Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it. – Henry David Thoreau

Welcome to “Thursday Numbers!” In case you’re a first-time visitor, this is the weekly column where I take a look at the numbers that are in the news (in descending order) and provide commentary sometimes sprinkled with sarcasm.

This week’s topics include Barack Obama, Donald Trump, Troy Downing, unemployment, Dow Jones, Polls on gun control, Trump and the media, Hotel California, Russell Fagg, NFL viewership, REAL ID, and much more!

96,019,961

That’s how many followers former President Barack Obama has on Twitter (@BarackObama).

The former President is kind of quiet on Twitter.

40,772,369

That’s how many followers President Donald Trump has on Twitter (@realDonaldTrump).

Trump keeps it interesting on Twitter…

350,000

That’s how much money Republican U.S. Senate candidate Troy Downing loaned his campaign. (AP)

I can think of better things to spend money on…

222,000

That’s how many people filed new claims for unemployment last week. (USDOL)

23,000

The Dow Jones industrial average closed above 23,000 points for the first time on Wednesday. (AP)

Merica!

96/75/70

The great majority of Americans are in favor of more stringent regulation of the sale and ownership of guns in three ways that go beyond current law in most states. U.S. adults offer near-universal support for requiring background checks for all gun purchases, backed by 96%. Also, three-quarters favor enacting a 30-day waiting period for all gun purchases and 70% favor requiring all privately owned guns to be registered with the police. (Gallup)

The NRA will need to spend a lot of money to keep their politicians in line.

60

In the wake of the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history, more Americans support tighter controls on guns. Six in 10 U.S. adults now support stricter laws covering the sale of firearms, up from 55% last year and the highest percentage since 2004. (Gallup)

I doubt this makes a difference.

46

Nearly half of voters, 46 percent, believe the news media fabricate news stories about President Donald Trump and his administration, according to a new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll. Just 37 percent of voters think the media do not fabricate stories, the poll shows, while the remaining 17 percent are undecided. (Politico)

It’s probably the same with most presidents…

40

The Eagles’ “Hotel California” will be reissued in a deluxe 40th anniversary edition on Nov. 24, pairing the remastered original studio album with 10 live tracks recorded at the Forum in Inglewood around the time the work was released. (LA Times)

Great album. “You can check out any time you like, But you can never leave!”

8

That’s how many people showed up at a campaign event in Bozeman for Republican U.S. Senate candidate and recently retired judge Russell Fagg. (Bozeman Daily Chronicle)

It was reported that Fagg asked the Chronicle to gently phrase that not many people came out to his event.

This isn’t the courtroom, Mr. Fagg. Nobody cares what you ask for out here in the real world.

7.5

Through the first six weeks of the NFL season, total viewership of games is down 7.5 percent, compared with the first six weeks of 2016. (ESPN)

A lot of viewership depends on how your favorite team is playing…

1

The state of Montana has one more year to comply with REAL ID. (AP)

Montana should have been in compliance 10 years ago.

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