Our guest columnist is YouTube, responding this morning to a video we posted on November 25, 2008.

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We don’t know why, but we found ourself thinking about Terri Schiavo last night.

No, not Schiavo the person. Not even Schiavo the issue. More like Schiavo the moment.

The moment when the business of government came to a screeching halt so Republicans could grandstand over a dying woman in Florida. And, as it happens, the moment that Republican overreach was so spectacular, our jaw dropped.

A moment not unlike this:

Not satisfied with President Obama’s new religious accommodation, Republicans will move forward with legislation by Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO) that permits any employer to deny birth control coverage in their health insurance plans, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said Sunday.

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We did the movies-you-have-to-watch exercise, now it’s time to list your 10 best.  Here are mine:

1) Dr. Strangelove (1964)

2) Manhattan (1979)

3) All the President’s Men (1976)

4) Young Frankenstein (1974)

5) The Godfather (1972)

6) The Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976)

7) Three Days of the Condor (1975)

8) The Russians are Coming, The Russians are Coming (1966)

9) Empire Strikes Back (1980)

10) Hunt for Red October (1990)

Title: “The Natural: How to Effortlessly Attract the Women You Want”

Author: Richard La Ruina

Rank: 19

Blurb: “Richard La Ruina used to be the guy who couldn’t get the girl. Shy, painfully awkward, and still living at home with his mother, at twenty-five he decided to finally take control of his life and become the kind of man men admire and women desire. Today, La Ruina is one of the world’s best-known pickup artists, someone who can confidently approach and attract any woman. La Ruina, as founder of PUA Training (Pickup Artist Training), has personally coached thousands of men through their own dramatic transformations. In The Natural, he brings that experience to you, delivering field-tested methods and easy-to-use tools for attracting the women you want. Just like riding a bike or driving a car, meeting women and making them fall for you is a learned skill that, with enough practice, becomes effortless.”

Review: “Most people in the seduction community who know about Richard LaRuina consider him a fake and a nobody and they all laugh about him.”

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She had talent out the ying-yang, and some amazing pipes, but sadly every obituary will include her infamous comment “crack is whack.”  She was found dead today at the Beverly Hilton hotel, on the eve of the Grammy Awards.  Her first album cover:

[LAT]

If you really must skip forward to 7:10, we won’t hold it against you. But quite honestly, we think the first seven minutes are even more fucking awesome than the last ninety seconds.

Parents and Kids… watch. [Tommy Jordan/Facebook]

[via Know Your Meme]

That would be the motto of the San Francisco Police Department, which today became the first and only police department law enforcement agency in the country to contribute to the “It Gets Better” effort to dissuade LGBT kids from committing suicide.

As much as I can sometimes bitch about the whack-a-doodleness of The City, I can’t imagine a greater place to live in the United States.

And Flying Spaghetti Monster knows I needed a little something to take the edge off after reading Benedick’s post about Uganda and how the GOP is fighting the renewal of the Violence Against Women Act.

[SF Chronicle]