House Reaffirms DOMA

Yesterday the U.S. House meaninglessly voted 248-175 to affirm DOMA as the law of the land. The Human Rights Campaign notes:

“This amendment is completely unnecessary and only serves to cloud the debate over ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ repeal by pointlessly injecting the issue of marriage equality into the conversation. Since Pentagon officials have made it clear that they are bound by DOMA like every other federal agency, it’s puzzling why Rep. Foxx would question whether our military leaders understand this point. “House Republican leaders seem to have no end to their desire to play politics with lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people instead of tackling real problems. It will be up to the Senate to reject the House’s return to using LGBT Americans as a wedge issue.”

Elaine Donnelly On DOMA & DADT

Elaine Donnelly of the anti-gay Center for Military Readiness is backing a bill that bans federal policy changes that violate DOMA.

"The reason this [amendment] is necessary is because the Department of the Navy, in particular, has already signaled that contrary to assurances given to Congress, they are quite prepared to start conducting same-sex marriages on military bases -- which would, for the sake of consistency, lead to the extension of benefits to these same-sex couples," says Donnelly." And the Defense of Marriage Act would preclude that, she argues. "In fact, the extension of benefits to same-sex couples on the same basis as opposite-sex couples probably could blow a hole in the Department of Defense budget."

The bill, coauthored by wingnut GOP Rep. Virginia Foxx and GOP Rep. Dan Burton, has no real shot of passage in the Senate.

U.S. House Votes To Defund Medical Schools That Teach Abortion

The U.S. House has approved an amendment defunding medical schools that teach doctors how to perform abortions. The measure was sponsored by GOP Rep. Virginia Foxx (NC), whom you may recall for claiming that the murder of Matthew Shepard was a hoax.

The North Carolina Republican’s proposal was offered as an amendment to a bill that puts funding restrictions on a teaching program in President Barack Obama’s health care act. The amendment passed 234-182, over the objections of some Democrats who said it would prevent medical residents from learning a basic procedure in women’s health care. The bill must still be considered by the Senate.

Your Daily Minute Of Crazy

Family Research Council Launches Last Minute Attack On ENDA

The Family Research Council has launched an all-out campaign against the coming ENDA vote, assembling a cavalcade of haters for an anti-gay DVD they're pitching to their followers for $14.99. Here's the trailer.

Rep. Anthony Weiner SLAMS GOP For Presenting Hoax Documents

And as a bonus, he shuts down crazy-face homophobe Virginia Foxx. Dream ticket: Weiner/Grayson 2016.

Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC): The GOP Passed The Civil Rights Act

Somebody really really doesn't know her history. Rep. Dennis Cardoza (D-CA) gets up to set her straight. Good stuff.

Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC): Health Care Reform Is Worse Than Terrorism

Think Progress reports:

Few Republican congressional members have served as a greater fount for hyperbolic and uninformed ranting about health care reform as has Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC). As ThinkProgress previously documented, Foxx has claimed Democratic reforms would mean seniors are “put to death by their government,” that health reform is a “distraction,” and that “there are no Americans who don’t have health care.” She was at it again today on the House floor, arguing that health reform is a greater threat to our country than “any terrorist right now in any country”

Rep. Virginia Foxx Sends Letter Of Apology To Judy Shepard

After standing on the floor of Congress and calling the use of Matthew Shepard's death to advance the hate crimes bill a "hoax", Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) has sent a letter of apology to Judy Shepard, who was in the gallery during the speech.

The Matthew Shepard Foundation acknowledges receipt of the letter, but declined to discuss its contents, saying they prefer to focus on the task of getting the bill passed in the Senate. Foxx has not yet said if she now considers the murder of Matthew Shepard to have in fact been a hate crime.

Foxx's "Apology" Lands Her Back At #1

Rep. Foxx Says She's Getting Death Threats Over Matthew Shepard Remarks

Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) says she has gotten death threats since yesterday's House hate crimes debate during which she called the murder of Matthew Shepard a hoax. Foxx is now backing off her statement.

A spokesperson for the congresswoman said Foxx's office has received hate mail over the past 24 hours, including death threats. Foxx later said her comments didn't convey what she meant to say. "The term 'hoax' was a poor choice of words used in the discussion of the hate-crimes bill," Foxx said in a statement. "Mr. Shepard's death was nothing less than a tragedy, and those responsible for his death certainly deserved the punishment they received." Foxx said in her statement that she relied on two news reports for her comments about robbery being a motive for the slaying. "Referencing these media accounts may have been a mistake, but if so, it was a mistake based on what I believed were reliable accounts," she said.

A Facebook group has already sprung up calling for Foxx's resignation.

Olbermann: Rep. Virginia Foxx Is The Worst Person In The World

Olbermann delivers a blistering condemnation of Rep. Virginia Foxx for calling Matthew Shepard's murder a hoax. And in a two-fer, he leads with a classic rip on dumb bunny Rep. Michelle Bachmann.

GOP Liars At The Podium

The debate has just ended and the vote is about to commence, but check out Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) calling the murder of Matthew Shepard "a hoax."

Rep. Foxx: "The bill was named after a very unfortunate incident that happened, where a young man was killed, but we know that that young man was killed in the commitment of robbery. It wasn't because he was gay. The bill was named for him, the hate crimes bill was named for him, but it's, it's really a hoax, that that continues to be used as an excuse for passing these bills."

In fact, and as you all probably know, the killers DID conspire to select a gay victim to rob.

While his killers Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson did rob him, they also admitted that they were well aware of his sexual orientation and pretended they were gay to lure him away from the bar he was in at the time. The most striking feature of the case, of course, is that during the course of a normal, simple robbery, the victim is not generally beaten, tied to a post, and left for dead.

Foxx was only one of many Republican liars to take the podium in today's House debate. Barney Frank did a great job tearing down one of them in particular, I'll have that clip ASAP.