We may not survive

President Obama announced today that we have to pass this stimulus bill or we may not survive. Is it just me who's flashing back to 1987 when Oral Roberts locked himself in a tower and told his followers that they had to send in $8 Million or God would call him home?
I recognize that the going is fairly rough right now, but if we don't pass this we may not survive? Really?!?!?
If they want to have a stimulus, that's fine, but read the damn bill! There's more "pet project" spending in this than you can shake a stick at. Here's a few of the items...

● $9.0 billion for grants to extend broadband Internet services;
● $2.6 billion for grants to improve the criminal justice system;
● $1.5 billion for grants and programs to fund science and technology research;
● $1.5 billion for NASA programs;
● $1.2 billion for programs of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration;
● $1.0 billion for periodic censuses and programs;
● $1.0 billion for the Community Oriented Policing Services program; and
● $3.7 billion for other activities.
● $7.8 billion for environmental remediation and various other activities.
●$5.6 billion would fund various programs, including capital improvements and maintenance for the Forest Service and National Park Service, the Superfund program, and wildland fire management.
●$6.0 billion for the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds
● $26.5 billion for grants to elementary and secondary schools, including funding for special education and Title I;
● $17.1 billion to renovate elementary and secondary schools, fund educational technology, and support homeless students;
● $13.9 billion for Pell grants and other student financial assistance.
● $4.2 billion for other education programs, including $3.5 billion to renovate facilities at post-secondary institutions
● $3.0 billion in 2009 budget authority for military construction and family housing projects of the Department of Defense
● $12.9 billion for housing assistance programs administered by HUD
● $79.0 billion to the Department of Education to create a fiscal stabilization fund to provide grants-inaid to states

Using the latest CBO report available, I found those items, totalling nearly $200 billion, in about 10 minutes of skimming. National Review has a list of 50. We won't survive without these things, or they won't get these things moved through appropriations if it's not done in a panic under the cover of economic stimulus?
Susan Collins, the senator from Maine, had it right. Many of these may very well be worthy projects, but they need to go through the normal appropriations process.
If they want to stimulate the economy, put the money where it will do the most good. In the hands of the people and small businesses. This thing started with housing, so maybe housing would be a good place to start fixing this, and yet it isn't mentioned anywhere.
Instead of doing the right thing, and sending these programs through the normal appropriations process, Obama is pushing the "we're all gonna die" button to try to panic everyone into passing a huge spending bill that will do very little to help the people who need it most.
Then again, why not do it that way? In 1987, Oral Roberts managed to get $1 Million beyond his request.