Virginia Foxx Needs To Step Down! Criticizes Obama But Gets Autograph

On the heels of Pres. Obama extending an Olive Branch to Republicans in hopes of building positive bi-partisan communication between GOP and Democrat Congressional members, as always Rep. Virginia Foxx finds a way to screw things up.

In fact U.S. Congresswoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC)never ceases to amaze me with her frequent foolish, snide, foot-in-mouth comments.

Why would she seek to sabotage yesterday's historic efforts for Unity by posting a negative Twitter Comment about Pres. Obama?

"Pres. Obama gave us another lecture. Our guys asked great questions. Need Independent Fact Checker for his comments. Got Autograph."

How Stupid are those statements??

What's even more bizarre is that she gets his autograph!

Now why would you want to obtain the autograph of someone whom you obviously don't respect?

Is it so you can sell it on Ebay??

Rep. Foxx's behavior consistently makes the Republican Party appear Illiterate and Stupid, thus scaring away anyone considering looking to Republicans for constructive Solutions.

This includes: Black Voters, Independent Voters, Gay Voters, etc.,

How can someone so narrow-minded represent her constituents well?

Although I'm not a Republican, I'd say its high time she stepped down.

Elected Incumbents like Rep. Foxx only help to divide Republicans and Democrats thus creating continued Capitol Hill Gridlock on issues important to the American people.

Politicians (especially Incumbents) need to frequently search within themselves and ask why they sought a role in Public Office.

If they aren't there for Voters or Constructive Progress, than GET OUT and make room for people who are!

We all understand Politicians are still Human Beings who possess their own perspectives on everyday life issues, however it wouldn't hurt to use a little tact or to hold one's tongue versus spewing out whatever comes to mind.

To Rep. Virginia Foxx I repeat "Its Time For You To Step Down" or....

Cease making foolish remarks which hurts your party, causes Southern Politicians to look Stupid and makes Congress appear even more dysfunctional.

North Carolina can do better. So much better.







Virginia Foxx Slams Obama, Gets Autograph


North Carolina Rep. Virginia Foxx criticized President Obama after his address to House Republicans but had no qualms about walking away with a souvenir.

"Pres gave us another lecture. Our guys asked great questions. Need independent fact checker for his comments. Got autograph," the Republican congresswoman tweeted Friday afternoon at the House Republican retreat.

A follow up tweet she sent shortly after read, "Am concerned that Pres thinks health care bill is centrist. He did not accept the scalpel and it is a great tool."

Her remarks followed a rare question-and-answer session with the president and the GOP caucus.

About 300 lawmakers, family members and aides attended the meeting, which was broadcast live. The event was for the most part civil, with a few moments of heated discussion.

Obama accused Republicans of frequently mischaracterizing his policy proposals, particularly in the health care debate. Republicans, in turn, complained that the White House and congressional Democrats had ignored their ideas, locked them out of the policy-making process, and unfairly labeled them as obstructionists.

"Both sides can take some blame for a sour climate on Capitol Hill," Obama said, adding that Democrats and Republicans "need to be careful" in choosing their rhetoric. "A tone of civility instead of slash and burn would be helpful."

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Virginia Foxx: Matthew Shepard's Murder Not a Hate Crime


Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) has done it again. Earlier this month she dropped the racially charged term "tar baby" on the House floor. Today, she said the murder of 21-year-old Matthew Shepard in 1998 was not a hate crime.

"It's really a hoax that that continues to be used as an excuse for passing [hate crimes] bills," Foxx said on the House floor during debate on the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act.

Foxx opposes a bill being considered that would extend federal hate crimes protections to cover crimes committed because of a person's gender, sexual orientation or disability.

She called Shepard's murder a "very unfortunate incident" but said "we know that that young man was killed in the commitment of a robbery. It wasn't because he was gay."

And guess who was in the House gallery to hear Foxx say this? Matthew Shepard's mother, Judy, according to Democratic sources.

To refresh your memory on what happened to her son> two men tied the University of Wyoming college freshman to a fence and savagely pistol whipped and beat him to death. Before doing it, one of the killers tauntingly said to Shepard, "It's Gay Awareness Week."

Ironically, Foxx is part of a GOP leadership team tasked with finding embarrassing, "You-Tube worthy moments" of vulnerable Democratic freshmen and sophomores.

Here's what gay liberal blogger John Arivosis has to say about Foxx's comments. Stay tuned: there will be plenty more outrage from the gay rights community.

UPDATE: The Human Rights Campaign, a leading Washington based gay-rights group, is furious with Congresswoman Foxx.

"Vile lies, like the one spread by Rep. Foxx today on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives about Matthew's brutal hate-fueled murder, continues to underscore how extreme anti-LGBT opponents have become," says Brad Luna, a spokesman for HRC. "It is no longer acceptable in this day and age to just come right out and say you don't like gay people. Instead, extremist opponents of equality must resort to these types of malicious and twisted lies. Rep. Foxx should be ashamed of herself."

HRC also notes the following groups have endorsed the hate-crimes bill opposed by Foxx: the National Sheriffs Association; International Association of Chiefs of Police; 26 state Attorneys General; the National District Attorneys Association; the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights; the Anti-Defamation League; the NAACP; the National Council of La Raza; the Presbyterian Church; the Episcopal Church; and the National Disability Rights Network.



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Sources: CNN, MSNBC, Washington Post, Rachel Maddow Show, Google Maps

Obama's Gay Rights Quagmire...He's In Deep With This Issue

(Gay Rights Advocates march in Washington, DC)

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(Is Pres. Obama in trouble with his base as it relates to the Gay Rights community?)

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Gay Rights Marchers Press Cause in Washington

Impatient and discouraged by what they see as a certain detachment by President Obama on their issues, gay rights supporters took to the streets Sunday in the largest demonstration for gay rights here in nearly a decade.

The rally was primarily the undertaking of a new generation of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender advocates who have grown disillusioned with the movement’s leadership.

Known as Stonewall 2.0 or the Prop. 8 Generation (a reference to the galvanizing effect that the repeal of California’s same-sex marriage law had on many young people), these activists, in their 20s and 30s, are at odds with advocates urging patience as Mr. Obama grapples with other pieces of his domestic agenda like the health care overhaul and the economic recovery.

“I think this march represents the passing of the torch,” said Corey Johnson, 27, an activist and blogger for the gay-themed Web site Towleroad.com. “The points of power are no longer in the halls of Washington or large metropolitan areas. It’s decentralized now. You have young activists and gay people from all walks of life converging on Washington not because a national organization told them to, but because they feel the time is now.”

The rally on Sunday and a black-tie gala on Saturday hosted by the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest gay rights advocacy group, made for a glaring dichotomy. Mr. Obama, who spoke at the dinner, had the crowd on its feet reiterating his pledge to end the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy and declaring his commitment to gay rights as “unwavering.”

But at the rally, some gave the speech low marks for lacking anything new and failing to acknowledge several major issues confronting the movement. In the words of Billie Myers, a musician who spoke to an eager crowd of tens of thousands on the west lawn of the Capitol, “I’m sorry, but I didn’t like your speech.”

The president did not lay out a timetable to repeal the ban on gays and lesbians serving openly in the military, voice support for any of the battles going on at state levels to allow same-sex couples more recognition under the law nor mention the march.

“He knows this march is happening, and he can’t even acknowledge it?” said Robin McGehee, 36, a co-director of the march. Ms. McGehee took issue with people she believes are giving the president a pass.

“In our community, there are people working hard to build a relationship with the president and people screaming in the streets for their rights,” she said. “There is an urgency with the people on the streets and a sense of ‘Oh, he’ll come around’ with the people who ate dinner with him.”

The Human Rights Campaign, which helped organize the last gay rights march on Washington in 2000 but had virtually no involvement in Sunday’s event, stirred up some controversy over the weekend after its president, Joe Solmonese, wrote a letter to supporters urging them to take Mr. Obama at his word. “It’s not January 19, 2017,” he wrote, referring to what would be the last day of Mr. Obama’s presidency if he were to win a second term.

While generally supportive of the president, many marchers said they felt that he had not delivered on campaign promises he made to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans.

“I think he has a lot on his plate,” said Rachael McIntosh, 25, of Worcester, Mass. “But I’d hoped we’d be a priority.” Ms. McIntosh raised a sign that read “Nobel Peace Prize. Earn It!”

Organizers of the march encountered considerable opposition from within gay political circles and from those who argued that it was hastily planned and would divert resources from campaigns at the state level.

Representative Barney Frank called the march “emotional satisfaction” for its organizers and said of their intention to pressure the Obama administration, “The only thing they’re going to put pressure on is the grass.”

The organizers were rating the march a success, saying that at least 150,000 people had attended, though the authorities gave no official estimate of the crowd size.

The marchers included many who were not gay but attended to support gay friends.

Lisa Kimmey, 25, drove all night with gay friends from Chicago so she could attend the march with them. “If I can get married, if I can get my partner’s health insurance, then everyone else in this country should be able to. It’s 2009, and it’s unbelievable to me that they don’t have that,” Ms. Kimmey said.

Dave Valk, 22, the student outreach coordinator for the march, said he believed that many people his age were embracing gay rights as the civil rights struggle of their time. “There are a lot of people getting involved not just because it’s a gay rights movement but because it’s a generational movement,” he said. “People feel like they’re part of a shift, that this is important.”


Sources: NY Times, MSNBC, Google Maps

Hate Crimes Bill Expanded To Include Landmark Civil Rights Laws Enforcement...Matthew Shepard

(More action enforced on hate crimes. A Morning Meeting panel discusses new legislation which allows courts to add charges and jail sentences against people who commit crimes which endanger a victim because of their race, religion or sexual orientation, and why some Republicans are outraged about the bill.)

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(Rep. Virginia Foxx Dishonored Matthew Shepard's Death On The House Floor.)





U.S. House extends hate crime law to cover gays

The U.S. House voted Thursday to make it a federal crime to assault people because of their sexual orientation, significantly expanding the hate crimes law enacted in the days after Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination in 1968.

With expected passage by the Senate, federal prosecutors will for the first time be able to intervene in cases of violence perpetrated against gays.

Civil rights groups and their Democratic allies have been trying for more than a decade to broaden the reach of hate crimes law. This time it appears they will succeed. The measure is attached to a must-pass $680 billion defense policy bill and President Barack Obama — unlike President George W. Bush — is a strong supporter. The U.S. House passed the defense bill 281-146, with 15 Democrats and 131 Republicans in opposition.

"It's a very exciting day for us here in the Capitol," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., saying hate crimes legislation was on her agenda when she first entered Congress 22 years ago.

She said it's been 11 years since the gay Wyoming college student Matthew Shepard, whose name was attached to the legislation, was murdered.

The late Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., was a longtime advocate of the legislation.

Thought crimes legislation

Many Republicans, normally stalwart supporters of defense bills, voted against it because of the addition of what they referred to as "thought crimes" legislation.

"This is radical social policy that is being put on the defense authorization bill, on the backs of our soldiers, because they probably can't pass it on its own," House Republican leader John Boehner of Ohio said.

GOP opponents were not assuaged by late changes in the bill to strengthen protections for religious speech and association — critics argued that pastors expressing beliefs about homosexuality could be prosecuted if their sermons were connected to later acts of violence against gays.

Supporters countered that prosecutions could occur only when bodily injury is involved, and no minister or protester could be targeted for expressing opposition to homosexuality.

The bill also creates a new federal crime to penalize attacks against U.S. service members on account of their service.

Covering sexual orientation

Hate crimes legislation enacted after King's assassination defined hate crimes as those carried out on the basis of race, color, religion or national origin. It also limits the scope of activities that would trigger federal involvement.

The proposed expansion would include crimes based on gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability. It eases restrictions on federally protected activities.

Some 45 states have hate crimes statutes, and the bill would not change the current situation where investigations and prosecutions are carried out by state and local officials.

But it would provide federal grants to help with the prosecuting of hate crimes and funds programs to combat hate crimes committed by juveniles.

The federal government can step in after the Justice Department certifies that a state is unwilling or unable to follow through on a purported hate crime.

While Republicans voted against the defense bill because of the hate crimes addition, openly gay Democrat Jared Polis of Colorado said he would vote for it despite his opposition to U.S. military presence in Iraq. The reason hate crimes are so odious, he said, "is that they are not just crimes against individuals, they are crimes against entire communities and create environments of fear in entire communities."

Tom McClusky, vice president of the conservative Family Research Council's legislative arm said the next step likely would be contesting the legislation in court. "The religious protections are pretty flimsy," he said. He contended that Democrats were trying to move their "homosexual agenda" this year because it would prove unpopular with voters next year.

The FBI says there are some 8,000 hate crimes reported around the country in a year. More than half of those are motivated by racial bias. Next most frequent are crimes based on religious bias at around 18 percent and sexual orientation at 16 percent.



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Sources: MSNBC, Huffington Post, Media Matters, Youtube, Google Maps

Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) Offers Written Apology To Matthew Shepard's Mother

U.S. House Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) has offered an apology to Matthew Shepard's mother Judy, for her insensitive comments made last week regarding his death.

While speaking on the house floor during debates regarding passage of the Matthew Shepard Hate Crime Act, Rep. unintentionally mentioned the word "Hoax" to describe public reaction surrounding his true cause of death.

Foxx later stated that her use of the word "Hoax" was a mistake.

She also blamed the media for her ignorance on the issue.

In 1998 on the night of October 7 while visiting a bar, Matthew (21) a student at the University of Wyoming, was viciously attacked by two men who targeted him because of his Sexual Orientation.

After being beaten, tortured and robbed, he was later tied to a fence in freezing Wyoming weather.

He was discovered by a passing motorist who initially thought he was a scarecrow.

Matthew's injuries were so severe he later died at Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins, Colorado on October 12.

Suspects Russell Arthur Henderson and Aaron James McKinney were both found guilty and convicted of Matthew's murder. During their trial while under oath, they admitted he was targeted because of his Sexual Orientation.

According to the Winston-Salem Journal, Foxx's letter to Mrs. Shepard contained these statements, "If I said anything that offended her, I certainly apologize for it and know that she's hurting, and I would never do anything to add to that."

Both Matthew's mother and staff from the Matthew Shepard Foundation confirm to have received Rep. Foxx's letter, however chose not to discuss it any further.

The Matthew Shepard Hate Crime Act passed in the House 249-175.

Whether Rep. Foxx agreed with Matthew's lifestyle or not wasn't the issue, because as an adult his lifestyle was no one's business.

Instead the issue lies in that if Rep. Foxx wanted to use his name and cause of death in her debate, then as a United States Congresswoman she should have been better prepared to discuss such a controversial subject.

Rep. Virginia Foxx's famous last words.




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Sources: MSNBC, Open Congress, Winston-Salem Journal, Huffington Post, Matthew Shepard Foundation, NY Times, Wikipedia, Youtube, Google Maps