Contacting aliens could be risky, Hawking warns  —  Aliens almost certainly exist but humans should make every attempt to avoid them, Stephen Hawking has warned.  —  In a series for the Discovery Channel the renowned astrophysicist said it was “perfectly rational” to assume intelligent life exists elsewhere.

Still Not Getting It  —  The Mustache of Understanding: … They weren't around protesting during the Bush years BECAUSE THE TEA PARTY IS REPUBLICANS.  They don't care about the deficit.  They care that a Democrat (and a black “Muslim,” to boot), is in the White House.

Parties Edge Closer on Financial Regulation Bill  —  Top Republicans appeared nearer to a deal with Democrats on a bill that would overhaul the nation's financial regulatory system, with the ranking senator on the banking committee saying on Sunday that they were “very close” to agreeing on the key particulars of the legislation.

GRAHAM ASKED FOR ‘STEPPED UP’ ACTION ON IMMIGRATION.... Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) is so upset that Dems might take up immigration reform this year, he's prepared to kill his own tri-partisan climate/energy bill.  Some of his concerns are reasonable — Graham was told the climate bill …

Can't Anybody Here Play This Game?  —  Bear with me while I vent for a moment.  On financial reform, there are clear villains in the political process: Mitch McConnell, the US Chamber of Commerce, etc.. But at this point I'm accustomed to that sort of thing.

Geithner: ‘I Never Had A Real Job’  —  Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is haunted by the misperception that he used to work on Wall Street.  —  Sen. John Kerry made the mistaken association at a hearing last year.  During an April 2009 hearing of a panel overseeing government rescue funds …

Congressman charges Obama with ‘increasing danger’ in the world  —  The tone against the Obama administration over its Israel policy is sharpening on both sides of the aisle, with one Republican congressman charging that the president is “increasing danger” in the world.

Pope ‘condom’ gaffe: FO apologises  —  Internal Foreign Office memo filled with ironic suggestions about the pope's September visit to the UK has prompted an official apology to the Vatican  —  An internal Foreign Office memo about this September's papal visit to Britain which started …

G.O.P. Threatens Seats Long Held by Democrats  —  ASHLAND, Wis. — Representative David R. Obey has won 21 straight races, easily prevailing through wars and economic crises that have spanned presidencies from Nixon's to Obama's.  Yet the discontent with Washington surging through politics …