If you want to know how rich you are, find out how many things you have that money can’t buy. – 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 ActBlue fundraising, unemployment claims, coronavirus deaths in the USA, Romano fundraising, Trump & National Guard troops, demonstrators in Helena, Trump’s disapproval rating, 2020 Census, Trump & battleground states, and much more!

141,000,000

Democrats raised $141 million in April through ActBlue, the party’s online donor platform, as candidates lean more heavily on its digital outreach during the coronavirus pandemic. ActBlue announced in a blog post that the haul was fueled by about 4.5 million contributions from more than 1.8 million donors. The average donation amounted to $31.65. (The Hill)

It looks like everyone will have plenty of money!

2,438,000

In the week ending May 16, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 2,438,000, a decrease of 249,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised down by 294,000 from 2,981,000
to 2,687,000. The 4-week moving average was 3,042,000, a decrease of 501,000 from the previous week’s revised average. The previous week’s average was revised down by 73,500 from 3,616,500 to 3,543,000. (DOL.gov)

93,313

That’s how many people have died from the coronavirus in the USA. (Reuters)

Last Thursday the deaths numbered 83,720.

150,000

Melissa Romano, public school teacher and candidate for Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction, has raised more than $150,000 in campaign contributions this cycle, with more than $25,000 of that coming between April 16 and May 14. Romano ended the fundraising period with over $123,000 in the bank. (Press Release)

I hope Romano wins this race!

90

A senior FEMA official said on an interagency call that President Trump plans to allow the deployment of national guard troops expire on June 24th, leaving the first group of guardsmen deployed one day short of meeting the required 90 emergency service days to attain certain retirement and educational benefits. (Forbes.com)

Shame on Trump if he does this to our troops.

60

Saying that restrictions enacted to combat the spread of COVID-19 infringed on constitutional rights, roughly 60 demonstrators gathered outside the Montana Capitol Wednesday protesting the state’s response to the virus. (Lee Newspapers)

It’s funny that we have so many morons in Montana.

52.4

That is President Donald Trump’s disapproval rating. His approval rating is just 43.5%. (FiveThirtyEight)

As his unfavorable rating goes up, we’ll see a desperate man do desperate things.

45

That’s Montana’s rank in the 2020 Census self-response, which is the same as last week. Montana has a 50.8% response rate that makes it rank #45. Last week Montana had a 50.2% response rate. Minnesota leads the nation with a 69.7% rating. The national average is 59.7%. (Census.gov)

Montana needs to have a great count to have a slim chance at getting a second U.S. House seat.

2

President Donald Trump on Wednesday threatened to hold up federal funds for two election battleground states that are trying to make it easier and safer to vote during the coronavirus pandemic. He backed away from that threat but stuck with his unsupported claim that widespread voting by mail promotes “a lot of illegality.” The president targeted Michigan with a false tweet on its voting plans and also went after Nevada in the latest — and the most confused — episode in his campaign against voting by mail. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends it as a safe option during the pandemic. (AP)

We should make it easier to vote, especially during this pandemic. I have been voting by mail for years and never had a problem.

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