I am as swift as a gazelle. An old one. With arthritis. Run over by a Land Rover. Eight days ago. – 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 the Powerball lottery, unemployment, lobbyists in Washington, Montana Legislature, Delta Air Lines Flight 89, Bernie & Elizabeth, the impeachment walk, NFL playoffs, climate conditions, and much more!

321,000,000

Wow! That’s the Powerball lottery jackpot for Saturday night. (Powerball)

214,000

In the week ending January 4, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 214,000, a decrease of 9,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised up by 1,000 from 222,000 to 223,000. The 4-week moving average was 224,000, a decrease of 9,500 from the previous week’s revised average. The previous week’s average was revised up by 250 from 233,250 to 233,500. (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.

11,536

The group “Represent Us” reports that in 2019 there were 11,536 lobbyists in Washington and that equaled 21 lobbyists for every member of Congress. (Represent Us)

90

The Montana Legislature currently meets every two years for 90 days, but some want to change it to annual sessions. (MTN)

I don’t think Montana can take having a circus and clowns every year in Helena…

89

Delta Air Lines Flight 89 going from Los Angeles to Shanghai dump thousands of gallons of jet fuel over Los Angeles after the plane developed engine trouble. (AP)

Maybe it was a mistake, maybe it was chemtrails…

78 & 70:

Bernie Sanders is 78 years old and Elizabeth Warren is 70 years old. Those two arguing during the debate Tuesday night looked like two old people arguing over the TV channel in a nursing home.

7

Led by the House of Representatives’ sergeant at arms and the House clerk carrying the articles of impeachment documents on a tray, seven House managers walked through a nearly empty Statuary Hall and the soaring Capitol rotunda to deliver the documents to the U.S. Senate. (Reuters)

It was like a perp walk…

4

There are four teams left in the NFL playoffs. They are the Kansas City Chiefs, Tennessee Titans, Green Bay Packers, and the San Francisco 49ers.

Vote in The Western Word polls about the AFC/NFC championship HERE and HERE.

2

On January 15, 2020, NOAA released its recap of 2019 climate conditions. Combined measurements from the land and ocean surface show that the planet’s long-term warming trend continues. The average temperature was 1.71°F (0.95°C) above the twentieth-century average. It was the second-warmest year in the historical record dating back to 1880, and the amount of heat energy stored in the top 2,000 meters of the ocean was the highest on record. (NOAA)

NOAA also reported that the five warmest years have occurred since 2015; nine of the 10 warmest years have occurred since 2005. The year 1998 is the only twentieth-century year among the 10 warmest years on record.

 

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