With high school graduations just around the corner, here’s an older story about Pete Kadens, who became a billionaire via the cannabis industry and believes in “giving backwards” to help create societal change; thus, he’s created “promise” programs in Toldeo and Chicago that pay the full costs of college for more than 4000 students and their parents/guardians. Read more here about this incredible idealist. See also this story about kindness from a stranger when a mom had no choice but to breastfeed in public. Another stranger helped this woman after a car accident caused by her dog jumping into the front seat. There’s also this story of a USPS mail delivery professional driving nearly 400 miles on his own time/dime to deliver lost letters from WW2 to a surviving relative. Also, did you read about how Pope Francis has opened the Vatican to meet with transgender sex workers? See the story here. Lastly (and please forgive all the ads), pet guardians see this piece about how dogs and cats have one last wish before dying. 

See this Minnesota Public Radio story about a transgender person who’s created a “transplants” support organization for trans people who move to MN after being uprooted from other states because of their discriminatory laws. Also, for a change the U.S. Supreme Court did something right and refused to hear a case that shot down an attack on DC schools’ efforts to put in place transgender affirming policies. Read here. Then there’s this story about how shareholders are attempting to shape DEI policies at major corporations like Coke, UPS and Home Depot. And one more thing—yours truly has been named one of several “Badass Women” by Minnesota Women’s Press readers. You can see my “acceptance” speech here.  

Legislatures across the country continue to pass anti-transgender legislation; to date, 557 bills have been introduced in 42 states; 37 bills have passed (read here). This includes New Hampshire which passed 3 anti-trans laws, including one the makes LGBTQ+ topics “objectionable material” for schools, and MS, which will allow cisgender people to sue any trans person who uses a bathroom that conforms to their gender identity. (It looks like I won’t be visiting MS again…) Also, see this story about a VA school district reinstating Confederate names for its schools. Lastly, see this story about 10 Argentinian police officers being arrested for the murder of a transgender woman. 

Who doesn’t need to see this dancing grizzly bear or this video of bear cubs climbing up a ski lift gondola tower? (The latter is courtesy of Ripple reader Bebo Andrews.) See also how a herd of buffalos comes to the aid of two buffalos being ambushed by lions. Please also take the time to watch Colin Jost talk about decency, his grandfather, and hope for America.  

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Here is a mother’s powerful message about the need to readily accept a child who comes out as LGBTQ+. Then, in contrast, here’s a wonderful perspective of how Generation Alpha (our youngest humans) don’t understand why someone even needs to “come out”—instead, why can’t they just love whomever? (Make sure to watch the viideo of the fantastic mom talking to her kids--she's doing it so right!) For those wanting to understand what it means to be bisexual, see this very informative CNN article. And, hooray, the Methodist church has formally voted to allow same sex marriages and gay clergy. One more thing—for game players, a character in the new Paper Mario game is a transgender woman. (Read here; my thanks to daughter Kate Krug for alerting me to this!) 

Lastly, several of you have recently donated to Human Ripple Works, Inc., the nonprofit which makes it possible for me to do more work for organizations that lack budgets for training (like talking to Gender and Sexuality Alliances at various schools across the country). Thank you for that! If you’d like to support this work, please click here on the HRW website. Thanks!