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The White House Will Not Build a Death Star, No Duh

The White House Will Not Build a Death Star, No Duh

“The Administration shares your desire for job creation and a strong national defense, but a Death Star isn’t on the horizon.” These are [actual words](http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=no-death-star-for-us-military) written by Paul Shawcross, who is the chief of the science and space branch at the White House’s office of management and budget. He was writing them on the White House’s “We the People” site, on which any Star Wars nerd can get a petition going and, if it reaches 25,000 signatures in 30 days (rules that are currently under revision), the White House has to respond. So, true to their promise, they did respond, but, like, come on—citing budget concerns (they estimate a Death Star would cost $850 quadrillion, but let’s not even speculate on what that number means or how you estimate a cost for a magic space gun). We’ve all got jobs, White House. Nobody thinks that building a Death Star is one of yours. And as for everyone who signed the petition, maybe they should do their jobs, too. This economy isn’t fixing itself. And a Death Star wouldn’t help …

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