I pledge allegiance to the people of the United States of America and to the Republic

this democracy for which we stand. One nation, part of one world, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

Happy Independence Day, everyone or as I like to say, happy interdependence day. Independence is good. Be independent.

But I also like to think about how we're all connected to. It's not just independence, it's interdependence. And we all are part of this one planet that we all share.

We're all connected. But on this particular day, we celebrate the signing of our Declaration of Independence.

And wow, it's been a rough few years, hasn't it? We've gone through a number of these years, probably since the day of the Golden Escalator at Tower in Midtown Manhattan, where he rode it down June of 2015.

Cheese, this is 23, it's like eight years and we're still fighting, still trying to maintain what we had and try to gain that which we've never really had.

We're working progress. And I thought it might be a good idea on this day and you may be listening to this on the fourth, you may be listening to it after this week.

This, the fourth this year is the fourth of July is in the middle of the week. So we don't really have like a fourth of July weekend. Although we all have gotten creative over the years of trying to figure out how to stretch, stretch the holiday when it lands in the middle of the week.

So you might be listening to this on the fourth of July, maybe fourth of July weekend, maybe fourth of July week, whatever it is, I thought this would be a good time to reflect on what we've had to put up within go through recently.

I'm speaking specifically of what the Supreme Court ruled just this last week.

Number one, eliminating affirmative action, colleges and universities in this country.

Number two, stating that a business has a right to deny LGBTQ people services. If they believe providing that service, somehow negates their rights to free speech.

And then finally, they got rid of Joe Biden's plan to provide student loan debt relief to the 30 million people that are holding these outrageous student loans.

It was a rough, rough week for the right, some people of color, rights of the gay and lesbian and queer community. And the right not to be settled with debt for the next 20 or 30 years of your life, simply because you wanted to go to school.

And I know a lot of you have been pretty bummed out ever since the end of the week thinking just how far will the Supreme Court go?

So I want to talk about that, but I want to share with you maybe a different viewpoint of what they've done, but also what we've done to them.

And this has not been discussed much in recent days since these rulings last week.

But I want to give you my take on this and I want you. I know this is going to sound like what has happened to Mike? He's become such the eternal optimist.

Believe me, if you have followed me and watched my movies or read my books over the years, optimism is not necessarily a good thing.

Very good descriptive word for where I'm usually at with things, but I do pause when these moments happen when awful crap happens to try and find not the good in it, because there is no good in what the Supreme Court has done here this past week.

But there is buried inside of their evil, the key.

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