Most of the world's politicians at times seem to be space aliens, numbskulls, snake oil salesmen and grifters. Yes it would be a relief to actually discover real space aliens who just may have a modicum of integrity.
#2 might have given the article a little color if it were about penrose mechanisms or the blanford-znajek process. Dyson spheres get more than their share of pulp talk and I'm completely in favor of shooting black holes since that sounds healthy.