May the Force be with them. A petition on the White House’s We the People site calling to secure funding and resources for the creation of a Death Star has gotten the 25,000 signatures it needs to elicit a response from the Obama administration.

As BuzzFeed noted, “The White House petition is now quite operational.”

Here’s what the official petition calls for:

Those who sign here petition the United States government to secure funding and resources, and begin construction on a Death Star by 2016.

By focusing our defense resources into a space-superiority platform and weapon system such as a Death Star, the government can spur job creation in the fields of construction, engineering, space exploration, and more, and strengthen our national defense.

The petitioner makes a solid case for the building of Death Star: job creation; defense; American superiority in outer space. Sounds pretty good, right?

However, at an estimated cost of $852 quadrillion–roughly 13,000 times the gross domestic product of the entire world–a Death Star may be out of reach financially for the budget-strapped U.S. government.

So clearly Admiral Ackbar would say it’s a fiscal cliff trap.

— Posted by Tracy Bloom.

WAIT BEFORE YOU GO...

This year, the ground feels uncertain — facts are buried and those in power are working to keep them hidden. Now more than ever, independent journalism must go beneath the surface.

At Truthdig, we don’t just report what's happening — we investigate how and why. We follow the threads others leave behind and uncover the forces shaping our future.

Your tax-deductible donation fuels journalism that asks harder questions and digs where others won’t.

Don’t settle for surface-level coverage.

Unearth what matters. Help dig deeper.

Donate now.

SUPPORT TRUTHDIG