Be decisive. Right or wrong, make a decision. The road of life is paved with flat squirrels who couldn’t make a decision. –Unknown
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, humor, and bluntness.
This week’s topics include Jeopardy, unemployment, taxes & corporations, Trump’s job approval, Mueller report, NFL schedules, Josh Huestis, Columbine High School, Madonna, and much more!
697,787
That’s how much money Jeopardy champion James Holzhauer has won during his 10-day winning streak. (ESPN)
His dominance on the show has been fun to watch. He is a very smart man.
192,000
That’s how many people filed new claims for unemployment last week. (USDOL)
60
Under President Trump’s new tax law, 60 of America’s biggest corporations paid $0 in federal taxes in 2018, despite earning billions of dollars in profits. (Fox Business)
MAGA…
45
President Trump’s job approval stands at 45 percent, while 51 percent of voters disapprove, according to a new Fox News Poll. (Fox News)
Interesting difference between this and the next poll…
40
A new Monmouth University poll found that President Trump’s overall job rating stands at 40% approve and 54% disapprove. The poll also found that 24% of Americans approve of the job Congress is doing and 62% disapprove. (Monmouth.edu)
Can Trump be re-elected with an approval rating under 50%…
34
Today (Thursday) the Department of Justice will release the redacted Mueller report to Congress and to the public. The Justice Department (Trump’s people) appointed Robert Mueller special counsel on May 17, 2017, and there have been 34 people indicted as a result of Mueller’s investigation, including Russian nationals and several former Trump aides and advisors. (USA Today)
The spin from both sides is in full force and will be for the foreseeable future.
32
The NFL released the regular season schedule for all 32 NFL teams Wednesday evening. The regular season begins on Thursday, September 5, with the Packers taking on the Bears. (NFL.com)
Go Chiefs!
27
Josh Huestis, 27, is a free agent after parting ways with the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs organization. (GF Tribune)
I hope Huestis is signed by another NBA team.
20
April 20, 2019, will mark 20 years since the massacre at Columbine High School in Columbine, Colorado, where 13 people (12 students and one teacher) were killed. (AP)
The United States has done little to stop these massacres.
I actually thought that in 2012 when 20 children (ages six and seven) and six adults were murdered at Sandy Hook Elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, we might finally see some changes.
Nothing happened. Shame on us.
14
On Sunday (April 14), Madonna announced the title of her fourteenth studio album, Madame X, after two weeks of teasing the project on Instagram. The first single (“Medellín”), album artwork, release date, and track listing were then unveiled on Wednesday (April 17). (Billboard)
Madonna is still going strong at age 60…
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The Western Word 
60: Why is it a problem that these corporations didn’t pay federal taxes, they are not breaking the law, they are following it. If it is so important they pay Federal taxes, Congress should change the laws that all good businesses and accounts take advantage of. For me, business people are way smarter than the politicians who write them. Trump didn’t write those laws and neither did Obama. People reading this perceive that they pay no taxes. They do pay local and state taxes, property taxes, payroll taxes, business and occupations taxes, there are plenty of taxes that they pay! I have always seen this as a very stupid argument.
45: Polls today are pretty much worthless, they are canted to get specific results. Remember those pollsters predicted Hillary would be POTUS, whoops! As a stat rat, you can give me a data set and I can create 3 completely different reports using the same information…
Cuda – Thanks. I do believe that businesses should be given tax breaks so they can provide jobs. As for polls, that was my point. -JmB
The polls predicted she would win the vote and she DID win the popular vote by 2.8 million votes.
You can’t poll the Electoral College. 78,000 votes in WI, Mi and PA determined that result.
Read the Barr version of the Mueller Report here:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/l8yoah76t7nq04y/mueller-report.pdf?dl=0
It’s a searchable version from Lawfare.
The full report, in all its unredacted glory must be released for public review. The Starr report was published in book form immediately after the Republicans finished their witch hunt about Billy getting some blowjobs.
Doug – I also found out the Electoral College football team sucks. Thanks, JmB