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.

Obama Rejects Bipartisan Bank Deal  —  Although Senate Banking Committee Chris Dodd and his sometime Republican ally Richard Shelby continued to make noises on the Sunday talk shows about a possible bipartisan deal, both President Obama and House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank …

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.

The Cushy Life of the Rightwinger  —  If you're a connoisseur of people pointing out that Jonah Goldberg isn't a very intelligent man while simultaneously being too polite to come out and say so directly, I'd highly recommend this post from Conor Friedersdorf.

Pope ‘could cancel UK visit’ over ‘offensive’ Foreign Office memo  —  The Pope could cancel his planned visit to Britain because of a “hugely offensive” Foreign Office memo mocking his stance on abortion and birth control, sources in the Vatican said.  —  Senior Papal aides suggested …

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.

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 …

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 …

Lloyd Blankfein Auditions for Open Mic Night  —  Vampire squid at taxpayers' rally outside Goldman Sachs DC office.  (photo: SEIU via Flickr)  —  Well, well, well.  —  It seems that Lloyd Blankfein and the folks at the Vampire Squid think Sen Levin and the staff of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee …

Election seat calculator  —  The seat calculator is a rough way of converting percentage support for political parties into numbers of seats in parliament.  —  It allows you to get an idea of what the next parliament might look like, and what sort of percentage support a party will need to win a majority.

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.