Recently a White House Petition at the “We The People” website received the required 25,000 signatures.  This particular petition asked for the government to build a Death Star by 2016 to boost job creation and bolster national defense.

Because it received the required signatures, the White House had to respond. Thus Paul Shawcross, Chief of Science and Space at the White House Office of Management and Budget, formulated the following reply.

• Financially
  • It costs $850,000,000,000,000,000
  • We need to reduce the budget not expand it.
• Morally
  • The Administration does not support blowing up planets.
• Practically
  • It is a flawed concept – can be exploited by a one-man starship.

Evidently the answer is no.  Maybe the next Administration will be more lenient.