New Mexico State Senator Willfully Ignorant of Native American "Two Spirits" People

From the PBS film Two Spirits.

If I'm quiet here, it's because I'm busy trying to keep wingnuts talking. Today's edition features New Mexico State Senator William Sharer bullshitting about the history of gay marriage, native Americans, and Alexander the Great.

Senator Sharer says, "Nowhere in Native American tradition has marriage been anything but the joining of men and women."

For those of us who care about learning things, here's something I learned recently, from Dr. Brian J. Gilley, author of Becoming Two-Spirit: Gay Identity and Social Acceptance in Indian Country :

“Prior to European contact, sexuality was not a determining factor in someone’s identity,” he said. “It was the role in the community. Gender was tied to that role. Who you had sex with was not a concern. The Europeans come, Native American societies are thrust in rapid change, and some societies incorporate European ideals quickly.”

Surprise, Surprise, Surprise!

This is the kind of thing that would have gotten Gomer kicked out of the USMC.

Jim Nabors, the Hawaii resident well known for his starring role in the 1960s television sitcom "Gomer Pyle, USMC," married his longtime male partner early this month, he told Hawaii News Now Tuesday. 

[...] 

"I'm 82 and he's in his 60s and so we've been together for 38 years and I'm not ashamed of people knowing, it's just that it was such a personal thing, I didn't tell anybody," Nabors said. "I'm very happy that I've had a partner of 38 years and I feel very blessed.  And, what can I tell you, I'm just very happy."

I can't wait to hear the wingnutteratti tell us how wrong his happiness is.

Endorsements for Change

The voting at Change.org is over, and the top ten ideas were presented to the Obama transition team. I'm a half-glass empty kinda guy, so I'm not expecting much, especially on the more controversial items, especially from a guy who seems to want us all to get along even at the price of not prosecuting war criminals (cause, you know, that would be too divisive, as opposed to say, breaking the law and torturing and spying on people).

These are good causes, though, and could make a big difference in the world. No matter how much our new President wants to avoid the fighting, if enough of us support these causes, and fight (and vote) to make them reality, then even he can't stop us.

So, here are the ideas I've endorsed at Change.org, in no particular order:

• ReBuild and RePower America with a Green Stimulus Package
• Develop & Implement a National Strategy for Sustainability
• Pass Marriage Equality Rights for LGBT Couples Nationwide
• Get FISA Right, repeal the PATRIOT Act, and restore our civil liberties
• Free Single Payer Health Care
• Make the grid green in 10 years
• Appoint a Special Prosecutor for the Crimes of the Bush Administration
• Solve The Credit Crisis From The Bottom Up Through Social Lending
• Legalize the Medicinal and Recreational Use of Marijuana
• Move the country toward transparent election systems

Here's my Change.org page. It's a great site, and I encourage everyone to join in.