Here are some uplifting and positive news stories to help brighten your day.

Caitlyn Jenner at the ESPYs

I think it’s great that Caitlyn Jenner was honored with the Arthur Ash Courage Award. There have been a vocal few who have criticized the choice saying there are other people more deserving and that she is only winning because it’s gets the show more publicity. I’ll skip over the fact that CJ is one of the most deserving recipients considering the award is for courage and get to their specific points of critique. It’s true that having her on the show does increase attention and viewership and it’s also true that the Kardashian media machine is probably orchestrating it all from behind the scenes. However this is one of those moments when it’s easy to get distracted by the small details and miss the bigger picture. Take a moment and step back and realize that in 20 years Caitlyn’s coming out will still be remembered and talked about as a major moments for the Trans community. You might not like how she got here but that doesn’t detract from the impact she’s has and will have.

Trans people in military

Snaps for the military who this week decided to allow Trans people to serve openly. I’m impressed because they did this of their own volition. There wasn’t decades of long hard-fought battles and instead the military for the first time chose to be ahead of the pact. Remember how hard it was for gays to win the right to serve openly? Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter even called the ban on Trans people “outdated.” For an institution with such a conservative history I recognize the amount of progress they’ve made. Well done.  

The 2015 Emmy nominations

The Primetime Emmy nominations (television) were announced today and this year the television academy did well. Of course there are always going to be points of contention but overall they did a good job of spreading the love around. The bright spots were:

• Taraji P Henson for Lead Actress for her terrific portrayal of Cookie on Empire.
• Tituss Burgess for Best Supporting Actor for Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. His nomination literally made my afternoon.
• Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt for Best Comedy. The academy dogged my epic rage by not ignoring UKS.
• Jane Krakowski even got a nod for Supporting Actress in a Comedy.
• Lily Tomlin for for Lead Actress on Grace and Frankie.
• Lisa Kudrow for the Comeback
• Kate McKinnon for Supporting Actress on SNL
• Amy Schumer got tons of love with an acting nomination as well as one for her show.

Thank god The Big Bang Theory and much of the Modern Family cast was finally forgotten about. Listen up Emmy voters. You’ve done half of the work already. Now you just have to turn these new nominations into winners. All of Modern Family needs to lose. Allison Janney needs to lose. Most importantly, either Taraji P Henson or Viola Davis MUST win. The only old white person allowed to win is Lily Tomlin. Make it happen!