There is no better than adversity. Every defeat, every heartbreak, every loss, contains its own seed, its own lesson on how to improve your performance next time. ― Malcolm X

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 Greg Gianforte, unemployment, USA deaths from coronavirus, NFL coaches and masks, pilot whales, 2020 Census, Trump’s disapproval rating, following national politics, Louisville Police officers, Breonna Taylor, and much more!

3,600,000

In the race for Montana governor, Republican gubernatorial candidate Greg Gianforte has put another $1 million of his own money into his campaign, upping his personal stake in the race to almost $3.6 million. (MTN News)

Does Gianforte buying the governorship bother anyone? Comments welcome!

870,000

In the week ending September 19, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims was 870,000, an increase of 4,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised up by 6,000 from 860,000 to
866,000. The 4-week moving average was 878,250, a decrease of 35,250 from the previous week’s revised average. The previous week’s average was revised up by 1,500 from 912,000 to 913,500. (DOL)

201,920

That is 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 201,920 deaths and 6,935,556 cases across the country so far. The first death in the US was reported on February 29. (John Hopkins)

Last Thursday, there were 196,831 deaths.

100,000

Five NFL coaches were fined $100,000 each for not properly wearing their masks during games last weekend. The teams of these coaches were fined $250,000 each. The coaches and teams are Seattle’s Pete Carroll, Denver’s Vic Fangio, San Francisco’s Kyle Shanahan, Sean Payton of New Orleans, and Jon Gruden of Las Vegas. (CNN)

380

Nearly 500 pilot whales became stranded, and some 380 died in Australia during the past week, in what is suspected to be one of the largest mass beachings in recorded history. So far, rescuers have been able to free around 50 pilot whales from beaches and sandbars in the west of Tasmania, an island state in Australia’s south. (WaPo)

Sad deal…

91.0

That is Montana’s overall response rate for the 2020 Census. The self-response was 59.7%. The non-response follow-up enumerated 31.4% for a total of 91.0% enumerated. (Census)

Fill out your Census forms, people!

53.2

That is President Donald Trump’s disapproval rating according to the FiveThirtyEight blog. His approval rating is just 42.8%. (FiveThirtyEight)

Last week Trump’s disapproval rating was 52.8%.

42

Less than two months from the presidential election, 42% of Americans say they follow news about national politics “very closely,” similar to the 39% to 43% who paid this close attention in each of the prior three presidential election years since 2008. Today’s level is a bit higher than in 2004, when 36% followed national political news very closely. Attention was far lower in 1996, at 27%. (Gallup)

Every eligible voter needs to vote…

2

Hours after a Kentucky grand jury brought no charges against Louisville police for Breonna Taylor’s death and protesters took to the streets, authorities said two officers were shot and wounded Wednesday night during the demonstrations expressing anger over the killings of Black people at the hands of police. (AP)

The protests need to be peaceful. Prayers for the officers.

1

None of the police officers were charged with Breonna Taylor’s killing, although one was indicted for shooting into a neighboring home that had people inside. (AP)

I was shocked to hear this decision especially after Taylor’s family received a $12 million settlement from the city of Louisville.

## VOTING IS COOL ##