The Battle Continues: The Senate votes on whether to begin debate on health care reform today. Democrats were close to reaching the 60 vote threshhold last night. Every fucking Republican still pledged to vote against it.

Shooting on Capitol Hill: A man was shot in the chest last night, and was in critical condition at Harborview. Few details at this point.

The Tunnel—Still a Crappy Idea: The Sightline Institute looks at the Brightwater sewage treatment tunnel's problems, and says the viaduct replacement tunnel could be just as much of a clusterfuck!

Kids These Days: State school superintendent Randy Dorn wants a delay for math and science testing requirements. 'Cause, you know, the tests aren't working.

There are Always Test Prep Classes: Now available when you're five years old, apparently.

At Least Some People Aren't Dicks: People have donated over $100,000 worth of food to the Rainier Valley food bank that was robbed last week.

Berkeley Protesters: Dozens of the people occupying a campus building at UC-Berkeley were arrested last night.

Today in Smashing Particles Into Each Other: The gigantic particle accelerator in Switzerland is almost ready to resume experiments to create Big Bang-like conditions.

It's the History Eraser Button, you fool!

Such nice dogs:

Spokane County sheriff's deputies used a stun gun on an attacking pit bull dog. It didn't stop, so they shot it with a .45-caliber handgun, and it still kept coming. They finally killed it with a blast from a 12-gauge shotgun.

And so good with children.

At least a hundred people have forwarded me a link to this story, suggesting it for Slog since it has so many hilarious details. A morbidly obese man in South Carolina who couldn't get out of the recliner in his living room, his wife of two years who cleaned the recliner every morning because her morbidly obese husband used the chair as a toilet, the morbidly obese man, a former preacher, passing his time in the recliner "posting sermons online" and "talking about religion to other people on the Internet." And when the man died on his second wedding anniversary—of a heart attack at age 33—his wife telling the AP that she "had the worst anniversary" but her husband "had the best one he ever had because he's with Jesus now."

Hilarious?

Sorry, no. The story is an indictment of the American "health care" system. That man needed to be in a bed in a hospital, not in a recliner in a mobile home. Here are really damning details: Daniel Webb was in that recliner because paramedics deposited him there after bringing him home from the hospital. He'd been in the hospital for the emergency treatment of a weight-related knee injury. "Ada Webb said she begged hospital officials to keep him after doctors treated his knee injury in March. But the couple had no way to pay and were sent home." Webb was in the recliner for eight months, dying by inches, and didn't seek help "because he... didn't have health insurance."

Webb was a sick man who needed to be in a hospital—and, I'm sorry, but it sounds like he needed to be far away from his loving wife. In the eight months he was in that recliner Webb went from 550 pounds to "about 800 pounds," according to police. Webb had no health insurance and a feeder and/or enabler at home. I'm sorry, Slog tippers, but I don't think this story is particularly funny. I think it's a sad indictment of our health care "system."

16 Killed, 23 Injured: A suicide bomber hit a busy city square in western Afghanistan.

No More Oprah: Oprah Winfrey will end her talk show after 25 years.

And Sadder Still: A man has been charged with raping and killing the five-year-old North Carolina girl. Her mother's still being charged with trafficking her daughter and child abuse involving prostitution.

Atom Smash!: The world's biggest atom-smasher, which was shut down due to technical faults, will restart this weekend.

Ewwwwwww: Police say a gang in the Peruvian jungle has been killing people and draining fat from the corpses to sell on the black market for use in cosmetics.

First they Take Away Our Mammograms, Now They're Taking Away Our Paps!: New guidelines say women in their 20s no longer need to get an annual Pap smear to check for cervical cancer.

More Shooting Rampages: A gunman went on a shooting rampage at a shooting range and a World War II historical site, killing four people and wounding six others before fatally shooting himself.

The Knox Trial Continues: The Italian prosecutors suggested that Knox and her boyfriend staged a break-in to distract the investigation after they killed Meredith Kercher.

Suicide... Don't Do It: A popular 20-year-old South Korean model was found hanged in her Paris apartment.

The Biggest Scandal in Europe!: Polive have uncovered "a match-fixing ring with more than 200 suspected members that have fixed or tried to fix around 200 matches across Europe, including three in the Champions League."

You Tell 'Em, Australia: "Australia said it was 'deeply disappointed' after a fleet of Japanese whaling ships set out to kill hundreds of the giant ocean mammals on their annual hunt."

Freeeee Falling: A window washer fell eight stories from a downtown building yesterday and only broke his finger.

King Co. Budget Gets Cut: And many services and 311 jobs go with it.

They Hate It Too: Former members of a local hardcore band e-mailed us to tell us that they don't support the Pro-Chris Monfort shirt either.

And finally, there's this:

• via likecool.com

Afghanistan Gets a New President: Hamid Karzai was sworn in on Thursday, "after a fraud-marred election left his image in ruins."

You're Winning (Sort Of): A New York court rejected a Christian legal group's challenge to government benefits provided to same-sex couples legally married and now living in New York. But the court avoided declaring that same-sex couples are entitled to all the rights of other married couples.

PETA's Probably Stoked!: Scientists are growing meat without animals.

Save the Boobs: The Obama administration is saying government insurance programs will continue to cover routine mammograms for women starting at age 40.

Come (Try to) Fly With Me: The FAA computer program that caused flight cancellations and delays across the country has been resolved.

Welcome to the Neighborhood: Seattle schools have returned to a neighborhood-based system and set new boundaries for most school.

Don't Tase Her, Bro!: An Arkansas cop is suspended after using a taser on a 10-year-old girl.

The Feds Might Have to Pay a Lot of Money: A judge has ruled that Army Corps of Engineers' failure to properly maintain a navigation channel led to the massive flooding during Hurricane Katrina.

Why Get a Safe Deposit Box When You've Got the Virgin Mary!: A woman left $40,000 worth of rare coins near a Catholic shrine for safekeeping "so the Virgin Mary could watch over her life savings while she was out of town."

Admonish!: It is Merriam-Webster's Word of the Year.

This Could Get Ugly: "Irish football officials have lodged an official complaint with world ruling body FIFA after Thierry Henry confessed that he handled the ball in the build-up to the goal which sent France to next summer's World Cup."

Look Both Ways: A man was killed on I-5 after running into traffic, trying to escape police.

Speaking of getting tasered, one kid supposedly got tasered in this protest outside UCLA, regarding the recent 32% tuition hike:

Good Job, Washingtonians: Washington is the 11th healthiest state in America. (Read about how they got that result here.)

If They Build It...: President Obama believes Israel's decision to authorize construction of new settlements in east Jerusalem will complicate peace efforts.

Good Luck Finding an Impartial Jury: President Obama supports Attorney General Holder's decision to prosecute 9/11 plotters in New York.

Hack the Planet!: Officials have discovered a security weakness in Los Alamos National Laboratory's classified computer network.

This Time the U.S. Flagged Ship Fought Back With Gunfire: Somali pirates attacked the Maersk Alabama on Wednesday for the second time in seven months.

Santa's Not Safe From Swine Flu: Seasonal Santas lobby to get swine flu vaccinations to protect them from all the snot-nosed little kids.

The Winning Move Was Paper Covering Rock: A Michigan man won the world Rock Paper Scissors championship, and took home $7,000.

A Sad Statistic Keeps Getting Sadder: Army suicides are expected to set a record again this year—they've been on the rise for five consecutive years.

Let's All Go!: Sarah Palin will spend Thanksgiving in Richland, Washington with Aunt Katie.

Just Say No: 1,500-meter Olympic gold medalist was stripped of his medal after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs during the Beijing Games.

Goodbye, Hollywood: The Hollywood Video on Broadway has vanished in the night.

It Might Not Be All the Bacon-Fried Everything After All!: They have discovered signs of heart disease in Egyptian mummies. And they didn't have thisiswhyourefat.com back then.

And speaking of thisiswhyyourefat.com, this "meat baby" is disgusting—I can only imagine what it looks like once it's been cooked. I'm sorry to force it on you this early in the morning. (Not sorry enough to not force it on you, obviously.)

• Submitted by Ryan Prevost, via thisiswhyyourefat.com

Teamwork: President Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao promise to work together to "tackle climate change, nuclear disarmament, and other global troubles."

Good News!: After a night of serious wind, the expected windstorm is calming as it moves inland, and isn't going to kill us after all. Probably.

Bad News (But Not Really): Levi Johnston "did not go full-frontal" in Playgirl shoot.

Spain's Prime Minister Said They Did What They Had To Do: 36 hostages are free after Spain paid the $3.3 million ransom.

The Story Gets Sadder: The body of the missing five-year-old-girl has been found.

What a Dick: A Scottish man is facing charges after causing a flight from Philly to London to land early in Boston due to his "belligerent and disruptive" behavior.

What an Asshole: A Harborview employee is being charged with molesting a patient.

But They Still Haven't Found the Shooter(s): The two men and one woman who were shot in SoDo yesterday are all expected to live.

The Big Boob Debate: The government is now recommending that women get fewer mammograms, and many experts think that's fucking crazy.

Finally: The woman involved in the Elizabeth Smart kidnapping case will enter a guilty plea today, after years of being deemed too incompetent to stand trial.

Fight! Fight!: After a feud with the company, Costco is no longer going to sell Coke products.

This Will Be a Made-For-TV Movie Soon, I'm Sure: The co-founder of Clearly Lasik has been charged with murder-for-hire, for his alleged plot to kill his business partner.

Look at the goats trying to get on the bus! Like they're people! I bet they don't even have bus fare... Dumb goats.

Good morning! Here's some news.

The First Payment Is 1.2 Billion, Due Next Month: GM starts to repay America and Canada.

The Sky Is Falling!: Early Tomorrow morning, Asia and some parts of North America will get a nice view of the Leonid meteor shower.

3...2...1...Clouds: Atlantis is ready for take off, but the weather might not be.

Sorry: Australian leader apologizes for child migrate programs, which gathered up children "from single mothers and impoverished families in Britain, then sent abroad for a better start in life."

Party!: They're going to dig up a couple crates of whiskey that have been buried under ice for 100 years.

I Can't Wait for the Made for TV Movie: Thanks to global warming, giant jellyfish are swarming in the waters off the coasts of Japan.

Overdue: An anonymous person has returned library books that were checked out 51 years ago, along with $1,000 to cover late fees.

Guantanamo Bay, Illinois: Today officials are going to inspect the Illinois prison that could be used to house Guantanamo Bay detainees.

Oh, Awesome!: Did you get a tax credit on your taxes last year? Well you might have to pay some of that back next year.

Bad News From Baghdad: 13 people were abducted and killed in Baghdad, some believe it was revenge against Sunnis.

And the Girl Is Still Missing: The mother of a missing five-year-old girl is facing charges of human trafficking, felony child abuse involving prostitution, and filing a false police report.

RIP: Dr. Robert Willkens, a doctor and civic leader, has died due to complications of the H1N1 virus. He was 82 years old.

Shoplifterrrr!: A woman from Ohio is under investigation after allegedly stealing 10 doses of the H1N1 vaccine from a Thurston County hospice center.

Duh: Mountlake Terrace officials won't allow a medical marijuana shop.

This post was brought to you while watching reruns of Saved by the Bell:

Don't Worry Guys, There's Plenty of Time: World leaders give up on a binding climate change agreement for this year's climate conference in Copenhagen. One of the biggest obstacles? The U.S. Congress couldn't get strong enough legislation on greenhouse gases passed.

$1 Million: That's the bail set for the Greenwood arson suspect. Charges will be considered Tuesday.

Sarah Palin's Stupid Book: Short on truth. In fact, pretty much all of it is total bullshit (and that's what John McCain's people say).

For When Miniature Golf Isn't Crazy Enough: Could this be the awesomest thing ever to happen to anything golf-related?

Afghanistan: Can the U.S. budget support more troops there?

Better Be Nice To China, Obama: 'Cause we owe them money. A lot of it.

The Fed: Partly to blame for America's financial mess, but perhaps partly responsible for pulling us out of it.

Firearms: Guy walks into community center with gun, gets kicked out of said community center, all so he could sue the city for its parks gun ban.

Yesterday in the Sports: UW and WSU football were on the receiving end of routine ass-kickings, 6,000 more seats on sale for MLS Cup at Qwest Field.

Arrested: the Greenwood arsonist suspect.

McGinn Transition: Taking shape. Meanwhile, the new administration is looking at converting the mayor's office from PC to Mac.

Challenging the Gun Ban: "A Kent man has announced that he intends to carry a pistol into a West Seattle community center on Saturday to trigger a lawsuit challenging Seattle's ban on guns in public spaces."

Light Rail to the Airport: Opens December 19.

Eight and a Half Years: The sentence for a "man accused of conspiring with four others living in a Seattle group home to kill" a fellow resident.

Meanwhile in China: Obama the diplomat.

Turtles in Costa Rica: Threatened.

Storm Rolls In: It's coooold out there.

The Greenwood Arsonist: A person of interest was arrested early this morning. He was "picked up in the vicinity of a huge overnight fire at a vacant building in Shoreline."

Fists, Batons, a Flashlight, and a Taser: An internal investigation is launched into the SPD's use of force (video here) during the June arrest of an alleged burglar.

McGinn Goes Against Tradition: The mayor-elect stands in front of a white board and says, "We're not just going to talk to important elected officials, nor are we just going to talk to the same old people who advise new mayors about how things should work—we're going to talk to everybody." Spokesperson Aaron Pickus says: "We did not run a traditional campaign and we don't want to have a traditional transition."

$863,000: Seattle City Council restores a bunch of money to the public library's budget. "That means the library will be able to provide seven-day-a-week service at 11 branches and the Central Library."

9/11 Suspects Will Be Tried in New York City: "The decision marks a milestone in the administration’s efforts to close the Guantánamo prison..."

So Much for Being Neutral: Switzerland is going after Google for its Street View application, saying it violates privacy rights. The country is taking Google to court to try to force the company "to ensure that all faces and car license plates are blurred, remove pictures of enclosed areas such as walled gardens and private streets, and declare at least one week in advance which town and cities it plans to photograph and post online."

Latest on the Alleged Fort Hood Shooter: Paralyzed from the waist down.

Latest on the "Balloon Boy" Hoax: Parents plead guilty.

Bill Gates and Warren Buffet on Economic Panic: It's behind us now.

The snowboard series continues today with advice on how to do a backflip:

It pains me to say it—it's always painful when you have to say this—but the Michelle Malkins of the world have a point: politically correct timidity seems to have prevented the Fort Hood shooter's colleagues from taking appropriate action against him before he shot and killed 13 soldiers. They were so afraid of being labeled "Islamophobic" that they refused to move against Maj. Nidal Hasan despite believing him to be psychotic because he was also "espousing... extremist Islamic views." If Hasan had merely been crazy they might have kicked his ass out. But he was crazy and a conservative/radical Muslim and no one wanted to appear intolerant. Irshad Manji correctly diagnoses the problem on Hardball yesterday:

The money quote: "We are willing to tolerate intolerance in order to be perceived as tolerant ourselves." And that's a mistake and it has to stop. Advocates of tolerance have to be aggressively and unapologetically intolerant of intolerance. Islamic bigots, Christian bigots, racist bigots—they're all aware of this weakness, this desire on the part of the tolerant to model tolerant behavior, and they actively exploit it. Call bullshit on their discriminatory and hateful political agendas and they whine, "You say you're all for tolerance but you're not willing to tolerate me when all I'm doing is attempting to discriminate against you!" And this moronic line of argument seems to paralyze people.

Look at it this way: Everyone agrees that violence is always wrong—except in self defense. It's wrong, for instance, to shoot people. But it wasn't wrong for that cop at Fort Hood to shoot Nidal Hasan. That was appropriate violence, violence employed to put a stop to violence, violence in self defense. Being intolerant is always wrong—except in defense of tolerance. That's appropriate intolerance, intolerance employed to put a stop to intolerance, tolerance acting in its own self defense.

Remember her? She went on Oprah and there's a story about her interview with Oprah here. There's a link at the story that you can click on to see her chimp-ravaged face. I can't bring myself to click through. Can you?

From Phone Banks to Skyscrapers: McGinn knights seven campaign volunteers with jobs on the mayoral transition team. "We're not big on titles," McGinn says.

Afghanistan War: Obama rejects every plan from his national security team on fighting the Taliban. He tells officials to rewrite proposals on adding more troops and working with the corrupt Afghanistan government.

Unpaving Paradise: Belltown tries to decide if converting a street into a park will improve the neighborhood or attract crime.

Your Daily Douchebag: Jasen Bruce, a resident of Tampa, FL, beats a Greek Orthodox priest over the head with a tire iron because, he told police, the priest was a terrorist, a thief, and a gay sexual predator who spoke perfect English (even though the priest speaks little English). More about Mr. Bruce:

His blog entries tout the benefits of increasing testosterone and human growth hormones. He was charged with misdemeanor battery in 2007 for hopping over the bed of a tow truck and shoving its driver. He pleaded no contest.

Online photo galleries depict him flexing big muscles wearing little clothing.

Suckers? Gay-rights group in Utah fellates Mormon Church for supporting gay-rights legislation, even though the church remains "unequivocally committed to defending the bedrock foundation of marriage between a man and a woman.”

WalMart: Will stay open for 24 hours the day after Thanksgiving to avoid mad store rushes, like one last year that led to a fatal trampling.

Tell All: Oprah previewing her interview With Sarah Palin says, "There's nothing that we didn't talk about."

Shot Down: Man who shot Lt. Governor's son dies.

Punched Out: Mike Tyson allegedly punches paparazzi photographer to the ground at LAX. Celebritiy parasite falls to ground, suffers cut on to forehead.

Final Push: Pro-choice groups stage organizing strategy to allow abortion funding in health-care-reform bill.

Jon Stewart: Busts Fox News's Sean Hannity using wrong footage to make GOP rally seem larger.

Michael Mastro: Bankrupt Seattle developer denies that he tried to block creditors from taking his mansion, Rolls Royce, and jewelry.

The Stranger's 2007 Genius Awards: This is why the winners are so rad. The annual bash at the Moore Theater on Friday at 9:00 p.m. Lineup and more here.

Things Hipsters Wear: A Seattle style blog.

Electricity Rates: They're rising to help fill a $140 million budget gap at Seattle City Light.

So Long and Good Riddance: Lou Dobbs leaves CNN.

On That Off-Colored Note: One last cotton-... minute with Lou Dobbs:

Its smoking in bed victim was Comet bouncer Ben Hills. RIP, Ben.

Kiro TV:

SEATTLE — A man was killed in a house fire early Wednesday morning that was started by someone smoking in bed, KIRO 7 Eyewitness News reported.

Firefighters responded at about 2:30 a.m. and found one man in a room in a home at the corner of Eleventh Avenue East and East Republican Street...

They're Baaaaaack: Somali pirates seize a container ship in the Indian Ocean. They're holding "more than 190 hostages."

He's Coming Back: "Ken Griffey Jr. is coming back to the Mariners in 2010."

Around 30,000, If Gates and Clinton Get Their Way: Obama and his national security team will decide today how many additional troops to send to Afganistan.

Around 800 Neighbors in Greenwood: Gathered last night to discuss the rash of arsons with police. "Police believe the same person is responsible but have not developed a strong suspect."

Happy Veterans Day: Obama puts on a raincoat and goes to Arlington.

Happy Birthday to Us: It's Washington State's birthday. We're 120.

What Have You Done for Us Lately? State labor interests, burned by spending cuts, say Democrats aren't doing enough for them. "There's even talk of trying to defeat some Democratic incumbents if they don't support issues important to labor in the next legislative session."

Scientists Discover New Dinosaur Species: "The Aardonyx celestae was a small-headed herbivore with huge barrel of a chest, and the scientists said it could prove to be a missing evolutionary link."

Dead at 9:11 Last Night: The DC sniper has been executed.

Meanwhile, at the State Patrol Crime Lab: Working overtime on the Christopher Monfort case.

And now for your snowboarding accident video of the day:

As many as 10 people may be injured, and a man and a woman were killed in a shooting inside a drug-testing lab in Tualatin, Oregon, about 15 miles south of Portland. KGW reports:

A woman who was injured in the shooting said that as many as three people were shot by what appeared to be a lone gunman, according to Mike McNeil, a bystander who spoke with KGW.

The gunman walked into the drug testing center and opened fire, the woman said. McNeil found the woman running across a parking lot covered in blood.

UPDATE: Police say the scene has been secured, and have not released more details about the victims or the shooter, except that the shooter is "no longer a threat," the Oregonian reports.