Stand up for what is right even if it means standing alone. ― Suzy Kassem

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 Trump/Biden fundraising, unemployment, projected COVID deaths, coronavirus cases/deaths in the USA, social media misinformation, Trump’s disapproval rating, 2020 Census, Tester announces, Americans’ satisfaction, every 80 seconds, and much more!

165,000,000

President Donald Trump’s campaign and the Republican National Committee bested presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden and his party’s national committee’s fundraising haul in July, but the money gap between the two camps has essentially closed. Trump’s campaign and the RNC announced on Wednesday night that their joint fundraising committees raised more than $165 million in July. That bests Biden and the DNC’s haul of $140 million in July. (CNN)

There will be enough money for everyone…

1,186,000

In the week ending August 1, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 1,186,000, a decrease of 249,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised up by 1,000 from 1,434,000 to
1,435,000. The 4-week moving average was 1,337,750, a decrease of 31,000 from the previous week’s revised average. The previous week’s average was revised up by 250 from 1,368,500 to 1,368,750. (DOL)

230,822

That’s how many COVID-19 deaths in the USA are projected by November 1, 2020. (Source)

As we lead up to the election, this will be a major news story.

158,170

That’s how many people have died in the United States from coronavirus, according to the latest data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. There are at least 158,170 deaths and 4,821,296 cases across the country so far. The first death in the US was reported on February 29. (John Hopkins)

Last Thursday there were 150,034 deaths.

78

Americans are largely overwhelmed by the sheer volume and speed of news coverage, and 78% say the spread of misinformation online is “a major problem,” exceeding all other challenges posed by the media environment. Nearly three-quarters of U.S. adults would like to see major internet companies find ways to exclude false information or hateful expression online. (Gallup)

I correct two or three messages each day that contain fake news or misinformation. Most are posted by people who don’t care or who are not intelligent enough to know it’s fake.

54.7

That is President Donald Trump’s disapproval rating. His approval rating is just 41.4%. (FiveThirtyEight)

Last week his disapproval rating was 55.6%.

46

That’s Montana’s rank for the 2020 Census self-response. Last week Montana ranked 46. Montana has a 56.7% response rate to rank #46. Last week Montana had a 56.5% response rate. Minnesota leads the nation with a 72.3% rating. The national response rate is 63.1%. (Census)

Fill out your forms, people!

14

U.S. Senator Jon Tester announced that he secured $4,272,094 in Department of Education TRIO Student Support Services (SSS) funding for 14 Montana colleges and universities to increase college retention and graduation rates for low-income Montanans across the state. Current SSS funding is slated to run out on August 31st. (Tester Press)

FYI: Elected officials and candidates can send their press releases to me at Western_Word@Yahoo.com

13

Americans’ satisfaction with the way things are going in the U.S. continues to tumble since it started trending downward at the beginning of the novel coronavirus pandemic. Currently, 13% of U.S. adults are satisfied with the state of the nation, down seven percentage points in the past month and 32 points since reaching a 15-year high in February. Satisfaction has not been this low since November 2011. (Gallup)

This should worry any incumbents running this year…

1

Over the last seven days, a grim new COVID-19 calculus has emerged: one person died every 80 seconds from the coronavirus in America. (NBC News)

Wear a mask!

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