Neil Armstrong vs. President Obama
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:
Star Wars
The first man to walk on the moon is blasting the Obama administration's space plans. Neil Armstrong says the president's proposals are devastating.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Thursday the president will outline his new direction for NASA, which increases the agency's budget by $6 billion over the next five years, but abandons much of the current manned space flight plan.
Armstrong and two other Apollo commanders, in an open letter to the president, criticize the initiative they say prevents the U.S. from realizing its potential in manned space exploration: "the USA is far too likely to be on a long downhill slide to mediocrity."
More than two dozen other Apollo-era veterans released another letter earlier this week calling the plan misguided. But not all former astronauts are against it. Armstrong's shipmate on Apollo 11, Buzz Aldrin, has strongly endorsed the president's new direction for NASA.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Other Things Being Equal
The Harris County sheriff's department in Houston is in the midst of an equality debate. Deputy Daniel McCool founded the Caucasian Law Enforcement Association. He maintains the group is not an "Anglos only" club, saying the first member to sign up was a Hispanic female, and it's open to deputies of all races.
The problems began when a county judge tabled McCool's request for a group payroll deduction.
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County judge: We've already got Mexican American Sheriff's Organization. We've got Afro-American Deputies League and now suddenly you have a Caucasian legal group. It just was getting absurd.
McCool: I'd like to have the same opportunity that other groups have.
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Out of the Woodwork
And finally, even though former New York Congressman Eric Massa resigned last month, ethical allegations against the Democrat keep coming.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Politico reports a former aide has filed a complaint alleging he and other staffers were subjected to various forms of sexual harassment by their boss both in and out of the office, leaving the door open to possible lawsuits.
House Minority Leader John Boehner has renewed his call for an investigation into how Democratic leaders handled the allegations. Boehner writes: "It is now readily apparent that Congressman Massa's pattern of troubling behavior continued long after Democrats first became aware of his conduct."
— Fox News Channel's Lanna Britt contributed to this report.