Thoughts for the Day, June 25, 2025: More Random Thoughts
Random Thoughts
I am hoping the U.S. was able to neutralize Iran’s nuclear capabilities but I will wait until it is confirmed by an independent source before I feel good.
I am hoping the cease fire between Israel and Iran holds, but I am not holding my breath based on history. History of thousands of years.
The Michigan Senate passed a bill that expands the exceptions for not complying with the Open Meetings Act. Hopefully, this will not be approved by the House. The last thing Michigan needs is less transparency in our government organizations.
With all the attention on Iran, we cannot forget the challenges this country is facing on the economic side. U.S. public companies have reduced their white-collar workforces by a collective 3.5% over the past three years, according to employment data-provider Live Data Technologies. Here are some examples as provided by the Wall Street Journal.
· In a note to employees on Tuesday, Amazon Chief Executive Andy Jassy wrote that the “once-in-a-lifetime” rise of AI will eliminate the need for certain jobs in the next few years.
· Procter & Gamble said this month that it would cut 7,000 jobs—or 15% of its nonmanufacturing workforce—to create “broader roles and smaller teams.”
· “Flatter is faster,” Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s finance chief, Marie Myers, told investors this month as she discussed recent staff cuts. With fewer than 59,000 employees, HPE is at its smallest size since it became an independent company a decade ago, she pointed out.
· “Everyone with 500 employees and up that I talk to, off the record, including public companies, says, ‘I don’t need 30% to 40% of my team,’ ” tech investor and former Adobe executive Jason Lemkin said on a venture-capital podcast last month.
Heading into tonight’s game with the “A’s”, the Tigers have the best record in baseball, are the first team to win 50, and lead the Central Division by 9.5 games. However, cracks are starting to show, especially in their starting pitching. After Skubal and Mize, there is no starting pitcher who has been consistent over the last month. Jack Flaherty walks too many and gives up too many home runs. Reese Olsen is hurt and last year’s option of using a bulk reliever has not been working. Hopefully they can figure it out before Cleveland or Minnesota get hot.
It’s that time of year when baseball is front and center. The NHL and NBA seasons have ended. The NFL and college football are a few months away. The MLB and the Tigers will be the focus of the media. For Tiger fans, it will be the most exciting summer in nearly a decade. I plan on enjoying it.
The leaves are on the trees and the damage from March’s ice storm is mostly hidden from the view. However, the impact of the ice storm continues. Today, Leah and I had a whole house natural gas generator installed. It wasn’t cheap, but it gives us great peace of mind.
The Democrat leadership seems to be stuck in the years 2008-2016. They continue to play by the rules that worked back then. In the meantime, Trump has changed the rules in ways that I have not seen in my lifetime.
· He controls congress and SCOTUS.
· He doesn’t care about what anyone else thinks, whether friend or foe.
· He views the Constitution as guidelines and recommendations.
· What he says today has no bearing on what he says tomorrow.
· The truth is optional and lying is a necessity.
· He maintains loyalty through abuse, threats, and money.
The Democrats need to figure it out, or they are going to be on the outside looking in for some time.
Orchid of the Day: Wenzel Perez, Detroit Tiger right fielder. He had a heckuva game on Tuesday. Perez ended up with two hits, two runs scored and two RBI, plus he threw two runners out at second in the 7th inning when two hitters tried to stretch a single into a double. He scored from first on a single to left when the throw trying to get Riley Greene at home got by the catcher. Perez who was sliding into third at the time of the throw, quickly got up and scored without a play being made. To top it all off, he made a diving catch on a sinking line drive to end the game. I do not recall ever seeing an outfielder throw out two runners in the same inning at the same base. Per AI it has never happened before in the MLB.
Quote of the Day: “He is a “baseball player”. He does things that can’t be taught. He does them by instinct because he is a “baseball player”.” Tiger TV analyst Andy Dirks on Tiger right fielder, Wenzel Perez.
Onion of the Day: Coastal Carolina’s Head Baseball Coach Kevin Schnall who was ejected in the first inning of CC’s NCAA Division I Championship game against LSU on Sunday. Schnall started arguing balls and strikes which is against the rules in all levels of baseball. After being given a warning (which is not necessary) by the home plate umpire, Schnall continued arguing so he was ejected. In one of the most important games of CC’s history, there is no excuse for Schnall to put himself in a position to get ejected. He owed it to his players to be there for them in the most important game of the players’ lives.
Question of the Day: Are the Democrats going to be able to adjust their strategy in time to take over the House and Senate in the 2026 mid-term elections?
Lyrics of the Day: I never had a damn thing but what I had, I had to leave it behind. You're the hardest thing I ever tried to get off my mind. Always something greener on the other side of that hill. I was born a wrangler and a rounder, and I guess I always will.
If you think you know the lyrics send me your answer in the comments section of the blog.
Answer to the Lyrics of the Day for June 16, 2025: The Load Out and Stay by Jackson Browne. It was my Video of the Day.
Video of the Day: Wenzel Perez doing what has never happened before in an MLB game as he threw out two runners at the same base in the same inning. As you are watching this play, note how good Javy Baez is at getting the tag on the runners. Javy is the best I have ever seen at tagging runners out.
Feel free to share my blog with others. To receive the blog in your email, please use the subscribe button or send an email to me at thomasdbiggs@gmail.com and I will start the process for you.
Heard it in a love song. Marshall Tucker Band.
Thanks for this blog I really enjoy. My random thought just received my auto tag renewals. My old Jeep $120 ..The new Chevy Electric $404.. I guess the state gets the gas tax a different way
Larry Anderson