Photo: 20th Century Fox
Back in 2011, the White House decided it would be a good idea to set up a system whereby any petition which garnered over 25,000 signatures within a thirty day time frame would generate a response from the government. The Obama Administration stated that this was part of democratizing the people’s rights under the constitution to petition their government. Since then, many serious petitions have demanded an official government response, as well as some more humorous ones. Recently Paul Shawcross, the Chief of the Science and Space Branch at the Office of Management and Budget, officially broke the hearts of Geekdom by announcing that the Administration will not be pursuing the construction of a Death Star. Titled “This Isn’t the Petition Response You Are Looking For,” it is probably the most humorous thing you will ever read from the government of the United States.
A hat tip to the astronomer and science blogger Phil Plait (@BadAstronomer) on twitter for the link.
