Ted Poe tells Chuck Schumer where he can stuff his big apple

chron.com ^ | 16 Apr 2011 | Richard Dunham

[smokingfrog]

The battle over those retired space shuttle orbiters is getting nasty. And personal.

That's good news for the news business.

The most recent combatants are New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, a liberal Democrat who is considered one of the leading "camera hogs" on Capitol Hil", and Texas Rep. Ted Poe, a conservative Republican who spent more time at the House microphone than any other lawmaker in 2010.

This latest tiff started when Schumer had a one-word response to Texans (and their allies) who are pushing legislation to overturn NASA director Charles Bolden's decision to award New York City (and not Houston) one of the four retired space shuttles destined for museum display.

"Fughgeddaboutit," Schumer told the New York Daily News.

(Well, in New York, that's a one-word response, even without the hand gesture.)

But the loquacious New Yawker continued with some anti-Texas trash talk.

"When people from Paris, Beijing, Tokyo and Amsterdam start saying they want to go to Houston, maybe then they'll get a shuttle," Schumer told the Daily News. "I'd say to Texas, don't mess with New York."

Reading those comments sent Poe into orbit.

"Despite Sen. Schumer's elitist attitude that nothing worthwhile exists west of the Hudson River, he can't rewrite space history," the Republican from Humble told Texas on the Potomac. "The first word spoken on the moon was 'Houston' not 'New York City.' Whether Sen. Schumer likes it or not, the Big Apple had nothing to do with NASA or the Space Shuttle program until Tuesday.

[originalbuckeye]

Meanwhile, I really like to know why LA is getting a real Shuttle??? I know the Shuttles had to occasionally land at Edwards but Houston is the heart of NASA.

[smokingfrog]

Approximately 250 major subcontractors supplied various systems and components to Rockwell’s Palmdale assembly facility. The structures of the orbiter were manufactured at various companies under contract to Rockwell International’s Space Transportation Systems Division, Downey, Calif. The upper and lower forward fuselage, crew compartment, forward reaction control system and aft fuselage were manufactured at Rockwell’s Space Transportation Systems Division facility in Downey and were transported overland from Downey to Rockwell’s Palmdale, Calif., assembly facility. The midfuselage was manufactured by General Dynamics, San Diego, Calif., and transported overland to Rockwell’s Palmdale assembly facility. The wings (including elevons) were manufactured by Grumman, Bethpage, Long Island, N.Y., and transported by ship from New York via the Panama Canal to Long Beach, Calif., and then transported overland to Rockwell’s Palmdale assembly facility. The vertical tail (including rudder/speed brake) were manufactured by Fairchild Republic, Farmingdale, Long Island, N.Y., and transported overland to Rockwell’s Palmdale assembly facility. The payload bay doors were manufactured at Rockwell International’s Tulsa, Okla., facility and transported overland to Rockwell’s Palmdale assembly facility. The body flap was manufactured at Rockwell International’s Columbus, Ohio, facility and transported overland to Rockwell’s Palmdale assembly facility. The aft orbital maneuvering system/reaction control system pods were manufactured by McDonnell Douglas, St. Louis, Mo., and transported by aircraft to Rockwell’s Palmdale assembly facility. They were also transported by aircraft from Rockwell’s Palmdale assembly facility to the Kennedy Space Center.

http://www.militarymuseum.org/AFPlant42.html

[anymouse]

No disrespect was intended toward the fallen astronauts nor their families and friends (some of whom I know.)

What was intended was to sharply rebuke the callous disregard of Sen. Schumer (and Pres. Obaama) for those who literally "gave it all" in the exploration of space.

Their legacy isn't a rusting shuttle sitting outside (or inside) a museum (or tourist attraction.)

Their legacy is a vibrant ongoing American manned spaceflight effort.

Ships are built for sailing, not to just remain docked in a safe harbor.

[JustaDumbBlonde]

"Not to be too morbid, but Texas and Florida already have space shuttles - they are just in a whole lot of little pieces."

Jeez, forget mormid. How about downright wrong? Did you really think that was witty or something?

[sheik yerbouty]

Senator al Damato called Chuckie a “putzhead” and to date, Schumer has never denied it!

[anymouse]

Am I factually wrong?

I’ve dealt with the grief of loosing some of our best in the pursuit of space exploration/development.

Black humor has a long history in the aerospace field, that few outside of it understand (go watch “The Right Stuff” and “Apollo 13” to get a taste of it.)

I’m sorry if it offends you. But I’ve heard a lot worse over the years, by people a lot closer to those that “paid the ultimate price” than you. It’s not callousness, it’s how you deal with the reality that lives depend on your professionalism and the fact that sometimes the best isn’t good enough.

Sen. Schumer hasn’t earned the right to joke about whom deserves a shuttle. He’s just a putz with a big title. Here in Texas, our history (and landscape) is painted in the blood of patriots - including some that flew higher than the rest.

[CORedneck]

LOL, true. It is based on my experience especially in business. I do respect most from NYC since they are straightforward. I try to be very upfront but try to be polite as well.

> Just becasue a jerk Like Chucky says something stupid, it’s time to bash all New Yorkers. It’s not like he’s another Patricia Schroeder. Or L.B.J. both of which are from the southwest.

[JustaDumbBlonde]

Okay, so you feel entitled to make comments in very poor taste. Go right ahead and I'll point it out every time I come across them. I will also mention that you have no idea whether or not I have had anyone close to me pay the ultimate price, so you may dismount your high horse at any time now. You come across no less arrogant or ridiculous than Schumer with your self-defense.

[TV Dinners]

same goes for our worthless senators...