Hold on…just one more day until the weekend – and this is the column that you must read today!

Welcome to Thursday Numbers – If you are new to The Western Word, Thursday Numbers is where I take a look at the numbers in the news and provide (sometimes with a little sarcasm) commentary with them.

DISCLAIMER:  The Western Word is not responsible for your being more intelligent after reading this column!  You just might find yourself armed with more knowledge – knowledge that you can use to impress your family, friends and co-workers!  It might be life-changing – consider yourself warned…

This week I write about Peyton’s contract, Sean’s suspension, Barack’s visitors, unemployment, polygamy, the nuke argument, planes and pink slime, paragliding for seniors, Twitter’s birthday, I write about the second most interesting man, the longest train, and much much more.

96,000,000

Peyton Manning signed with the Denver Broncos for what could end up being $96 million over five years.

7,500,000

New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton’s season-long suspension without pay will cost him $7.5 million according to ESPN.  Saints players were paid bounties for big hits on opponents from 2009-11.

I believe the Saints should have forfeited their Super Bowl title.

4,200,000

That’s how many people visited Barack Obama’s campaign site in January, which was more “than the four Republican hopefuls combined.”

Prediction – Barack Obama will be re-elected…

500,000

That’s how much NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell fined the Saints for paying bounties for big hits on opponents from 2009-11.  He also took away their second-round draft picks this year and next.

348,000

That’s the number of new claims for unemployment, a decrease of 5,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 353,000.

1882

On this date in 1882 Congress outlawed polygamy.

But, having several girlfriends while married is apparently OK for members of Congress…

150

The Associated Press (AP) reported that current Congressman (and U.S. Senate candidate) Denny Rehberg sent a mailer to constituents that said, “The Obama START Treaty seeks to eliminate 150 missiles at Malmstrom.”

I have not seen the mailer, but President Obama is on record in 2008 saying, “It’s time to send a clear message to the world: America seeks a world with no nuclear weapons.”

Like I have written before HERE and HERE, it’s more about Cascade County and Great Falls being a battleground in the 2012 U.S. Senate race.  Which candidate, Jon Tester or Denny Rehberg, will be stronger for the military is the question.

I did think Tester spokesman Aaron Murphy went a little over the top talking about Rehberg’s “ignorance about our security” as his boss called the Airmen assigned to Malmstrom AFB “soldiers” a while back.  The Congressman and the Senator (and their staff) are sorely lacking sufficient knowledge to delve too far into national security issues.

101

According to Reuters, “A great-great grandmother in America was declared the oldest woman to paraglide tandem on Tuesday after taking to the air to celebrate her 101st birthday.”

81

Actor William Shatner turns 81 years old today.

78

U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) is 78 today.

64

Wolf Blitzer, a broadcast journalist for CNN, is 64 today.

63

The Great Falls Tribune reported that 63 bison were moved from Yellowstone National Park to the Fort Peck Indian Reservation on Monday.

I think this is a good thing…

47

The 47th Treasure State Spelling Bee will be held in Billings (Montana) on Saturday!

Good luck!

36

Actress Reese Witherspoon turns 36 years old today.

35

U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-Maryland) became the nation’s longest-serving woman in Congress (serving 35 years and counting).

Congratulations!

12

A new Gallup Poll tells us “Americans continue to be highly critical of the job Congress is doing, with 12% approving and 82% disapproving in Gallup’s March 8-11 poll.  Congress’ rating has been 15% or below since August, including 10% last month, the all-time low rating in Gallup records.”

If they were well-liked, there would not be anything to joke about…

8

U.S. Senator Jon Tester (D-Montana) spoke Wednesday via a conference call with the Central Montana Defense Alliance (the exclusive military group of the Great Falls Chamber), and said the eight C-130s “are still scheduled to arrive” in Great Falls.

Tester also said the planes would be “pink slime” free…  (To my friends on the right, that was a joke)

6

Twitter turned six years old yesterday.

I have been on Twitter since September 19, 2008…and I am also the mayor of the water cooler…

4

Four candidates who thought they were disqualified from running for office, including former Secretary of State Brad Johnson, had their candidacy restored Wednesday after what can be only be described as a big mess at the Montana Secretary of State’s office.  Of course, the inept Montana media shined during these hours with their stories about the former Secretary of State failing to abide by the rules.

Like I said yesterday the State of Montana really needs to get into this century…

2

Former Congressman and current gubernatorial candidate Rick Hill was called “The Second Most Interesting Man in the World” by Charles P. Pierce at Esquire.com.

I’ve actually met Rick Hill and I don’t find him that interesting…

1.85

According to this story, the longest train on a wedding dress is 1.85 miles.  They used a hot air balloon to show it off.

This is a “wow” moment…

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