The White House recently said "no" to a petition requesting the construction of a Death Star. Such a space station would, of course, become the ultimate force in the universe. The Administration's response can be read here.
To its credit, the response encouraged readers (hopefully, mostly high-school and college students) to consider pursuing careers in math and engineering. With constant attacks on science from the religious right, using pop-culture to spur interest in these fields is an appealing tactic. It also highlighted some of the recent achievements in space exploration (the International Space Station, commercial space exploration, etc.). Most interestingly, it discusses the Webb telescope. This monument to orbiting observers will make the Hubble look like your grandfather's bifocals. The Webb may discover the origins of the universe almost as surely as the LHC at CERN has.
Hopefully, there will be scientists, engineers, and explorers to appreciate the universe at the sub-atomic, and the galactic level, for generations to come.
