Wow! This is the LAST THURSDAY OF JULY!

Hey – thanks for stopping by – your free dose of knowledge awaits.

“Thursday Numbers” is the weekly column where I take a look at the numbers that are in the news (in descending order) and provide commentary (sometimes spiked with sarcasm) just to make you smile, shake your head, or make you send me nasty e-mails or Tweets.

This week I write about Jesse Ventura, unemployment, Thomas Eagleton, Steve Daines, Jon Tester, John Walsh, Veterans’ reform bill, the House lawsuit, RED HORSE, Medicare, recess, Sharknado, NFL football, and much more!

1,845,000

That’s how much ($1.845 million) former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura was awarded by a jury in Minnesota after they decided Ventura had been defamed in a book titled “American Sniper” by Chris Kyle, a Navy Seal. That is a great book by the way. Kyle is now deceased. (Source)

CNN’s Anderson Cooper probably said it best on Twitter: “I cannot believe that Jesse Ventura successfully sued the widow of a fallen Navy SEAL. Has he no shame?”

I guess not…

302,000

That is how many people filed new claims for unemployment last week. (Source)

We’re back to over 300k after being below it for one week…

1972

On this date in 1972, Democratic vice-presidential candidate Thomas Eagleton withdrew from the ticket with George McGovern following disclosures that Eagleton had once undergone psychiatric treatment. (Source)

I wrote about Eagleton in my last book. You can purchase it HERE.

420

The U.S. House of Representatives voted 420-5 to pass the Veterans’ Access to Care through Choice, Accountability, and Transparency Act of 2014. Montana Congress Steve Daines was one of the 420 Yea votes. (Source)

That was a great show of support for our veterans.  Thank you. 

225

That’s the number of Republican House members who voted to authorize a lawsuit against President Barack Obama. The overall vote was 225-201. Rep. Steve Daines of Montana voted for the lawsuit. (Source)

That was a very stupid move.

155

That’s how many personnel the 819th RED HORSE Squadron at Malmstrom Air Force Base may lose during fiscal year 2015. (Source)

Sen. Jon Tester, Sen. John Walsh, and Rep. Steve Daines are failing miserably at protecting Montana’s military missions.

49

On July 30, 1965, which was 49 years ago yesterday, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Medicare bill into law.

The Montana Democrats used the anniversary to say, “…it couldn’t be more clear that Congressman Steve Daines and U.S. House candidate Ryan Zinke are completely out of touch with the reality Montana seniors face.”

Maybe it’s just me, but I’m thinking the Montana Democrats would have informed us about how out of touch Daines and Zinke are whether there was an anniversary or not.

10

Yahoo! Travel says these are the top 10 restaurants with the longest lines – and they are worth the wait. (Source)

5

Congress will be leaving Washington, D.C., this week for a five-week recess. They will return to D.C. the week of September 8.

Hopefully the staff from Congressman Steve Daines’ office will be able to catch up on their correspondence backlog and respond to constituents (like me) during this time. 

2

“Sharknado 2: The Second One” premiered last night on the Syfy Network. This time a sharknado hit New York City. (Source)

Since the first Sharknado was in Los Angeles and the second one in New York, I’m thinking Sharknado 3 should be somewhere in the Midwest, like along the Mississippi or Missouri rivers.

1

The first pre-season game (Hall of Fame game) in the NFL is this Sunday (Aug. 3) with Buffalo at the New York Giants. The rest of the NFL preseason starts on August 7. (Source)

I am ready for some football!

Maybe the Great Falls (MT) NBC station (KBGF-LP) will switch to a digital signal by the time the season starts. It’s terrible right now.

 

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