Category: Anxiety

Sen. Ted Cruz was one of three senators to vote against the confirmation of Sen. John Kerry as Secretary of State today. In a statement, Cruz said he opposed Kerry because of his “less-than-vigorous” defense of U.S. security interests.

Cruz’s office says he voted no on Kerry bc “of his longstanding less-than-vigorous defense of U.S. national security issues”

— Rosie Gray (@RosieGray) January 29, 2013

Paul Begala was among the first to question Cruz’ right to vote against someone he didn’t think was right for the job by going after Cruz’ status as a non-veteran. Begala flubbed the video game reference, though.

@paulbegala Modern Warfare, World of Warcraft. Come on Paul, this is the Internet, you can’t make mistakes like that here.

— Jordon Brown (@THEJordonBrown) January 29, 2013

@paulbegala @yair_rosenberg @hayesbrown You kids with your World of Warbots and your fax machines and skateboards

— Brendan James (@brendanjamesnyc) January 29, 2013

Amidst all this confirmation controversy, one thing’s for sure: @paulbegala can’t play World of Warcraft.

— Yair Rosenberg (@Yair_Rosenberg) January 29, 2013

@paulbegala @rev_nev_lewis pretty sure Commander in Chief hasn’t gone to World of Warcraft either, but apparently he has been skeet shooting

— Cindy Nelson (@MedStudiesGirl) January 30, 2013

So, were only senators who have served allowed to vote on the confirmation? Or were non-veterans allowed to vote “yes,” but not “no”? How does this work, exactly?

As a VET I find @sentedcruz remarks abt Kerry/Hagel disgusting. You owe them an apology. You NEVER served & know nothing of war/military

— Jody (@FishHawkRdJody) January 29, 2013

While John Kerry & Chuck Hagel were getting their asses shot at in Nam @sentedcruz was still crapping in his diapers. STFU abt war, Ted

— Jody (@FishHawkRdJody) January 30, 2013

Ted Cruz(RTX) never in military. Jackass chickenhawk demeaning Kerry & Hagel who actually fought in war. Cruz pompous idiothas no shame.

— Kathy (@mydoggigi) January 29, 2013

So how many medals has Canadian-born @sentedcruz won? Right – that’s what I thought. Ted, please stop embarassing your home and native land.

— August Murphy-King (@august_mk) January 29, 2013

About those medals…

John Kerry confirmed Secretary of State – throws away Senate commendations, falsely accuses other Senators of atrocities.

— El SOOPer!! (@SooperMexican) January 29, 2013

@soopermexican You meant to say *FAKES* throwing away Senate commendations, right? 😉

— Brian Cates (@drawandstrike) January 29, 2013

Read more: http://twitchy.com/2013/01/29/paul-world-of-warfare-begala-others-troll-sen-ted-cruz-over-no-note-on-kerry/

Oh, our aching sides! Words are so hard for Vice President Biden and his office. Just last week, Biden said that his gun task force meetings are totally not photo ops. At a  gun task force meeting. A photo from which the White House then tweeted out.

Today, there was another “words are so hard” example.

https://twitter.com/markknoller/status/290818312579981314

Weird! Because here is … a photo.

https://twitter.com/VP/status/290908017422127104

It depends on what the definition of photo is! CBS’ Mark Knoller, who is a Twitter master and an all-around good guy, tries to explain it away a little.

https://twitter.com/markknoller/status/290912180201734144

Sorry, Mark, but we must disagree. A photo op does not specifically mean for the press. Other people do exist. We are givers, so here is a definition for the Vice President’s office:

 a situation or event that lends itself to and is often arranged expressly for the taking of pictures that give favorable publicity to the individuals photographed

Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner! Why do you think the photo was sent out?

By the way, what happened to that whole “bipartisan spirit”?

https://twitter.com/5sahandful/status/290819038144241666

And, get ready for the next photo. Op, or otherwise.

https://twitter.com/samsteinhp/status/290897433028861954

Featuring Obama’s own mug, natch.

Read more: http://twitchy.com/2013/01/14/it-depends-on-what-the-meaning-of-photo-is-press-told-no-biden-photo-op-wh-tweets-out-photo/

President Obama can’t have that pesky Benghazi-gate “bump in the roadway” tripping him up on 2nd presidential debate tonight and he’s desperately wishing his coach has room underneath for roadkill in a pantsuit.

With Hillary Clinton already dropping on her behalf sword over the Benghazi safety failures, you will want to make the fault for other travesties might trigger hiccups for President Finger-Pointer at tonight’s debate? It’s about time some body took obligation for Milli Vanilli, brand new Coke while the Ford Pinto, and Hillary’s our gal.

Conservatives rapidly trended the #HillaryAlsoTookTheBlameFor hashtag and kept it going through the night.

Wow, my hashtag #HillaryAlsoTookTheBlameFor is getting some grip – today, basically have a @twitchyteam article, I’m able to perish a happy guy

— Cameron Gray (@Cameron_Gray) October 16, 2012

Ask and you shall receive. We’re givers like that.

Somebody must pay for these debacles, and it should be Hillary!

#HillaryAlsoTookTheBlameFor Snacks appear like they usually have chocolate potato chips, but result in have raisins

— Jon Bennett (@SideshowJon36) October 16, 2012

#HillaryAlsoTookTheBlameFor putting the bomp inside bomp shubomp shubomp.

— David Burge (@iowahawkblog) October 16, 2012

#HillaryAlsoTookTheBlameFor permitting the dogs out.

— Kara Nguyen (@kara_win) October 16, 2012

#HillaryAlsoTookTheBlameFor Ishtar

— Alan Katzen (@AlanKatzen) October 16, 2012

#HillaryAlsoTookTheBlameFor the Betamax

— Joe BP (@ANDA_JD) October 16, 2012

#Hillaryalsotooktheblamefor chocolate in my own peanut butter

— valerie (@valsocal) October 16, 2012

#HillaryAlsoTooktheBlameFor Cop Rock. #Caring #tcot

— Gus Baker (@GusBaker410) October 16, 2012

#HillaryAlsoTookTheBlameFor Canceling “Firefly” and “The Soprano’s” closing.

— Awnree (@Awnree1) October 16, 2012

#HillaryAlsoTookTheBlameFor the complete top half of a case of poker chips only being air.

— ConservativeComedian (@GOPcomedy) October 16, 2012

#HillaryAlsoTookTheBlameFor mullets and acidic clean jeans.

— Sandy Ballmann (@Mizz_SandraBee) October 16, 2012

#HillaryAlsoTookTheBlameFor those foillids in the yogurt that never tear off without trouble!

— 4R&R12 (@Camzilla72) October 16, 2012

Man, that dollar actually gets around!

We don’t treatment who takes the round providing this concerns pass.

From your own disposal to God’s ears. “@stevendumas: #HillaryAlsoTookTheBlameFor Obama losing the election this year”

— Smart Latina (@SuperAndrea) October 16, 2012

Make it work well!

Find out more: http://twitchy.com/2012/10/16/the-buck-stops-with-hillary-on-everything-heres-what-hillaryalsotooktheblamefor/

Read more: http://ifunny.com/pictures/i-need-few-more-volunteers/

Consumer genetics testing startup 23andMe can now tell people about their risk for one inherited disease. It’s a big first step.

View this image ›

23andMe CEO Anne Wojcicki speaks at an announcement for the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences at Genentech Hall on UCSF’s Mission Bay campus in San Francisco, Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2013. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu) Anonymous / AP

23andMe has just cleared a major hurdle in what looks like its comeback to provide genetics-based health information directly to consumers, a service banned by federal regulators a year and a half ago.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Thursday it will allow 23andMe to tell consumers about their genetic risk for a rare disease called Bloom syndrome. The test, which analyzes consumers’ spit, will determine whether a healthy person has a gene variant that could result in their offspring inheriting the disease.

The even bigger triumph for direct-to-consumer genetic testing in general is the FDA’s plan to ease up on regulating all “autosomal recessive carrier screening tests” — tests performed on people who display no symptoms for a genetic disorder, but who may be at risk for passing it on to their children.

The developments are a significant victory for the Mountain View company, which has been collecting and analyzing consumers’ tubes of spit since 2007, building a database of nearly 1 million samples.

On Nov. 22, 2013, the FDA told the startup to stop providing interpretations of health risks to people, citing concerns that the results were inaccurate or could be misconstrued since they are presented directly online instead of through medical professionals.

“The FDA believes that in many circumstances it is not necessary for consumers to go through a licensed practitioner to have direct access to their personal genetic information,” Alberto Gutierrez, director of the Office of In Vitro Diagnostics and Radiological Health in the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health, said in a statement. “Today’s authorization and accompanying classification, along with FDA’s intent to exempt these devices from FDA premarket review, supports innovation and will ultimately benefit consumers. These tests have the potential to provide people with information about possible mutations in their genes that could be passed on to their children.”

The tests in question are meant to detect situations where a carrier has inherited one normal and one abnormal allele for a gene associated with such a disorder; and a child with the disorder inherits two abnormal alleles — one copy from each parent. Instead of reviewing such tests before they hit the market, the FDA intends to refrain from doing so, a plan that will be open to public comment.

The move will likely open the way for 23andMe to submit more tests for such conditions. It will also certainly be controversial due to the long-held concerns about accuracy.

Acknowledging that “no test is perfect,” the FDA said that these specific carrier screening tests are typically are only performed for prospective parents with a family history of a genetic disorder, not patients at large.

The FDA will require that companies explain results in “a way that consumers can understand and use,” including specialized advice for prospective parents interested in seeing if they carry a genetic disorder. If the tests are sold over the counter, the FDA will also require that 23andMe tell consumers how to access a board-certified clinical molecular geneticist, or an equivalent professional, to help with pre- and post-test counseling. The test is intended only for postnatal carrier screening in adults of reproductive age.

In June, 23andMe submitted its request for the Bloom syndrome test, an inherited disorder characterized by short stature, sun-sensitive skin changes, an increased risk of cancer, and other health problems. The FDA’s decision was based on two separate studies — one with a total of 123 samples, and another with 105 samples.

There was also a study with 295 people to see if people unfamiliar with 23andMe’s mail-home “spit kits” could understand the test instructions. Yet another study of 302 randomly recruited participants demonstrated to the FDA that the test instructions and results were easy to follow and understand.

23andMe declined to comment.

Read more: http://www.buzzfeed.com/stephaniemlee/the-fda-just-gave-23andme-a-major-victory