Categories: Sci-Fi

Spock Weighs in on President Obama’s ‘Meld-Gate’

On March 1st 2013, President Obama awoke hoards of Star Trek and Star Wars fans when during a press conference he (purposely?) fused a Jedi Mind Trick and Vulcan Mind Meld into a: Jedi Mind Meld.  According to White House transcripts, President Obama was responding to CNN’s Jessica Yellin’s remark that he should have the leadership to force Congress to accept a deal to avert the damaging sequester.  President Obama replied to her by first stating that he was not a dictator, and second that he would not use a Jedi Mind Meld to coerce Congress into accepting a deal.

For those who are unaware, a Vulcan Mind Meld and Jedi Mind Trick are indeed different. Two videos are posted below that shed light on that difference.  The first video features Spock performing a Vulcan Mind Meld (Star Trek), and the second involves Obi-Wan Kenobi inacting a Jedi Mind Trick (Star Wars).

Although the pundits initially believed that the President’s mixing of terms was a mistake, experts in some quarters now believe that by using a Jedi Mind Meld President Obama could simulatenously ascertain both his foes’ true intentions and coerce them into accepting a deal.  The President may have likewise been contemplating how Congress could be spurred into action, and perhaps thought as a last resort he’d recruit Star Trek and Star Wars fans worldwide to pressure Congress.  Toward that end the White House released the following image via their Twitter feed, and also launched the website http://www.wh.gov/jedimindmeld/:
The White House released this image and created the following website (http://www.wh.gov/jedimindmeld) to raise awareness of the damaging sequester (image credit: White House).

However, Leonard Nimoy (Spock) has weighed into ‘Meld-gate’, and advised President Obama to forget about Jedi Mind Tricks altogether since, “Only a Vulcan mind meld will help with this congress. Live Long and Prosper.

President Obama isn’t the only politician who happens to be an avid Star Trek fan. King Abdullah II of Jordan was lucky enough to make a cameo on Star Trek Voyager.  Will President Obama be making a cameo in the new Star Trek film “Into the Darkness” directed by J. J. Abrams?  Incidentally, Abrams will likewise be directing the new Star Wars: Episode VII movie.  Perhaps the President is on to something?


Dan Majaess

Dan Majaess is a Canadian astronomer based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He researches the cosmic distance scale, pulsating stars, star clusters, and terrestrial mass extinctions linked to asteroid/comet impacts.

Share
Published by
Dan Majaess
Tags: Sci-Fi

Recent Posts

There’s More Than Just Gravity at Work in the Solar System

Ever since Isaac Newton famously talked about gravity, its dominance as a force in our…

13 hours ago

There are Places on Earth Which Could Have Life, but Don’t. What Can We Learn?

Don’t know about you but when I think of Earth my mind is filled with…

14 hours ago

A New Space Telescope is Giving Us New Insights Into Gamma Ray Bursts

The Einstein Probe is a collaboration between Europa and China and was designed to detect…

17 hours ago

A Marsquake Reveals Why Mars has Two Very Different Hemispheres

Even with all we've learned about Mars in recent decades, the planet is still mysterious.…

2 days ago

Vera Rubin Completes its Comprehensive System Tests

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory, previously known as the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), will…

2 days ago

Could Ocean Worlds Support Life?

There might be a type of exoplanet without dry land. They're called "Hycean" worlds, a…

2 days ago