I told my psychiatrist that I’ve been hearing voices. He told me that I don’t have a psychiatrist. – 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 and humor.
This week’s topics include unemployment claims, decriminalizing marijuana, Gianforte & Trump, Jr., Brawl of the Wild poll, Trump’s approval/disapproval ratings, LeBron James, Jon Tester town hall, Joe Biden, Malmstrom AFB, and much more!
225,000
In the week ending November 9, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 225,000, an increase of 14,000 from the previous week’s unrevised level of 211,000. (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.
3884
The House Judiciary Committee has approved a bill (H.R. 3884) Wednesday that would decriminalize marijuana at the federal level. The Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act of 2019, or MORE Act, passed 24-10 after more than two hours of debate. It now heads to the full House. (CBS News)
I am in favor of this bill.
250
In an email, the campaign of Greg Gianforte for Governor invites supporters to a Sunday, November 24, “Special Event” with Donald Trump Jr and Fox News’ Kimberly Guilfoyle. Tickets are $250 a person.
Maybe junior will apologize for being nasty to military personnel.
119
The University of Montana Grizzlies travel to Bozeman Saturday to play the Montana State University Bobcats in the 119th “Brawl of the Wild” football game.
Pick the winner in The Western Word Poll HERE.
54
That is President Donald Trump’s disapproval rating. (Gallup)
43
That is President Donald Trump’s approval rating. (Gallup)
30
LeBron James completed his triple-double collection on Tuesday. With 25 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in a 112-107 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Los Angeles Lakers superstar became the first player in league history to log a triple-double against all 30 NBA teams, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. (ESPN)
Michael Jordan was better.
8
U.S. Senator Jon Tester will hold his 8th in-person Town Hall meeting in Kalispell this Friday (Nov. 22). The event will take place at noon in Flathead Valley Community College’s Art and Technology Building Room 139. (Daily Inter Lake)
Applause goes to Tester for meeting constituents face to face. Shame on Senator Daines and Representative Gianforte for being chickens.
6
Former Vice President Joe Biden’s staff got a little trigger happy on Wednesday, prematurely sending out a fundraising email asking for feedback on his performance in the night’s debate, asking in the subject line: “Did I make you proud?” The email went out around 3 p.m., a good six hours before the debate is set to kick off and at least eight hours before it’s expected to end. (Politico)
Poor Joe. He’s fading.
3
For the third year in a row, Malmstrom AFB has won the Blanchard Trophy for the best intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) wing! (AFGSC)
Give those patriots a day off!
The Western Word 