• Senator Reid made it clear to me the other day that he wants a bill and he wants it soon.
• Sen. John Kerry • Discussing the possibility of a climate change bill just in time for the sting of the the health care bill to wear off. He says he plans to have a bill within the next two weeks, which we imagine he’ll be writing at the very last second, asking Professor Reid if he can get an extension on because he tripped on a ketchup packet and sprained his ankle or something. source

• 406 “yeas” to repeal an antitrust exemption for insurers source

• Let not the Epic Beard Man get all the praise for this video. This video of two dudes getting into a huge fight on an Oakland, Calf. bus shot through the internet like a pair of brass knuckles over the weekend. Here’s the other side of the argument, told by comparing each side to the video itself. Michael’s nose appears to be healing nicely. Key point of the clip: Michael knew the racist overtones of what Thomas Bruso said. Also, he’s 50 – he looks way younger. source

• ten the number of brush strokes to write “Toyoda” in Japanese
• eight the number of brush strokes to write “Toyota” in comparison

• Why does this matter? Well, the number ten in Japanese resembles the plus sign, which apparently was seen as a bad omen due to the fact it also resembles crossroads. Also, “Toyota” sounds better than “Toyoda,” according to the company, which seems reasonable to us, kinda. Akio Toyoda feels shame on his company. 🙁 source

• They didn’t seem to learn any lessons from the incidents. They knew it was capable of killing a human being.
• Whale advocate Captain Paul Watson • Discussing the killer whale attack which took place at an Orlando Sea World today (and pretty much chewed up the airwaves all afternoon). As a result, the Shamu show is canceled for tomorrow at least. That may not be enough, according to Watson, who notes that Tilikum, the whale in question, has had anger problems dating back to the early ’90s, and was involved in an incident that led to the closing of a Canadian theme park, Sealand. Watson suggests the 12,000-pound whale get returned to its natural waters: “Put it back where they got it from: the waters of Victoria, British Columbia.” source

• Vernon Hunter’s wife says Sheryl Stack should’ve known Joe was a threat. Joe Stack may have died in his ill-guided plane crash, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be any lawsuits. Valerie Hunter is suing Sheryl Stack, saying her actions – including taking her daughter with her to a hotel the night before the crash – suggest she knew something like this might happen. In other news, there’s lots of ego-waving over the incident happening right now, including this example. source

• 101,377 number of followers @ConanOBrien has – in just THREE HOURS; way to rally the troops, dude
• 30,061 number of followers @JayLeno has, which has been running since May and isn’t written by him

The pitch-perfect intro

• Today I interviewed a squirrel in my backyard and then threw to commercial. Somebody help me.
• Conan O’Brien • In his heavily-retweeted “Hello, World” to the Web. There was some question as to whether the account was initially real, but it now has a spankin’ “Verified Account” stamp on it. We wonder if this Twitter account is the suggestion of bigger things. You know, like a tour. source

• 12″ amount of snow expected by the storm; it’s being compared to a hurricane for some reason
• 50 mph the winds expected during the massive storm, which will miss the D.C. area (yes!) source

• 70-28 the party of no said yes to something source