilippo, executive vice president for health affairs at Emory University, supported Gupta's nomination by issuing a press release saying: "He has the character, training, intelligence and communications skills needed to help the United States improve its health and health care delivery systems in the next Administration." The American Council on Exercise, listed by PR Newswire as "America's leading authority on fitness and one of the largest fitness certification, education and training organizations in the world", endorsed the nomination of Gupta "because of his passion for inspiring Americans to lead healthier, more active lives". The ACE sent a letter of support to senator Edward M. Kennedy. Former surgeon general Joycelyn Elders also supported Gupta's nomination, saying: "He has enough well-trained, well-qualified public health people to teach him the things he needs to do the job." In March 2009 Gupta withdrew his name from consideration for the post, citing his family and his career.

why did Obama nominate him
communication skills and high profile would allow him to highlight medical issues and prioritize medical reform.