Ted Poe: “``Houston, we have a problem.'' These were the words from space when Apollo 13 was in trouble. The NASA folks in…”

“``Houston, we have a problem.'' These were the words from space when Apollo 13 was in trouble. The NASA folks in Houston, Texas, helped bring Apollo 13 back to Earth safely. Now, Houston, we have another problem, because for obvious political reasons none of the four shuttles are going to be retired at Space Center USA--Houston, Texas--the home of NASA, the Johnson Space Center, and the home of the astronauts. For nearly 50 years, Houston, Texas, has been the center of world space exploration. Why the apparent shuttle snub to Houston and to history? Well, it's blatantly political. Texas is a red State, and the four winners of the shuttles--one of which has nothing to do with NASA--all are States that voted for the President. When the U.S. won its race to the Moon in 1969, the first word on the Moon was ``Houston,'' not ``New York City.'' Now it should be said, ``Houston, the shuttles have landed, but only in the blue States that voted for the President.'' This ought not to be, but that's just the way it is. ____________________”