Charlie Sheen begs for Ted Cruz's help to overthrow Donald Trump

Has been actor Charlie Sheen, who has struggled with substance abuse problems and has admitted to contracting HIV, has already drawn attention to himself by begging God on Twitter to kill Donald Trump. Having been met with silence from Heaven, albeit anger from his fellow humans, the fired star from “Two and a Half Men” has turned to one of the Lord’s good servants for help in his quest to polish off the president-elect, according to the Washington Examiner.

Has Showtime's 'Homeland' switched sides in the war on terror (spoilers)

Showtime has rolled out the season six premiere of “Homeland” over two weeks early on various online platforms. The story lines and themes that the episode is developing raises alarm bells and suggest that the show, always ambiguous about the War on Terror, has switched sides and is casting America as the villain in the conflict.

Get ready for a new climate change debate

One of the beneficial effects of the coming Trump presidency is the fact that climate change dissidents, many of them eminent scientists, are going to emerge from the closet and make their views heard openly, according to Real Clear Investigations. Contrary to much of the media, the idea that humans are causing the planet to warm and that it is sure to cause a catastrophe unless drastic and painful measures are taken, is not a view universally held in the scientific community. The Obama administration has been able to tamp down on #Climate Change dissent by using government grants to favor those who held with its view on the warming of the planet. With Trump a climate change skeptic and his administration hiring people of a similar view from the Cabinet level on down, that situation is going to change.

Ryan Gosling to star as Neil Armstrong in 'First Man' biop

Ryan Gosling is currently starring in a musical called “La La Land” directed by Damien Chazelle about an aspiring actress and a jazz pianist. The two are due to reunite, according to Deadline Hollywood, in a different film project, “First Man,” a biop of Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon. The project has been kicking around the film industry for a while, but it looks like long last it is going actually to be made.

Barack Obama kicks out 35 Russian diplomats and imposes sanctions

President Barack Obama has decided to punish #Russia for its alleged hacking of Democratic National Committee and other computer files for the purpose of influencing #Election 2016. He has ordered 35 Russian diplomats expelled and has imposed sanctions. The White House has suggested that the diplomats were engaged in intelligence gathering, which begs the question as to why they were permitted to remain in the United States, to begin with.

SyFy Channel's 'The Expanse' begins season 2 on February 1

One of the most anticipated #Television events of 2017 will be season 2 of “The Expanse,” based on a series of novels set 200 years in the future in which humanity has settled Mars, the asteroid belt, and some of the moons of the outer planets. The show, rightly called “Game of Thrones” in #Space, centers around the crew of a freighter that is caught up in a solar system wide struggle for power between Earth and Mars with the inhabitants of the asteroids, restive to free themselves from domination by the great powers, caught in the middle. Season 2 unfolded the mysterious disappearance and death of an heiress and the revelation that someone is testing a super weapon based on an ancient, alien artifact.

Will the SpaceX Falcon Heavy start America back to the moon in 2017?

As Eric Berger notes in Ars Technica, #SpaceX is teasing the long-awaited and often-delayed advent of the Falcon Heavy, a rocket capable of sending 54 metric tons to low Earth orbit, with an Instagram photo of a piece of hardware. The rocket, which uses 27 engines working in tandem in the first stage, should be partly reusable, if it works, and thus far cheaper to operate than the much more powerful #Space Launch System.

The Last Moonwalker and Other Stories

Donald Trump expresses interest in seeing a man go to the moon

The Washington Examiner is reporting on an interesting tidbit that Douglas Brinkley, a famous American historian, let drop after meeting with #Donald Trump at his home at Mar-a-lago in Florida where the president elect is staying for the holidays. Trump, Brinkley said, is very interested in seeing a man go to the moon. The statement gave heart to a lot of supporters of #Space exploration but also some tittering on social media. Naturally some have raised suspicions that Trump may not have heard of Apollo 11 and Neil Armstrong.

Why is it So Hard to Go Back to the Moon?

Secretary of State John Kerry has an over hour long meltdown on Israeli settlements

In the spirit that states that the Obama administration cannot create a #Foreign Policy disaster that it cannot make worse, the outgoing secretary of state John Kerry took to the television and engaged in an over hour long anti-Israeli rant. His meltdown (it cannot be described otherwise) consisted of a lecture that Jewish subdivisions being built in the West Bank of the Jordan are a threat to the two-state solution where Israelis and Palestinians will live in peace side by side. To be sure Kerry mentioned the relentless Palestinian campaign of terror in passing. But the main subject of his ire was settlements.

Charles Krauthammer's modest proposal to turn United Nations headquarters into condos

Americans, in the wake of the anti-Israel resolution passed by the UN Security Council, are increasingly disenchanted with the world body, seen as corrupt and filled with third world dictatorships which advance an agenda that is opposed to peace and freedom. That the United Nations regularly ignores genocide and other acts of aggression committed by its members while beating up on Israel for building subdivisions has caused many to contemplate abolishing it as a useless, obsolete institution. Charles Krauthammer, the columnist, and Fox News personality, had the most erudite solution.

Carrie Fisher's death creates a problem for Princess Leia in 'Star Wars: Episode IX'

Carrie Fisher’s death was a great tragedy for her family, friends, and “#Star Wars” fandom. But, as Yahoo News suggests, her demise presents the “Star Wars” franchise with a major headache. What to do with Princess Leia?

UFO Researcher Isaac Koi Attacked and Driven to Leave Community

Carrie Fisher, aka Princess Leia from 'Star Wars,' has died

Carrie Fisher, best known for her portrayal as Princess Leia in the “Star Wars” franchise, has died. She suffered a massive heart attack while on an airliner in route between London and Los Angeles and was saved, at least for a while, by an EMT who happened to be on the same flight. She was placed in intensive care at a nearby hospital and the last reports were that she was in stable condition. The hopes of tens of millions of “Star Wars” fans were thus buoyed by the notion that this deadliest year of 2016 would not have Fisher and that the force, to coin a phrase, would be with her.

China is planning a moon landing, Mars mission, large space station in the near future

According to the International Business Times, #china issued a white paper outlining a number of ambitious #Space explorations goals. Some of the missions outlined, focusing on the moon and Mars as well as a large crewed space station, have already been previously announced. But China has now outlined missions to asteroids and the Jupiter system as official targets of its space program.

Donald Trump boasts that he would have beaten Obama in 2016

A day or so after President Barack Obama boasted that he would have won in #Election 2016 had he been able to run for a third term, Donald Trump, the president-elect, took to Twitter and chose to disagree, according to the Washington Examiner. “President Obama said that he thinks he would have won against me. He should say that, but I say NO WAY! - jobs leaving, ISIS, OCare, etc.”

Rep. John Culberson weighs in on space and science policy

Recently #Science Magazine sat down with Rep. John Culberson, R-Texas to discuss science and #Space policy in the upcoming Trump administration. The reason Culberson will be a key player in these areas is that he is the chair of the House appropriations subcommittee that funds agencies such as NASA, NOAA, and the National Science Foundation.

Why is it So Hard to Go Back to the Moon?

Barack Obama boasts he could have won a third term based on 'hope and change'

Over the weekend, President Barack Obama was on a podcast run by his former advisor David Axelrod. He boasted that had he run for a third term in 2016, he would have won based on the old “hope and change” theme that he used successfully in 2008. He may well be right. He is a better politician than Hillary Clinton could ever conceive of being and, while his policies are unpopular, his personal job approval remains high. He would not have made the mistakes that Clinton did nor does he have any of the personal baggage that the actual 2016 presidential candidate suffered from.

Sen. Ted Cruz calls for defunding United Nations in wake of anti-Israel resolution

The decision of President Barack #Obama to abstain from an anti-Israeli resolution in the United Nations Security Council continues to spark unrestrained fury in the United States. According to the Washington Examiner, Sen. Ted Cruz. R-Texas threatened to cut off UN funding until that resolution is reversed. Cruz’s sentiment is widely held on both sides of the aisle in Congress. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina intends to offer such a measure in the Senate. The incoming Senate minority leader Sen. Charles Schumer, D-New York may support such a bill, and the incoming president Donald Trump would almost certainly sign it.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to one and all. May you be infused with the spirit of peace and good will.

Iraq's Christians face a bitter sweet Christmas homecoming

#Christmas in Northern Iraq is turning out to be bitter sweet for what remains of that country’s Christian community. To be sure, a number of Christian towns and villages have been liberated in the push to retake Mosul from ISIS. But Christians who were forced to flee the homes their ancestors lived in since the story of Jesus Christ was a living memory are finding their churches ruined and ransacked and their houses all but destroyed, according to the New York Times.