MJ vs Kobe - By far the most comprehensive comparison on the internet!

After continuing to hear all the fuss about how Kobe Bryant is just as good if not better than Michael Jordan now that he has won his 4th NBA Championship I have decided to do some investigating and number crunching and compared these 2 NBA Legends to see how they truly compare to each other. This is going to be a lot of information, possibly information overload for your noggin so prepare yourself, you've been warned!

Since historians always judge an athlete based on their performance during the most crucial and intense time of the season let's start with how MJ and Kobe fared during their 6 NBA Finals Series:

MICHAEL JORDAN

1991 vs LA Lakers
156 points 31.2ppg, 63-113 FG (56%), 28-36 FT (78%), 2-4 3PT FG (50%)
33 reb, 57 assists, 14 stl, 7 blk, and 18 t/o's

1992 vs Blazer
215 points 35.8ppg, 81-154 FG (53%), 41-46 FT (89%) 12-28 3PT FG (43%)
29 reb, 40 assists, 10 stl, 2 blks, and 24 t/o's

1993 vs Suns
246 points 41ppg, 101-199 FG (51%), 34-49 FT (69%), 10-25 3PT FG (40%)
51 reb, 38 assists, 10 stl, 4 blk, and 16 t/o's

1996 vs Sonics
164 points 27.3ppg, 51-123 FG (41%), 56-67 FT (83%), 6-19 3PT FG (32%)
32 reb, 25 assists, 10 stls, 1 block, and 18 t/o's

1997 vs Jazz
194 points 32.3ppg, 72-158 FG (46%) 42-55 FT (76%), 8-25 3PT FG (32%)
42 reb, 35 assists, 5 blocks, 7 steals, and 13 t/o's

1998 vs Jazz
201 points 33.5ppg, 70-164 FG (43%), 57-70 FT( 81%), 4-13 3PT FG (31%)
24 reb, 14 assists, 11 stl, 4 blocks, and 10 t/o's

NBA FINALS CARRER:
1176 points (33.6)
438-911 (48%)
258-323 FT (80%)
42-114 3pt (37%)
211 reb's (6.03)
209 assists (5.97)
62 steals (1.77)
23 blks (0.65)
99 t/o's (2.82)

KOBE BRYANT

2000 vs Pacers
78 points 15.6ppg, 33-90 (37%), 10-11 FT (91%), 2-10 3PT FG (20%)
23 reb, 21 assists, 5 stl, 7 blk, and 6 t/o's

2001 vs 76er's
123 points 24.6ppg, 44-106 FG (42%), 32-38 FT (84%), 3-9 3PT FG (33%)
39 reb, 29 assists, 7 stl, 7 blk, and 18 t/o's

2002 vs Nets
107 points 26.8ppg, 36-70 FG (51%), 29-36 FT (81%), 6-11 3PT (55%)
23 reb, 21 assists, 6 steals, 3 blk, and 15 t/o's

2004 vs Pistons
113 points 22.6ppg, 43-113 FG (38%), 23-25 FT (92%), 4-23 3PT FG (17%)
14 reb, 22 assists, 9 stl, 3 blk, and 18 t/o's

2008 vs Celtics
154 points 25.6ppg, 53-131 FG (40%), 39-49 FT (80%), 9-28 3PT FG (32%)
28 reb, 30 assists, 16 stl, 1 blk, and 23 t/o's

2009 vs Magic
162 points 32.4ppg, 58-135 FG (43%), 37-44 FT (84%), 9-25 3PT FG (36%)
28 reb, 37 assists, 7 stl, 7 blk, 16 t/o's

NBA FINALS CARRER:
737 points (24.6pts)
267-645 (41%)
170-203 FT (84%)
33-106 3pt (31%)
155 reb's (5.2)
160 assists (5.3)
50 steals (1.6)
28 blk's (0.9)
96 t/o's (3.2)

Since Im sure Ill get responses that Kobe wasn't the Laker's first offensive option for his first 4 years in the NBA Finals Ill leave out the points per game number because after all, attempting field goal shots count weather or not your the 1st scoring option for your team or the 12th, it doesn't really matter, a FG attempt is a FG attempt so let's see how Kobe fared against MJ in that field along with all the other ones for his 6 NBA Finals appearances.

FG%: Kobe: 41 / MJ: 48 - Winner: MJ
FT%: Kobe: 84 / MJ: 80 - Winner: Kobe
3PT FG %: Kobe: 31 / MJ: 37 - Winner: MJ
Rebounds: Kobe: 5.2ppg / MJ: 6.03ppg - Winner: MJ
Assists: Kobe: 5.3 / MJ: 5.9 - Winner: MJ
Steals: Kobe: 1.6 / MJ: 1.7 - Winner: MJ
Blocks: Kobe: 0.9 / MJ: 0.65 - Winner: Kobe
Turnovers: Kobe: 3.2 / MJ: 2.8 - Winner: MJ

So let's see where does this put us at? Kobe basically shot free throws better and had a slight block advantage per game over MJ, other than that MJ out performed Kobe on every other aspect of the game. Let's take this one further because again, I know all of you Kobe lover's will say, well that's not fair, he wasn't the Laker's main scoring threat until the 2008 and 2009 Finals appearances so here is a comparison of the 2008 & 2009 NBA Finals for Kobe vs the final 2 years for MJ in 1997 & 1998. So basically it is Jordan at his oldest age in the Finals vs Kobe at his oldest age in the Finals. FYI - Kobe was 4 years younger.


MJ – 32.9 PTS, 44% FG, 79.2% FT, 32% 3PT, 4.1 AST, 5.5REB, 0.75 BLK, 1.5STL, 1.91 T/O

KOBE – 28.7PTS, 41.7% FG, 82% FT, 34% 3PT, 6.1 AST, 5.1REB, 0.72 BLK , 2.1 STL , 3.5 T/O

Although closer in comparison, MJ still out performs Kobe in 5 of the 9 categories, including out shooting him by 2.3%, scoring 4.2ppg more, and out rebounding him as well even though MJ played on a team with arguably the greatest rebounder in NBA history, Dennis Rodman.

Ok so is the information overloading right now? Sorry, here come's more! In this next section what I have done is researched who was the main defender against both MJ and Kobe during the playoffs for those 6 years they went to the NBA Finals. Now obviously teams threw anyone and everyone at these 2 players including there centers from time to time but what Ive done is included the players that most frequently played on MJ and Kobe so basically the starter who played against them and then for some teams the regular off the bench guy who would come in and try to contain these 2. Based on the information I found this is what I have come up with.

Lets now do some more comparison's on who opponents threw at MJ during the playoffs:

1991
Knicks - Maurice Cheeks (6'1) & John Starks (6'3)
76ers - Hersey Hawkins (6'3)
Pistons - Joe Dumars (6'3), Mark Agguire (6'6), Dennis Rodman (6'9)
Lakers - Magic Johnson (6'9)

1992
Heat - Steve Smith (6'7)
Knicks - John Starks
Cavs - Craig Ehlo (6'6)
Blazers - Clyde Drexler (6'7)& Terry Porter (6'3)

1993
Hawks - Dominique Wilkens (6'8) & Mookie Blaylock (6'0)
Cavs - Craig Ehlo
Knicks - John Starks
Suns - Dan Majerle (6'6)

1996
Heat - Walt Williams (6'8)
Magic - Anfernee Hardaway (6'7) & Nick Anderson (6'6)
Knicks - John Starks
Sonics - Gary Payton (6'4) & Hersey Hawkins

1997
Bulletts - Calbert Chaney (6'7)
Hawks - Steve Smith & Mookie Blaylock
Heat - Voshon Lenard (6'4) & Dan Majerle
Jazz - Byron Russell (6'7) & Jeff Hornacek (6'3)

1998
Nets - Kerry Kittles (6'5)
Hornets - Bobby Phills (6'5)
Pacers - Reggie Miller (6'7) & Jalen Rose (6'8)
Jazz - Byron Russell & Jeff Hornacek

All Defensive Players who guarded MJ:
1st team: Payton (9), Rodman (7), Dumars (4), Cheeks (4), and Blaylock (2)
2nd team: Marjerle (2), Starks (1), and Phills (1)
Defensive Player of the Year: Gary Payton (1) 1996 - the year Jordan and the Bulls defeated the Sonics in the NBA Finals. Dennis Rodman (2) 1990, 1991
Note: Some of the 1st Team all defensive players were 2nd team during other years as well.

MJ helped prevent Clydre Drexler, Charles Barkley, Gary Payton, Karl Malone, Patrick Ewing, and John Stockton to name of few from winning NBA titles!

This is a list of players that took on Kobe during his playoff run to the Finals:

2000
Kings - Nick Anderson (6'6)
Suns - Anfernee Hardaway (6'7)
Blazers - Steve Smith (6'7) & Scottie Pippen (6'7)
Pacers - Reggie Miller (6'7) & Jalen Rose (6'8)

2001
Blazers - Steve Smith & Scottie Pippen
Kings - Doug Christie (6'6)
Spurs - Terry Porter (6'3) & Malik Rose (6'7)
76er's - Eric Snow (6'3) & Raja Bell (6"5)

2002
Blazers - Scottie Pippen and Bonzi Wells (6'5)
Spurs - Bruce Bowen (6'7) & Steve Smith
Kings - Doug Christie
Nets - Kerry Kittles (6'5)

2004
Rockets - Cutino Mobley (6'4)
Spurs - Bruce Bowen
Timberwolves - Latrell Spreewell (6'5)
Pistons - Tayshun Prince (6'9)

2008
Nuggetts - Anthony Carter (6/1)
Jazz - Ronnie Brewer (6/7) & Matt Harpring (6'7)
Spurs - Bruce Bowen
Celtics - Paul Pierce (6'6) & Ray Allen (6'5)

2009
Jazz - Ronnie Brewer & Matt Harpring
Rockets - Shane Battier (6'8) & Ron Artest (6'6)
Nuggetts - Dahntay Jones (6'6) & Carmelo Anthony (6'8)
Magic - Courtney Lee (6'5) & Mickael Pietrus (6'6)

All Defensive Players who guarded Kobe:
1st Team: Pippen (8), Bowen (5), Artest (2), and Christie (1)
2nd Team: Prince (4), Battier (2), and Snow (1)
Defensive Player of the Year: Ron Artest (1)
Note: Some of the 1st Team all defensive players were 2nd team during other years as well.

Kobe helped prevent Reggie Miller, Allen Iverson, Jason Kidd, & Dwight Howard to name a few from winning NBA titles!

Fun Facts: Michael & Kobe ran into several of the same defenders occasionally during these particular 6 years, 7 players to be exact. Needless to say due to their age difference Michael would have played these guys earlier in their career, during their prime compared to when Kobe played against them which would have been towards the end of their career's. One thing to keep in mind is none of these individuals were all defensive team selections during there career's but still were talented enough defenders to take on the leauge's best. These individuals would be: Steve Smith, Anfernee Hardaway, Nick Anderson, Reggie Miller, Jalen Rose, Kerry Kittles, and Terry Porter. I did a little comparison on how MJ did against Miller and Rose vs Kobe and then how MJ did vs Kerry Kittles vs Kobe. Here's what I came up with:

MJ vs Pacers: 47% FG
Kobe vs Pacers: 37% FG

MJ vs Nets: 53% FG
Kobe vs Nets: 52% FG

Basically this goes to show us that Kerry Kittle's and Keith Van Horn couldnt do much to stop MJ and Kobe! SHOCKER! haha

Ok let's break this down a little further. Ive taken the 3 toughest opponents defensively that MJ and Kobe faced during there playoff runs and broken down how each of them did against these teams. Take a peek below:

MJ vs the NY Knicks (4 total series)
32.3ppg / 47% FG

MJ vs the Detroit Pistons (1 total series) ** Back to Back defending Champs **
29.75ppg, 54% FG

MJ vs the Seattle Supersonics (1 total series) ** had Defensive Player of the Year Gary Payton and All 2nd Team Defensive player Nate McMillen **
27.3ppg, 42% FG

Kobe vs the San Antonio Spurs (4 total series)
28.4ppg, 49% FG

Kobe vs the Portland Trailblazers (3 total series) ** had possibly the greatest defender of all time Scottie Pippen **
20.8ppg, 42% FG

Kobe vs the Boston Celtics (1 total series) ** had defensive player of the year Kevin Garnett **
25.6ppg, 40% FG

Ok so what can we take from this, let's analyze this a little bit. All the teams above had All NBA Defensive 1st or 2nd Team players that defended MJ & Kobe except for the Boston Celtics. Paul Pierce & Ray Allen surprisingly have never been a 1st or 2nd team all defensive player in their careers. Kobe obviously did well against Bruce Bowen and the Spurs but struggled against Scottie Pippen and the Blazers. I think we all know how bad Kobe played against the Celtics and I didnt even include his numbers against the Pistons in the 2004 Finals. Ok ok so you wanna know, 38% FG shooting, ouch! As for MJ the Sonics did the best against him as they had Gary "the Glove" Payton chase him around and when he wasnt in Nate McMillan took over guarding MJ. Jordan always scored well against the Knicks however he did have a tough series in the 1993 playoffs. All in all though 47% shooting against that defensive minded squad with the beasts they had on that team was impressive. As for the Pistons, we all know that they were the NBA's best defensive team 3 years in a row and had 2 titles to show for it so what did MJ do against them en route to his 1st NBA title, only scorched them by shooting 54%! Yeah one might bring up the fact that the Pistons beat him year after year prior to that but just run this through your mind, in the previous 2 years the Bulls fell short against the Pistons MJ still shot 49% against those Piston teams, not too shabby.

For those of you that saw MJ play you know that he played against completely different type of defenses than Kobe will never play against. For one, the rules are different. You can no longer grab someone and hand check them like you used to be able to do. There was also never a defensive 3 second rule either. Can you imagine the Pistons and Knicks not grabbing, hand checking and clogging up the key trying to defend MJ. You want to talk about elbows, ask MJ how many elbows to the back he got on a daily basis back when he played. People dont seem to understand any of this when comparing Michael to Kobe. Some people just dont have that good of an understanding of the game to realize how the rules have changed and allowed the offensive player more freedom than ever. What could MJ have done in today's game with no hand checking, elbows to the back, no defensive 3 second key? One can only imagine. At the end of the day one would think that with all of the rules back then and the defenses MJ faced he would have significantly been less productive than the almighty Kobe Bryant, right? I mean Ive heard on numerous occasions that Kobe Bryant is better offensively than Michael was but Im still waiting for someone to prove that to me? What Ive done hear is simply prove my point that based on cold hard facts (statistics), there is no comparison who is a better basketball player between Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.

In closing Im pretty sure than any challenging responses I will receive to this will challenge the fact that for Kobe's first 4 NBA Final's he was not the #1 offensive option for his team. I brought up this point before and I will bring it up again. Take away the points per game from every stat Ive compiled above and simply look at the FG%'s, rebounds, assists, steals, turnover's per game, etc. and you will see MJ out performs Kobe in the majority of the statistics. You can say dont compare points since Kobe wasnt the 1st option offensively for his team but you cant take away that FG% of the other aspects of his game during that time.

If youve made it this far congratulations, if not I dont blame you. In closing I thought I would add a couple video link's to support my claim on what kind of defenses MJ encounter during his days. Check it out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLv2F33snCE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xJJNUkrdyQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5auPSMaD3vE

Ruin Your Health With the Obama Stimulus Plan

This story can be found at bloomberg.com

I find this to be deeply concerning and downright scary! The fact that both republicans and democrats are looking the other way in regards to this is not only neglegent but incredibly dangerous. I wonder how many other rules to provisions that could be dangerous to us all are in this stimulus bill? Check it out for yourself.

Ruin Your Health With the Obama Stimulus Plan

Commentary by Betsy McCaughey

Feb. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Republican Senators are questioning whether President Barack Obama’s stimulus bill contains the right mix of tax breaks and cash infusions to jump-start the economy.
Tragically, no one from either party is objecting to the health provisions slipped in without discussion. These provisions reflect the handiwork of Tom Daschle, until recently the nominee to head the Health and Human Services Department.
Senators should read these provisions and vote against them because they are dangerous to your health. (Page numbers refer to H.R. 1 EH, pdf version).
The bill’s health rules will affect “every individual in the United States” (445, 454, 479). Your medical treatments will be tracked electronically by a federal system. Having electronic medical records at your fingertips, easily transferred to a hospital, is beneficial. It will help avoid duplicate tests and errors.
But the bill goes further. One new bureaucracy, the National Coordinator of Health Information Technology, will monitor treatments to make sure your doctor is doing what the federal government deems appropriate and cost effective. The goal is to reduce costs and “guide” your doctor’s decisions (442, 446). These provisions in the stimulus bill are virtually identical to what Daschle prescribed in his 2008 book, “Critical: What We Can Do About the Health-Care Crisis.” According to Daschle, doctors have to give up autonomy and “learn to operate less like solo practitioners.”
Keeping doctors informed of the newest medical findings is important, but enforcing uniformity goes too far.
New Penalties
Hospitals and doctors that are not “meaningful users” of the new system will face penalties. “Meaningful user” isn’t defined in the bill. That will be left to the HHS secretary, who will be empowered to impose “more stringent measures of meaningful use over time” (511, 518, 540-541)
What penalties will deter your doctor from going beyond the electronically delivered protocols when your condition is atypical or you need an experimental treatment? The vagueness is intentional. In his book, Daschle proposed an appointed body with vast powers to make the “tough” decisions elected politicians won’t make.
The stimulus bill does that, and calls it the Federal Coordinating Council for Comparative Effectiveness Research (190-192). The goal, Daschle’s book explained, is to slow the development and use of new medications and technologies because they are driving up costs. He praises Europeans for being more willing to accept “hopeless diagnoses” and “forgo experimental treatments,” and he chastises Americans for expecting too much from the health-care system.
Elderly Hardest Hit
Daschle says health-care reform “will not be pain free.” Seniors should be more accepting of the conditions that come with age instead of treating them. That means the elderly will bear the brunt.
Medicare now pays for treatments deemed safe and effective. The stimulus bill would change that and apply a cost- effectiveness standard set by the Federal Council (464).
The Federal Council is modeled after a U.K. board discussed in Daschle’s book. This board approves or rejects treatments using a formula that divides the cost of the treatment by the number of years the patient is likely to benefit. Treatments for younger patients are more often approved than treatments for diseases that affect the elderly, such as osteoporosis.
In 2006, a U.K. health board decreed that elderly patients with macular degeneration had to wait until they went blind in one eye before they could get a costly new drug to save the other eye. It took almost three years of public protests before the board reversed its decision.
Hidden Provisions
If the Obama administration’s economic stimulus bill passes the Senate in its current form, seniors in the U.S. will face similar rationing. Defenders of the system say that individuals benefit in younger years and sacrifice later.
The stimulus bill will affect every part of health care, from medical and nursing education, to how patients are treated and how much hospitals get paid. The bill allocates more funding for this bureaucracy than for the Army, Navy, Marines, and Air Force combined (90-92, 174-177, 181).
Hiding health legislation in a stimulus bill is intentional. Daschle supported the Clinton administration’s health-care overhaul in 1994, and attributed its failure to debate and delay. A year ago, Daschle wrote that the next president should act quickly before critics mount an opposition. “If that means attaching a health-care plan to the federal budget, so be it,” he said. “The issue is too important to be stalled by Senate protocol.”
More Scrutiny Needed
On Friday, President Obama called it “inexcusable and irresponsible” for senators to delay passing the stimulus bill. In truth, this bill needs more scrutiny.
The health-care industry is the largest employer in the U.S. It produces almost 17 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product. Yet the bill treats health care the way European governments do: as a cost problem instead of a growth industry. Imagine limiting growth and innovation in the electronics or auto industry during this downturn. This stimulus is dangerous to your health and the economy.

Disecting the wasteful provisions in the Democrats $900 billion stimulus bill

Disecting the wasteful provisions in the Democrats $900 billion stimulus bill

• $2 billion earmark to re-start FutureGen, a near-zero emissions coal power plant in Illinois that the Department of Energy defunded last year because it said the project was inefficient.

Ok I have a couple of issues here? Did Barack Obama campaign that he would not accept any earmarks if he became President? Second concern is that if the Dept. of Energy found this project to be inefficent last year then why would we even be thinking of re-starting such a project? I got an anwser for you, look where they want it to be located? The state that holds the criminals of all criminals! Does everyone understand exactly how much $2 billion is. Here take a look for yourself, $2,000,000,000.00. WOW!

• $246 million tax break for Hollywood movie producers to buy motion picture film. Yeah this isnt wasteful or anything? Weve got millions of homeless people living in the United States who need food and shelter, millions of others who are sick and struggling with medical bills, and people losing their jobs everyday so heck why not give a huge tax break to the Hollywood producers who are all millionaires already. This is a splendid idea. Anyone now really wonder why those Hollywood liberals always back the democrats and speak out on their behalf? What a joke!

• $650 million for the digital television converter box coupon program. WOW, I never knew coupons could be so expensive? Id love to know the details of this provision?

• $88 million for the Coast Guard to design a new polar icebreaker (arctic ship). For what reason? Im all for protecting our Coast Guard and providing them with the best possible protection we can provide but $88 million? If you ask me this money could be better used to build that damn wall to keep out the illegal immigrants from coming into California, Arizona, and Texas!!

• $448 million for constructing the Department of Homeland Security headquarters. Im not in construction but would it seriously cost $448 million? Just seems excessive to me?

• $248 million for furniture at the new Homeland Security headquarters. Here we are, one of my favorites! $248 million dollars for friken furniture! You have got to be f**king kidding me. If the citizens of the United States are not in an uproar about this then I dont know what to think. Ladies and Gentlemen, we are talking about furniture, not medical research, not missle defense systems, not military armor which protects the lives of our soldiers, but furniture! First question is, how large is this facility? Second question what type of furniture are they planning to buy? Im assuming they are providing the top of the line, crem de la crem furniture but my question would be, why? According to our President we are in the worst economic crisis since the depression so wouldnt it be wise to maybe get some discount furniture in there instead? Just a though. I just cant get it out of my head, $248,000,000.00 for furniture! Unbelievable!!

• $600 million to buy hybrid vehicles for federal employees. Why cant they buy their own? Better yet if were going to just throw around $600 million why dont we buy hybrid vehicles for our doctors, policeman, and firefighters, you know the people who are actually saving lives and protecting us. Even better yet, why not put that money towards purchasing these vehicles for our troops who are over there fighting to protect us and provide that for their families? These are the people who deserve these!

• $400 million for the Centers for Disease Control to screen and prevent STD's. What exactly are they going to be doing here? I would like details? Im all for preventing STD's but what kind of screening costs $400 million dollars? Need more info please??

• $1.4 billion for rural waste disposal programs. I dont know enough about this to speak knowledgably about it but $1.4 billion is a lot of money.

• $125 million for the Washington sewer system. With the democrats in charge we may need to actually increase this amount. The amount of trash coming out of their mouths alone would probably warrant $125 million to fix.

• $150 million for Smithsonian museum facilities. I love the museums in DC and I dont know if they necessarily need $150 million dollars worth of cleanup but I dont have a problem with this one as much.

• $1 billion for the 2010 Census, which has a projected cost overrun of $3 billion. I dont understand this one, sorry.

• $75 million for "smoking cessation activities." They shall start with President Obama and his staff. The President and 16 of his top 23 staffer's all smoke. The White House walls will be yellow real quick!

• $200 million for public computer centers at community colleges. Let the schools come up with money for this. They charge an arm and a leg for the books for their classes so they should have plenty of moola left over to get themselves computers. Gimme a break!

• $75 million for salaries of employees at the FBI. Nope, I think they make enough as it is. The avg. salary of an employee of the FBI is $135,400.00. Sorry, when the avg. is more than some surgeons in this country make then they dont need a penny more.

• $25 million for tribal alcohol and substance abuse reduction. What the hell is this? More explanation please, some of these are just too damn vague!

• $500 million for flood reduction projects on the Mississippi River. $500 million seems a little excessive if you ask me especially after doing some research and finding out that flood reduction projects across the ENTIRE United States since 2004 have cost us $219 million and despite the horrific hurrican seasons we have endured in the past 8 years overall the floods have not been as widespread as many had predicted.

• $10 million to inspect canals in urban areas. Are you kidding me? Geez, train me and send me out there to do this, Ill make it my full time job at that price. Once again, word of the day, WASTEFUL!

• $6 billion to turn federal buildings into "green" buildings. What color are they now? Beige, brown? Here's my suggestion, cut this number to $1 billion and have Al Gore fund the remaining amount. Afterall he invented the internet so he should have plenty of money in his bank. If he needs advice on how to properly go about getting the best "green" materials for these buildings maybe he should contact former President Bush.

• $500 million for state and local fire stations. There is no way that state and local fire stations need THIS much money. I swear I think the democrats think that we American citizens are seriously stupid. $500 million, cmon!! Cut this one in half and take half of that $250 million and increase all the fireman's salaries then Id be on board.

• $650 million for wildland fire management on forest service lands. I wish I knew more details on this one because we sure know that here in Southern California there have been some massive and deadly wildfires, several caused by the human hand. I couldnt honestly anwser if this amount is too high or too low because like I said I dont know the specifics about the provision but I would hope there would be a good amount in there to assure that arsonists who are caught causing these fire's are locked up and if the fire's result in death then they themselves should be sentenced to death!

• $1.2 billion for "youth activities," including youth summer job programs. Youth activities are important and in many cases keep kids off the streets and out of gangs. $1.2 billion seems quite steep to me because to my knowledge there are a great deal of youth programs already in place where volunteers (people who make no money) are there to help with these programs. Why would we need so much would be my question??

• $88 million for renovating the headquarters of the Public Health Service. I dont think any building in the United States would requite $88 million for renovation especially during these economic times.

• $412 million for CDC buildings and property. I think you can take some of that $400 million for the screening and prevention of STD's and put it in for this one because $812 million for both of these provisions combined is ridiculous. $400 million should cover it all.

• $500 million for building and repairing National Institutes of Health facilities in Bethesda, Maryland. So let me get this straight, $500 million for buildind and repairs for facilities in Bethesda, MD only? WOW, President Obama must have had some huge donors in Bethesda thats all I can say. This is a joke. Why not take the President's motto of "spread the wealth" around for this and spread that $500 million for building and repairs to other health facilities in the United States and not just limit it to Bethesda?

• $160 million for "paid volunteers" at the Corporation for National and Community Service. Ahhh probably a favorite on our President's list. Deep down he is just a community organizer trying to give back, haha. Im sure some money would be helpful for this but surely not $160 million, right?

• $5.5 million for "energy efficiency initiatives" at the Department of Veterans Affairs National Cemetery Administration. Ok there is a lot of big words here and Im not sure I understand this particular provision? Energy efficent initiatives I get, but where are they going to be placed? Inside the Dept. of Veterans Affairs National Cemetary Administration building? If so, how big can that building honestly be? Cmon!!

• $850 million for Amtrak. Ummm, $850 million for Greyhound, see I can do it too! I can just blurt out a provision without including any specifics, haha! Ok ok, I would just like to know what this is for? If it is for making the staterooms larger, the food better, and the passenger trains safer and quicker then yeeehaw Im sure $250 million would be good, not $850 million. Then again I doubt any of the suggestions I mentioned are even part of this provision, it would be nice to know though wouldnt it?

• $100 million for reducing the hazard of lead-based paint. Are we talking just bigger warning labels on paint related products or what? How could that possibly cost $100 million?

• $75 million to construct a "security training" facility for State Department Security officers when they can be trained at existing facilities of other agencies. Im pretty sure these facilities are pretty darn secure as it is now so I think this would be a complete waste of $75 million. Please though, correct me if Im wrong and enlighten me if youve heard news story after news story of violence that has taken place at these current facilities!!

• $110 million to the Farm Service Agency to upgrade computer systems. Oh my my, the first provision that actually may make a little sense. I doubt we would need the entire $110 million but getting the Farm Service Agency up to speed in these technological years would be wonderful! I bet $75 million would cover more than enough for this provision.

• $200 million in funding for the lease of alternative energy vehicles for use on military installations. I dont know enough about this provision to speak intelligently on it but once again I would send a letter to Al Gore and ask for his assistance. I mean he probably made 900 billion alone last year on his internet funds alone. Im telling you the guy is filthy rich and according to him the world is ending quickly so why not have him fund some of this shit!

Superbowl XLIII

This is officially my first blog here on this new blog site. I have become bored with blogging on myspace so I have decided to venture out and blog elsewhere. I am hoping I will find this site easy to use and enjoyable to blog on. So here goes.

Superbowl XLIII - The Pittsburgh Steelers vs Arizona Cardinals

Ever since 2005 I have slowly become a Steelers fan. I really like Big Ben and I liked their old coach as well. I actually really like their new coach Mike Tomlin too. All around I like the Steelers and Im glad they won the superbowl. With that being said I would have also been happy if Kurt Warner and the Cardinals had won as well. Kurt Warner has got to be one of the classiest NFL players ever to don a uniform and its hard to root against him, it really is. Last night's game was an instant classic and although overall it may not have topped the Giants beating the Patriots last year it was pretty darn close.

I was however disgusted by the Steelers defensive player of the year Harrison in what he did to gain a personal foul late in the game. It was completley uncalled for and unproffesional in every sense of the word. It was just plain stupid!

Now, onto the commercials. I personally think they were probably the worse set of commercials I have ever seen in a superbowl in my life. I dont know if it was the economy or what but they were seriously lacking the substance everyone is usually used to for Superbowl commercials. I think the Conan O'Brein one was one of the funniest ones along with the horse who brought back a huge branch of the tree then awaited a treat, that was a beer one I think, one among the hundreds. I thought the Dorrito's ones were terrible.

Ill end this blog now and post it to see how it turns out, here goes nothing.