The forest was shrinking, but the trees kept voting for the axe because its handle was made of wood and they thought it was one of them. -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 Trump’s fundraising, ransom to hackers, unemployment, U.S. Senator Susan Collins, Montana AFL-CIO convention, NBA Draft, Trump’s job approval rating, Bullock & the second debate, the congressional women’s softball game, Yellowstone, and much more!

24,800,000

In less than 24 hours after announcing his decision to run for reelection, President Donald Trump raised $24.8 million. In comparison, Joe Biden raised $6.3 million, the most among the Democrats. (Yahoo)

That is quite a haul…

600,000

The Riviera Beach, Florida, City Council voted unanimously this week to pay $600,000 in ransom to hackers who took over its computer system, the latest in thousands of attacks worldwide aimed at extorting money from governments and businesses. (AP)

Wow!

216,000

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

7,000

Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine on Tuesday took her 7,000th consecutive vote as a member of the U.S. Senate, extending a streak she has carefully maintained during more than two decades in the Senate. (AP)

Making 7,000 consecutive votes is remarkable.

63

The Montana AFL-CIO will hold its 63rd annual convention starting today (Thursday). The convention acts as the supreme governing body of the State Federation, which is in accordance with the National AFL-CIO Constitution and Rules Governing State Federations. The focus of this Constitutional Convention will be officer elections, constitutional amendments, and resolutions that will guide the work of the State Fed moving forward. (Press Release)

Union Yes!

60

The 2019 NBA Draft is being held today (June 20) at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. There are two rounds and 60 total selections. New Orleans has the first pick. (NBA.com)

The draft will be televised on ESPN.

43

President Donald Trump’s job approval rating is now 43%, in the middle of the 40% to 46% range seen since early April. Although it falls short of the April 17-30 46% record-high rating of his presidency, it is significantly better than the 35% lows seen several times during his first year in office. (Gallup)

21

Montana Governor Steve Bullock’s campaign announced on June 18 that he had met the polling threshold to participate in the second set of Democratic presidential primary debates. The two CNN-hosted debates will take place on July 30 and 31 in Detroit, Michigan. Bullock is the 21st candidate to meet at least one of the two criteria to qualify, but no more than 20 candidates—10 per night—can participate. His qualification will trigger tie-breakers to the final candidate list. (Ballotpedia News)

The tiebreaker rules can be found by clicking on then Ballotpedia link above.

11

In Washington, D.C., the press team, also known as the Bad News Babes crushed a bi-partisan team of women Members of Congress for the fourth year in a row at the congressional women’s softball game. It was a 10-3 blowout. Now in its 11th year, the game benefits the Young Survival Coalition, a breast cancer charity. (Roll Call)

It’s nice to see the press and members of Congress get together to raise money for a worthy cause.

3

On the eve of Yellowstone’s second season premiere, Paramount Network has ordered a 10-episode third season of its flagship drama starring Kevin Costner. (Deadline)

I enjoy the show.

 

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