Brian Sims

🇺🇸🏆JASON COLLINS🏆🏳️‍🌈Jason changed the world long before most people had the courage to admit it needed changing.

I first met him in 2014, through Outsports and Nike, in those days when so many of us were throwing our shoulders against doors locked for generations. What stopped me wasn’t just his courage, though history will rightly honor that. It was his kindness. His humility. The quiet, unshakeable way he carried himself, like a man who had already decided that love was worth whatever it cost him.

We stayed in touch over the years. I treasured that. He didn’t just open doors. He stood in them until everyone else got through.

Today I’m sitting with the weight of losing a friend, and with gratitude for the reminder that one person’s quiet bravery can permanently alter what’s possible for millions.

My heart is with everyone who loved him.

Rest well, Jason.

Update from A Mighty Girl.

Today, for the first time ever, survivors of Jeffrey Epstein's abuse testified publicly under oath before members of Congress. The hearing took place not in Washington but in West Palm Beach, Florida -- less than three miles from the mansion where Epstein abused hundreds of girls, and just minutes from Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago. Previous meetings between Epstein survivors and lawmakers had all been closed-door roundtables. By testifying publicly under oath, survivors put their voices on the official record for the first time.

The nearly three-hour hearing, led by House Oversight Committee Democrats, focused on the 2008 sweetheart plea deal that made Epstein's continued abuse possible -- and on what it would take to make sure nothing like it ever happens again. Survivors and attorneys called for concrete changes to the Crime Victims' Rights Act, which was supposed to guarantee Epstein's victims a seat at the table during his prosecution but didn't.

Attorney Spencer Kuvin, who represented the first victim to come forward in the Palm Beach investigation, called the agreement negotiated by then-U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta "the worst" ever executed by a federal prosecutor. "The victims were not consulted," he said. "Their advocates like me were not consulted. Victims were never given an opportunity to be heard."

Democrats released a new report called "The Price of Non-Prosecution" detailing exactly what that deal cost. In 2005, a parent in Palm Beach reported that her 14-year-old daughter had been taken to Epstein's mansion. Detectives uncovered a pattern of abuse involving dozens of teenage girls and recommended felony charges that could have sent Epstein to prison for decades.

Instead, Palm Beach County State Attorney Barry Krischer declined to bring serious charges -- worried, according to Kuvin's testimony, that his "career would go up in flames" if he charged Epstein and failed. The case went federal, but Epstein's high-powered legal team "swarmed into Palm Beach County."

In 2008, Epstein pleaded guilty to a single state charge of soliciting prostitution from a minor. He received an 18-month sentence but served less than 13 months, most of it on work release, leaving jail for up to 12 hours a day. The federal investigation was shut down. The deal was negotiated in secret -- victims and their attorneys weren't told until it was already signed.

A survivor named Roza testified about what that secret sweetheart deal actually meant. She met Epstein in 2009 while he was supposedly serving his sentence. "Jeffrey Epstein was under house arrest at the exact same time he was abusing me," she told lawmakers. "Those years of abuse turned into a decade of fear that I still carry today."

"Had prosecutors in Florida done their jobs," said Rep. Lois Frankel, whose district includes Palm Beach, "most likely hundreds of young women would have been spared unimaginable harm."

Survivors also spoke about the ongoing harm inflicted by the government's handling of the case. When the Justice Department finally released files under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, it redacted the names of wealthy associates while exposing names and personal information of victims. Jena-Lisa Jones described how husbands learned of their wives' abuse from media coverage, how children learned of their mothers' trauma from strangers. "Take responsibility," she demanded.

Jones also had a message for former Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is scheduled to testify before the Oversight Committee on May 29: "You were willing to lose your job to cover up for these people. What do they have on you, because I'd like to know."

Dani Bensky, who was abused by Epstein in 2004 and 2005 -- eight years after survivor Maria Farmer first reported him to the FBI -- closed with a warning. "Our entrenched systemic failures have allowed powerful people like Jeffrey to thrive. If we continue down this path, the question isn't whether abuse will happen again, but who will be the next Jeffrey Epstein."

---

The girls and young women Epstein targeted were often vulnerable -- most were young, many were struggling financially and desperate for a way forward. Girls like them are still out there. Here's how to help:

--> To support survivors of sexual violence and connect them with free, confidential support through the National S*xual Assault Hotline (1-800-656-4673), donate to RAINN, the nation's largest anti-sexual violence organization, at https://www.rainn.org

--> To support efforts to find and protect children from sexual exploitation and trafficking, donate to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at https://www.missingkids.org

---

To read the powerful story of one Epstein victim in her own words, we recommend Virginia Giuffre's harrowing memoir: "Nobody’s Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice," visit https://bookshop.org/a/8011/9780593493120 (Bookshop) and https://amzn.to/4nZbSAZ (Amazon)

Raising kids to have empathy for others and an understanding of consent is one of the most important things parents can do to help reduce the incidence of sexual assault. To teach children -- girls and boys alike -- about the need to respect others and their personal boundaries, we recommend "Let's Talk About Body Boundaries, Consent, and Respect" for ages 4 to 7 (https://www.amightygirl.com/body-boundaries) and "Consent (for Kids!)" for ages 6 to 10 (https://www.amightygirl.com/consent-for-kids)

There is also a helpful guide for teens on topics such as consent and coercion, "Real Talk About S*x and Consent: What Every Teen Needs to Know," for ages 13 and up at https://www.amightygirl.com/real-talk-about-sex-and-consent

For an excellent book for older teens and adults about the early warning signs of abusive relationships, myths about abusive personalities, and how to get help, we highly recommend "Why Does He Do That?: Inside the Minds of Angry and Controlling Men" at https://www.amightygirl.com/why-does-he-do-that

If you know a teen girl struggling after sexual abuse or trauma, “The S*xual Trauma Workbook for Teen Girls: A Guide to Recovery from S*xual Assault and Abuse” may help at https://www.amightygirl.com/sexual-trauma-workbook-girls

For several fictional stories that address r**e and sexual violence and offer a helpful way to spark conversations with young adult readers around sexual assault, we recommend "Speak" for ages 14 and up (https://www.amightygirl.com/speak), "Girl Made of Stars" for ages 14 and up (https://www.amightygirl.com/girl-made-of-stars), and "The Way I Used To Be" for ages 15 and up (https://www.amightygirl.com/the-way-i-used-to-be)

Let's be very clear: Racism isn't "over." It's just inconvenient to admit.

The only people who believe racism is a thing of the past are those who have never felt it — and those who have the most invested in pretending it doesn't exist. For white conservatives, being called racist isn't a moral reckoning. It's an inconvenience. It exposes their intentions. So they decided to just... declare it over.

Chief Justice John Roberts has spent his entire career dismantling the Voting Rights Act under the pretense that racism has been "corrected." Last week, the Supreme Court finished the job — gutting Section 2 of the VRA entirely. And within DAYS of that ruling, nearly every former Confederate state began moving to eliminate majority-Black congressional districts. This isn't a coincidence. This is a coordinated rollback. The Court's own ruling is expected to produce the largest-ever drop in Black representation in Congress — a record not broken since the end of Reconstruction in 1877.

Meanwhile, a federal judge just ruled that DOGE's mass firings were "blatantly" racist and unlawful. Judge Colleen McMahon found that DOGE staffers used ChatGPT and DEI-related search terms to specifically target grants connected to Black civil rights history, Holocaust survivors, Native American children, and women — then cancelled them. They used algorithms to automate racial discrimination and called it "efficiency."

This is what the "anti-woke" crusade was always about. They never hid it well. "Woke" was always a dog whistle for one thing: anti-Blackness. Dismantling diversity programs, gutting the VRA, firing Black federal workers en masse, redrawing maps to erase Black political power — this is a system working exactly as designed by people who benefit from it.

🏳️‍⚧️PROTECT TRANS KIDS🏳️‍⚧️ Earlier today, the Pennsylvania Senate Banking and Insurance Committee advanced a bill that would block transgender minors from accessing gender-affirming care even when parents consent and licensed medical professionals deem it appropriate.

It also threatens providers with severe financial penalties and exclusion from public programs for delivering this care.

This is not abstract policy. It is a direct intrusion into private medical decisions between families and physicians.

Gender-affirming care for minors, delivered under clinical supervision and with parental consent, is supported by every major medical association in the country and is associated with improved mental health outcomes, including reduced depression and suicidal ideation.

Politicians should not be overriding doctors and parents in exam rooms.

Contact your State Senator and make your voice heard on SB 1321 and other anti-LGBTQ+ legislation: https://www.palegis.us/find-my-legislator

Earlier today, the PA Senate Banking and Insurance Committee advanced SB 1321, a bill that, if enacted, would deny access to gender-affirming healthcare to minors who - with the permission of their parents/guardians and under the supervision of trained medical professionals - are seeking such care.

If a provider were to provide such care, it would also result in substantial fines and the potential of barring the provider from participating in these programs for any form of care for adults or minors.

Properly supervised gender-affirming healthcare for minors is supported by every major medical association in the nation and has been proven to reduce depression and suicidal ideation amongst transgender youth.

We encourage you to reach out to your State Senator to inform them of your position on this and other anti-trans/anti-LGBTQ+ legislation by visiting the link in our bio or by clicking https://www.palegis.us/find-my-legislator

🚫FAKE BUT FLIRTY🚫: Friends, could you please help report this fake page? I’m blocked so I’m unable to see it but this handsome 65 year old needs to go.

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61573219179054&mibextid=ZbWKwL

🏳️‍🌈FAIRNESS IN PA?!?🏳️‍⚧️I’m deeply grateful to my former colleagues in the Pennsylvania House for choosing fairness and passing long-overdue LGBTQ+ nondiscrimination protections.

They voted to ensure that no Pennsylvanian can be denied housing, employment, or public services simply because of who they are.

Now, the Senate faces a choice, and frankly, we’ve seen this before: too often, Senate Republicans have chosen discrimination over dignity, delay over justice.

This bill is not controversial. It is basic civil rights.

The House did the right thing. The Senate must decide whether it will finally stand for equality or continue standing in its way.

Pennsylvania House narrowly passes Fairness Act, reviving statewide LGBTQ nondiscrimination fight The Pennsylvania House voted Tuesday to advance legislation that would finally place explicit LGBTQ nondiscrimination protections into state law, marking another major chapter in a fight that q***r…

🏡👨🏼‍🤝‍👨🏻WE ARE FAMILY👨🏼‍🤝‍👨🏻🏡 Since donating my kidney, I’ve met so many people whose lives have been transformed from donors and recipients, to families and advocates.

One story that stayed with me was a father who received a kidney from his 17-year-old daughter. Their bond, their future, their entire lives changed because of that one act of generosity.

These stories are powerful, but they only happen with support.

Today, I’m in the best health of my life. Living with one kidney is safe, and I get to see firsthand the impact this work has every single day.

That’s why I’m proud to support the National Kidney Foundation and why I’m asking for your help.

If you’ve been considering a gift, this is a meaningful moment to act. Together, we can help save lives, support families, and bring hope to those still waiting. Visit kidney.org/BrianSims or give a gift in the fundraiser above before ends.

Thank you for being part of this journey with me.@

A huge thank you to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS for continuing to support our food pantries at Vivent Health!

- From a new New Yorker!

Wonderful things happen when creativity meets generosity. Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS donated $57,000 to our food pantries this year to help up keep our patients full of nutritious, delicious food! Wow!

We couldn't do it without you.