May we think of freedom, not as the right to do as we please, but as the opportunity to do what is right. – Peter Marshall

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 unemployment claims, Malmstrom AFB, mass shootings, Major League Baseball winners & losers, U.S. Supreme Court, Trump’s potty mouth, Hillary Clinton/Mike Pompeo, Amber Guyger, Great Falls (MT) weather, Steve Bullock, and much more!

213,000

In the week ending September 21, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 213,000, an increase of 3,000 from the previous week’s revised level. (USDOL)

Thursday’s data is released at 6:30 a.m. Mountain time, well after this column is published. Click HERE to see Thursday’s unemployment data.

341

Airmen from the 341st Missile Wing at Malmstrom Air Force Base launched an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile equipped with a test reentry vehicle this morning (Oct. 2) from Vandenberg AFB in California. (The Electric)

If our ballistic missile does not arrive in 30 minutes, the next one is free…

158

Through Friday, 158 congressional districts had experienced at least one mass shooting this year. Fifty-two of those districts are held by Republicans, and 106 are represented by Democrats. (The Hill)

100

Four Major League Baseball teams each won over 100 games this season: Houston (107), Dodgers (106), Yankees (103), and Twins (101). (ESPN)

Houston will be tough to beat in the postseason.

100

Four Major League Baseball teams each lost over 100 games this season: Tigers (114), Orioles (108), Marlins (105), and Royals (103). (ESPN)

Loserville…

54

As the U.S. Supreme Court prepares for the opening of a new term, Gallup finds a slight majority of Americans — 54% — approving of the job the court is doing. This rating is similar to each of the past three years, but marks an improvement over the prior five years, from 2012 to 2016, when about as many Americans disapproved as approved of the high court. (Gallup)

I have a feeling the U.S. Supreme Court is going to have some really important cases in the next few years.

16

That’s how many times Donald Trump has tweeted the word “Bullshit” although he has only done it twice since becoming President. (Source)

I think POTUS is about to blow a fuse…

11

I remember back in 2015 when former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton faced 11 hours of questioning before the House Select Committee on Benghazi. (NPR) One of the people doing the questioning was Rep. Mike Pompeo, R-Kan. Pompeo is now the Secretary of State.

I don’t think Pompeo could last 11 hours if he was questioned about Ukraine…

10

Amber Guyger, the former Dallas police officer convicted of murder for fatally shooting her unarmed neighbor in his apartment, was sentenced Wednesday to 10 years in prison. (NBC) She will be eligible for parole in five years. (Daily Beast)

It seems out of the ordinary that she was convicted of murder but only received 10 years. She did confess that she killed him from the beginning, though.

9

That was the temperature in Great Falls (MT) on Tuesday morning October 1, 2019. It shattered the previous record of 22 degrees which was set in 1959. (NWS Great Falls)

I’m trying to remember why I stayed in Montana after leaving the Air Force…

4

The Great Falls Tribune reported that Montana Governor Steve Bullock did not qualify for the fourth Democratic presidential debate on Oct. 15. He has qualified for only one of the four debates, so far. (GF Tribune)

Bullock’s chances are slim, but he really has nothing to lose by staying in the Presidential race through the Iowa caucus – as long as he has the funding to do so.

 

##END##