Build a Death Star, We Will Not, Says Obama Administration
Although the deadline for signatures was reached a month ago, a tongue-in-cheek social media driven petition with SciFi fans in mind is back in the news.
On November 14th, one 'John D.' from Longmont, Colorado, who has to be a loyal Star Wars fan, used the White House's online petition platform to coalesce one space-based idea. The name of the petition says it all:
Secure resources and funding, and begin construction of a Death Star by 2016
According to the petition, its creator desired the Obama Administration to shift defense spending, "focusing our defense resources into a space-superiority platform and weapon system such as a Death Star." Of course, the online petition has Twitter and Facebook share buttons built in, so it hit the Internet full force for a few weeks after, garnering over 34,000 signers.
I can't say whether or not every signer actually agreed with the petition's sentiment that "the government can spur job creation in the fields of construction, engineering, space exploration, and more, and strengthen our national defense" through the creation of a moon-sized destruction dealer. But I'm sure many thought it was fun to be part of the campaign.
Because the number of signers surpassed the 25,000 required for administrative consideration and formal response, the petition is back in the news, as the Obama administration recently issued its response, from none other than the Chief of the Science and Space Branch at the White House Office of Management and Budget, Paul Shawcross, and is (unfortunately) entitled:
This Isn't the Petition Response You're Looking For
The response is a fun read in itself, and is peppered with a few "facts", like the construction figures for a Death Star in today's dollars, put by Shawcross at $850,000,000,000,000,000. Word has not come in as to whether or not this includes the upgraded Pentagon toilet seats.
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