Say what you will about the Obama administration, it’s admirable that they’re as geeky as they are. Obama himself is a fan of Spider-Man and Superman and has posed more than once with a lightsaber.
Knowing that government jobs will help spur the economy, some cheeky Star Wars fans used the White House petition website to request that the Obama Administration construct a Death Star.
Once petitions meet a certain threshold of signatures, the administration is obliged to respond.
Well, the thought of the government building a Death Star was popular among many and the petition met the required number of signatures. And so the White House responded in a Star Wars referenced filled essay called “This Isn’t the Petition Response You’re Looking For,” written by Paul Shawcross, the Chief of the Science and Space Branch at the White House Office of Management and Budget:
The Administration shares your desire for job creation and a strong national defense, but a Death Star isn’t on the horizon. Here are a few reasons:
- The construction of the Death Star has been estimated to cost more than $850,000,000,000,000,000. We’re working hard to reduce the deficit, not expand it.
- The Administration does not support blowing up planets.
- Why would we spend countless taxpayer dollars on a Death Star with a fundamental flaw that can be exploited by a one-man starship?
However, look carefully (here’s how) and you’ll notice something already floating in the sky — that’s no Moon, it’s a Space Station! Yes, we already have a giant, football field-sized International Space Station in orbit around the Earth that’s helping us learn how humans can live and thrive in space for long durations. The Space Station has six astronauts — American, Russian, and Canadian — living in it right now, conducting research, learning how to live and work in space over long periods of time, routinely welcoming visiting spacecraft and repairing onboard garbage mashers, etc. We’ve also got two robot science labs — one wielding a laser — roving around Mars, looking at whether life ever existed on the Red Planet.
Keep in mind, space is no longer just government-only. Private American companies, through NASA’s Commercial Crew and Cargo Program Office (C3PO), are ferrying cargo — and soon, crew — to space for NASA, and are pursuing human missions to the Moon this decade.
The essay goes on about projects we do have in space.It concluded thusly:
We don’t have a Death Star, but we do have floating robot assistants on the Space Station, a President who knows his way around a light saber and advanced (marshmallow) cannon, and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, which is supporting research on building Luke’s arm, floating droids, and quadruped walkers.
We are living in the future! Enjoy it. Or better yet, help build it by pursuing a career in a science, technology, engineering or math-related field. The President has held the first-ever White Housescience fairs and Astronomy Night on the South Lawn because he knows these domains are critical to our country’s future, and to ensuring the United States continues leading the world in doing big things.
If you do pursue a career in a science, technology, engineering or math-related field, the Force will be with us! Remember, the Death Star’s power to destroy a planet, or even a whole star system, is insignificant next to the power of the Force.
It’s a lot of fun and it makes me happy that even something as silly as this is given a response. And it always heartens me to know that there are Star Wars fans in positions of power. And it’s heartening to know that Obama isn’t Palpatine.
To read the full response, head over to The White House page.