Hello Thursday!  If this is your first time visiting The Western Word (TWW), “Thursday Numbers” is my weekly column where I take a look at the numbers mentioned in the news (in descending order) and provide commentary (sometimes with a little sarcasm).

REMINDER:  By reading this column you will probably gain a great deal of knowledge not found on other websites!  You can use this information to impress your family, friends and co-workers, and it might even be life changing – so consider yourself warned…

This week I write about a surplus, a jackpot, Facebook, bonuses, unemployment, taxes on medals, equal pay, bunker time, fundraiser, Post Office names, women with curves, a bikini parade, not paying taxes, the last August recess, and much more!

453,000,000

The state of Montana has a surplus of $453 million as of June 30.

This is a good thing…

181,000,000

That’s the current jackpot ($181 million) for the Powerball lottery.  The next drawing is Saturday night…

Imagine if you won…

60,000,000

Who’s the most popular music artist–ever–on Facebook?  That’s Eminem with 60 million likes.  Rihanna has 59 million fans.  Lady Gaga has 53 million likes on Facebook, but she has about 28 million followers on Twitter.

I like Twitter more than Facebook…

30,000,000

WUSA reports, “The U.S. Government won’t explain, but a 9 News Now investigation has found $30 million in unreported bonuses for fiscal year 2011 – making the already troubled General Services Administration’s total bonus pool nearly $44 million.”

I really don’t think any Federal Government agency is in any shape to give bonuses…

365,000

That’s how many new claims for unemployment were filed last week.  According to the U.S. Department of Labor, “In the week ending July 28 the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 365,000, an increase of 8,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 357,000.”

Not great…

8,986

According to a story in the Washington Times, “Athletes who win a gold medal also earn a $25,000 honorarium — and with it an $8,986 tax bill to the IRS, according to Americans for Tax Reform, which crunched the numbers.”  Silver and bronze medals also come with honorarium and taxes.

Just wrong…

363

The Washington Free Beacon reports “The Obama reelection campaign’s female employees earned an average of $6,872 during that period, compared with an average of $7,235 for male employees.  That is a difference of $363, or 5.3 percent.”

Not right…

150

To attend the John McCain fundraiser for Senate candidate (and current Congressman) Denny Rehberg in Great Falls on August 17, couples can pay $150, which appears to be the cheapest package.

I think candidates need a $9 and under fundraiser for the rest of us…kind of like a cheap haircut…

119

That’s how many views the new ad called “Map” from the group called “Citizens for Strength and Security” has received so far on YouTube.  The ad claims that Congressman Denny Rehberg is “sponsoring a bill giving the federal Department of Homeland Security control over millions of acres in Montana.”  You can watch it HERE.

That ad, coupled with this one called “Drones,” makes me want to head to my bunker for safety…

60

According to ABC News, “In the 18 months the 112th Congress has been sworn in, the House has introduced 60 bills to rename post offices.”  ABC also reports, “Not a single bill has come to the House floor aimed at reforming a Postal Service, which is bleeding billions of dollars because of Congressional mandates.”

Now that’s hard work…

39

According to this story, only 39 people showed up (with bikinis on) for the World’s Largest Bikini Parade in Madison Lake, Minnesota.  Sadly, they fell short of the world record of 451 people in a bikini parade.

I like bikinis…

34

According to a new poll from Gallup, “A majority of residents in 13 states and the District of Columbia approved of the job Barack Obama did as president during the first six months of 2012.  His highest ratings by state were in Hawaii (63%) and Rhode Island (58%), in addition to the 83% approval from District of Columbia residents.  In 16 states, his approval rating averaged below 40%, with residents of Utah, Wyoming, and Alaska least approving.”  Montana gives Obama a 34% approval rating…

Many of the states that Obama is doing well in are states which have a lot of electoral votes…

16

According to this story, “Robyn Lawley is a size 16 and proud of it.  Australian Vogue’s first ‘plus-size’ cover girl has just broken another boundary in the fashion industry as the new face of a U.K. lingerie line for women with curves.”

I like curves…

13

According to the Billings Gazette, “Bond was set at $100,000 on Wednesday for a Billings man charged with his 13th drunken-driving offense less than six weeks after he completed a 10-year stint behind bars for his 12th.”

Montana is soft on drunk driving…

10

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D) said that GOP Presidential candidate Mitt Romney hasn’t released more of his tax returns because “he didn’t pay taxes for 10 years.”

Now we know what Romney is hiding…

5

Watch out – Congress is getting ready to take a 5-week vacation.

This will be the last August recess/vacation for Denny Rehberg or Jon Tester depending on which one loses in November.  Of course, the loser may run for the U.S. Senate or U.S. House in the future so they can take those lucrative five-week vacations once again…

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