It’s September 30, 2016, the end of the year’s third quarter and 39 days before the 2016 election.

And it’s time for 20 Questions Friday – just some random questions that popped into my head this week and in the hour or so it takes to write this.

Enjoy your weekend.

— Is Trump’s hissy fit over Alicia Machado a way to distract people from the fact that he admitted in the debate that he’s “smart” not to pay taxes?

— Is Trump’s hissy fit over Alicia Machado just a way to promote the Miss Universe pageant he owns?

— Did you know that the vice presidential debate is on Tuesday at Longwood University in Farmville, Va.?

— Do you know who’s in the vice presidential debate?

— Who likes the idea of Lady Gaga performing the Super Bowl halftime show?

— Has Trump talked at all this week about any issue that actually concerns the American people?

— Do we think of Al Capone as “smart” for not having paid taxes?

— I think it’s a good thing, but does it seem as though people who are into Halloween are delaying their decorating this year?

— Are you scratching your head when you hear Republicans in Congress blame President Obama because they override his veto of the bill allowing families of 9/11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia?

— Are you as curious as I am as to what caused that horrible train wreck in Hoboken yesterday?

— Should the nation spare any expense to make our transportation systems safe?

— Am I wrong to think most of the country wants the Chicago Cubs to win the World Series?

— Have you ever been to New York’s Carnegie Deli? (It’s closing!)

— Are you registered to vote? Are you sure?

— Did you know that Richard Trentlage, who died this month, is the, um, composer of “The Oscar Mayer Weiner Song”? 

— Isn’t it cool that a spacecraft landed on a comet? 

— Can you imagine that Syria’s civil war is like one of Dante’s circles of hell?

— When was the last time you saw head cheese at a deli?

— Isn’t it a pity? (Fifth in a series of song-title questions)

— Can it possibly be that there are sane people in the United States of America who think Trump’s reaction to the Alicia Machado bait is the way they want a President of this country to conduct himself?