I get most of my exercise these days from shaking my head in disbelief. – 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 unemployment, voter turnout, Psalms, best Thanksgiving cities, Jefferson Beauregard Sessions, III, The Paseo, Safiya Khalid, congressional job approval, fattest/skinniest states, impeachment hearings, and much more!

218,000

In the week ending October 26, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 218,000, an increase of 5,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised up by 1,000 from 212,000 to 213,000. (DOL.gov)

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.

12,265

That’s how many ballots were returned in the Great Falls municipal election Tuesday. The elections department mailed 28,000. (GF Tribune)

That’s a pretty sad return rate.

420

This is the 420th Thursday Numbers column.

109:8

May his days be few; may another take his place of leadership. (Psalm 109:8)

100

WalletHub has compared the top 100 cities for Thanksgiving. St. Paul, Minnesota came in first and Stockton, California was ranked 100. (WalletHub)

Sadly, no city in Montana made the list. Maybe there aren’t enough “turkeys” in Montana. The real reason is probably that there are no “large” cities in Montana.

72

Former Attorney General Jefferson Beauregard Sessions, III, age 72, will announce that he is entering the race for his old U.S. Senate seat in Alabama, two Republicans with direct knowledge of his plans said Wednesday. Sessions stepped down from the U.S. Senate to become President Trump’s attorney general. Trump asked him to resign. (AP)

Two questions come to mind – will Trump come to Alabama and campaign for Sessions and if the impeachment gets to the U.S. Senate, will Sessions vote to convict?

70

Kansas City voters on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved removing Dr. Martin Luther King’s name from one of the city’s most historic boulevards, less than a year after the city council decided to rename The Paseo for the civil rights icon. Unofficial results showed the proposal to remove King’s name received nearly 70% of the vote, with just over 30% voting to retain King’s name. (AP)

I’ve driven on “The Paseo” many times.

70

The second-largest city in Maine, home to thousands of African newcomers, has elected a Somali American to its city council following a campaign that was marred by racists attacks and threats fueled by social media. Safiya Khalid, 23, soundly defeated a fellow Democrat with nearly 70% of the vote on Tuesday for a seat on the Lewiston City Council. (AP)

Congratulations to Safiya! This victory should put racists over the deep end…

38/34

As events continue to unfold in the House Democrats’ impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump’s dealings with Ukraine, 38% of Americans approve of the job congressional Democrats are doing. Republicans in Congress earn a slightly lower approval of 34%. (Gallup)

35

Montana ranks as the 35th fattest state according to WalletHub. Mississippi and West Virginia are the two fattest states. Colorado and Utah are the skinniest. (WalletHub)

They also said the Bison Burger was Montana’s favorite comfort food.

1

As more White House officials refused to come to Capitol Hill for closed-door depositions in the impeachment investigation against President Donald Trump, Democrats announced they would hold their first public hearings next week with a series of U.S. diplomats. (AJC)

Get the popcorn ready!

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