Happy Thursday – just one more day and you’ve made it to the weekend – so hold on!

If this is your first time reading “Thursday Numbers” this column is where I take a look at the numbers behind the news and provide some commentary with them.

You can also use this information to amaze your friends, family, and co-workers – and you may even seem cooler to them after sharing this information!

Today I take a look at campaign fundraising, a costly misstep, unemployment, the USDA, a couple of birthdays, beef on planes, football, and a class action lawsuit – so read on!

68,000,000

According to the Associated Press, “President Barack Obama raked in more than $68 million combined for his re-election campaign and the Democratic Party during the final three months of 2011…”

The Democrats plan to fight for every seat this year…

8,800,000

According to a story in the Great Falls Tribune, the City of Great Falls “stands to lose as much as $8.8 million from various missteps by its power arm, Electric City Power.”

What an embarrassing mess…the city can’t even keep the roads clear of ice and snow; how were they supposed to run a power company?

399,000

That’s how many new claims for unemployment were filed last week, “an increase of 24,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 375,000.”

Not good – our country is still hurting…

259

That’s how many offices the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) will be closing across the United States, including four in Montana and Wyoming.

There are hundreds more that could be closed if politicians would let them…

61

Radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh turns 61 today.

Maybe Limbaugh can have a birthday party with Stern (see below)…

58

Radio talk show host Howard Stern turns 58 today.

40

According a story in the New York Times, U.S. Senator Jon Tester “can often be found lugging an extra 40-pound roller bag, which he gingerly stuffs into the overhead bin. His precious cargo is neither briefing books nor an extra raincoat, but roasts, ribs, round steak and (his favorite) rib steak.”

(There should be some great jokes about this)

One line in the story said Tester was “a man of some girth.”  Haha.

I wonder if during layovers in Denver, Minneapolis or Salt Lake City he finds a grill…

24

That’s how many times Holly Petraeus and her husband, four star General and current CIA Director David Petraeus, have moved during the 37 years they have been married.  She was in Great Falls with U.S. Senator Jon Tester and Montana Attorney General Steve Bullock (who is running for Governor) to talk about “financial risks facing American servicemen, servicewomen and veterans.”

With over 100,000 veterans in Montana, Tester and Bullock understand that getting their votes will be important for the 2012 election.

7

The Oakland Raiders are searching for “their seventh head coach since Jon Gruden was sent to Tampa Bay 10 years ago”

They finished 8-8 this year.

5

Five teams finished with one loss in major college football this season: Alabama, LSU, Oklahoma State, Boise State, and Houston.

We really need to have a playoff system in major college football…

4

There are four NFL “divisional” playoff games this weekend – two on Saturday and two on Sunday.

This is normally one of my favorite weekends of the playoffs…

3

According to this story, “Three northcentral Montana farmers are the lead plaintiffs in a class action lawsuit filed Monday against former New Jersey governor and U.S. senator Jon Corzine, alleging that he and other top executives at the bankrupt MF Global raided their accounts…”

This case should be interesting…

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Follow Jack on Twitter @TheWesternWord…