Prejudice is a great time saver. You can form opinions without having to get the facts. – E.B. White

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 Montana’s Primary Election, Beth Baker, unemployment, oysters, the obituary, Liberty County Patriots, gambling, the news, cloning animals, Jon Tester’s 15th bill, the NBA Finals, and much more!

281,416

As of this morning, that is how many people voted in the June 5 primary election in Montana. (mtelectionresults.gov)

That’s 41.43% voter turnout. There are 679,231 registered voters in Montana.

222,000

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

That’s a decrease from last week.

217,697

That’s how many votes Supreme Court Justice #4 candidate Beth Baker received in Tuesday’s primary election in Montana. That makes Baker the candidate with the most votes in the primary. (mtelectionresults.gov)

480

Darron Breeden of Orange, Virginia, ate 480 oysters in 8 minutes to win the World Oyster Eating Championship at the Oyster Festival in New Orleans. (nola.com)

I hear they go down easy…

105

With just 105 words, a family decimated their late mother, whose passing they took as an opportunity to air their decades-long grievances. (Yahoo)

I hope the family feels better…

74.4

The Associated Press (AP) reported that in the June 5 primary election in Montana, Liberty County in north-central Montana had the highest voter turnout at 74.4 percent while Lewis and Clark County had the highest turnout among the five largest counties at 44.6 percent. (AP)

Liberty County residents are patriots!

69

Sixty-nine percent of Americans say gambling is morally acceptable, a four-percentage-point increase from last year and the highest level of acceptance in the 16 years Gallup has asked the question. (Gallup)

Hit me…

68

A new survey from Pew Research found that almost seven-in-ten Americans (68%) feel worn out by the amount of news there is these days, compared with only three-in-ten who say they like the amount of news they get. (Pew)

The survey also found that Republicans are more worn out than Democrats 77%-61%.

40

Gallup reported this week that a record-high 40% of Americans now say that cloning animals is morally acceptable, up from 32% last year. As high as the current percentage is, a majority (57%) still say cloning animals is morally wrong. (Gallup)

There’s still hope to get another dog just like Fido…

15

On Wednesday, President Donald Trump signed U.S. Senator Jon Tester’s 15th bill into law. Called the VA MISSION Act, the bipartisan bill scraps the Choice Program, cuts government bureaucracy, and delivers a better healthcare experience to Montana veterans. (PR)

That is pretty impressive.

0-131

The Golden State Warriors lead LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers 3-0 in the best of seven NBA Finals. In NBA playoff history, teams down 3-0 are 0-131. (ESPN)

James may end up with the most NBA Finals appearances and the most losses. 

 

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