Happy 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).
NOTICE: 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 Powerball, welfare, unemployment, texting, bison, Boehner in Billings, TSA, Gillian Anderson, heat, dogs rule, pay raises, and gold medals. There’s a lot more so read on…
$253,000,000
That’s the jackpot for Saturday’s Powerball lottery.
Yowsers…
100,000,000
According to this article in The Weekly Standard, “Over 100 Million People in U.S. Now Receiving Some Form Of Federal Welfare.”
It is still tough going in the USA…
363,000
According to a press release from the U.S. Department of Labor, 363,000 people filed new claims for unemployment last week.
Still too many…
50,000
The Associated Press reports “A 17-year-old boy who says he has ‘abnormally fast thumbs’ has been named the fastest texter in America for the second year in a row.” He won $50,000 for the effort.
Say “fastest texter” three times in a row…
4,230
That’s the estimated number of bison in Yellowstone National Park. Read about it HERE.
They are so cute and cuddly…
2010
According to the Associated Press on this date in 2010, “Former Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens, 86, the longest serving Republican in the U.S. Senate, was killed in a plane crash in southwestern Alaska.”
RIP Senator Stevens…
250
According to the Daines for U.S. Congress website, for $250 you can attend the “general reception” with special guest, Speaker of the House John Boehner, August 15 in Billings. For more access to the Speaker, you can spend from $1000 to $5000 depending on your pocketbook.
I bet Steve Daines is thinking, “This is the largest event ever in the history of Montana politics.”
161
On this date in 2004, “Terry Nichols was sentenced to 161 consecutive life sentences on state murder charges in the Oklahoma City bombing.”
102
That was the high temperature yesterday (Wednesday) in Great Falls, Montana.
I thought it only felt like 100…
54
A new poll from Gallup this week reported, “Despite recent negative press, a majority of Americans, 54%, think the U.S. Transportation Security Administration is doing either an excellent or a good job of handling security screening at airports.”
Be nice to the TSA folks – they are there to protect us…
44
Happy 44th birthday to Gillian Anderson of “X-Files” fame!
The truth is out there…
36.5
According to this article in USA Today, “Most pet owners have dogs: about 70 million of them in 36.5% of U.S. homes. Cats, at 74 million, are in 30.4% of homes.”
Dogs rule!!
16
The Great Falls (MT) police department has written 16 warnings for texting and driving during the first week of the ban according to the Great Falls Tribune.
With the city being in such bad financial shape, the police department will need to step it up in the following weeks. No warnings! They need the money…
10
According to Mark Halperin, there are 10 things to keep in mind as we approach the time when Mitt Romney will be picking his running mate.
I know this will disappoint my readers, but I don’t believe I am in the running to be Romney’s VP. But, I am prepared to release 12 years of taxes. I have no off-shore accounts. I served my country in the military…
5
In a double whammy, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) contends in a new ad that Congressman Denny Rehberg has voted himself a pay raise five times and voted ten times against raising the minimum wage.
The boy and girls at the DSCC play with old video and conduct opposition research. Their counterparts at the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) play with crayons and spend time being amazed at how sippy cups work…
3
That’s how many gold medals Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh have won in beach volleyball during the last three Olympics, where they were 21-0.
Congrats ladies – we are proud of you!
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