Today, you will hear about some of the web’s most influential and highly-trafficked websites — Wikipedia and Reddit chief among them — going dark. The reason? They’re protesting the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), a controversial proposed law that would constrict (and possibly destroy) your internet experience.

Apparently, there’s nothing like a potential hurricane to get nervous governors to demand people get the hell out of places. First, an exasperated Chris Christie assured New Jerseyans at the shore that they were tan enough already, and today, Maryland’s Martin O’Malley pleaded with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer to get reporter Chris Lawrence out of the water along the Maryland shore.

Last week’s horrific rampage in Norway by gunman Anders Behring Breivik was a huge story no matter what due to the scope of the tragedy involved, but it became that much bigger as soon as Breivik was labeled as an extreme right-wing “Christian fundamentalist.” Predictably, some took issue with that characterization, and just as predictably, Bill Maher tonight used the tragedy as a jumping-off point to take issue with something more – religion in general.

Well, Bill Maher‘s still not happy with President Barack Obama. In the same week he told Lawrence O’Donnell that he wasn’t sure what the president was thinking when it came to tackling the nation’s debt problem, he used the beginning of his panel debate on tonight’s Real Time to essentially say the same thing. Suffice to say, Maher believes Obama is letting the other party dictate the action…and that next November, it could cost him.

In addition to Republican presidential pledges, tonight on Real Time Bill Maher re-tackled another subject he addressed last week: the woes of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. To help him grasp just what kind of power Murdoch’s built up over the years, Maher invited British writer/producer/marketing expert Martin Lewis on the program.

Bill Maher and his Real Time panel last week touched on the prominent pledges many prospective Republican presidential candidates were signing, such as Grover Norquist’s Taxpayer Protection Pledge and Bob Vander Plaats‘ marriage vow. (They weren’t fans.) This week, Maher raised the issue again, going a bit more in-depth in his rant this time…and designing a pledge of his own.

As much of a foregone conclusion as it was that Bill Maher and panel would weigh in in the now-infamous Bachmann Christian counseling clinic tonight, it was equally certain they’d discuss the woes of Rupert Murdoch’s now-defunct News of the World paper, which culminated today in the resignation of the paper’s editor, Rebekah Brooks. The panel shed no tears for Murdoch.

Of course Bill Maher (and his Real Time panel) was going to have something to say on the controversial Bachmann Christian counseling clinic, but this much? Spurred on by a discussion of the clinic, Maher’s panel put together one of the raunchiest segments we’ve seen on his program…and for a show that’s on HBO and has done this, that’s saying something. And while it might have occasionally been uncomfortable to watch, it definitely wasn’t boring.

It’s no secret that Bill Maher isn’t a fan of Republican policies on…pretty much anything. Tonight, he took aim at the party’s economic thinking, and to illustrate what he saw as the absurdity of it, drew a parallel many might find more than a bit absurd themselves: he compared it to the Casey Anthony trial.

Often, it seems that the real specialty of political talking head debate shows is the ability to bring together a group of people with no apparent rhyme or reason behind their selection. And while a certain Great American Panel is perhaps the best example of this, the roundtable debate on tonight’s Real Time with Bill Maher stands among the unlikeliest.

After examining President Barack Obama’s leadership capabilities earlier on tonight’s Real Time, Bill Maher went to some familiar territory at the end of the program: Palin-bashing. This time, though, it wasn’t Sarah: it was daughter Bristol, over her new memoir, Not Afraid of Life. And judging by just how far he went to bash the younger Palin, Maher didn’t feel like he had much to fear, either.

Holding the world’s highest-profile job guarantees a great deal of criticism at all times, but even by those standards, President Barack Obama’s getting a lot of invective thrown his way these last few days – and much of it’s from people normally on his side. Tonight, the panel on Real Time with Bill Maher gave their own thoughts on the president…and Obama probably wouldn’t like what they had to say, either.

After the jump: raw footage of President Obama’s much-anticipated golf outing with House Speaker John Boehner. Yes, the president drives a golf cart.

He might have resigned, but if you’re talking about politics on television, all roads still lead back to Anthony Weiner. Bill Maher brought up the disgraced ex-politician on his show in an attempt to demonstrate this Weiner’s self-control issues, when compared with those of some other politicians, really aren’t so bad at all. Specifically, Maher had two names in mind – former Vice President Dick Cheney, and New Jersey governor Chris Christie.

Chris Matthews stopped by Real Time with Bill Maher tonight to serve on the show’s panel, and he really likes Michele Bachmann. Her name came up and Matthews immediately referred to her as “my hero,” predicted she’d beat Mitt Romney in the New Hampshire primary, and praised her for being “real.” This is probably where we make a “thrill up my leg” reference.

Stephen Colbert, a class of 1986 Northwestern alum, returned to the school today to deliver the commencement address to this year’s graduating class. As one would expect, Colbert mixed jokes about the terrible job market and his own college experience with earnest advice about following dreams and helping others. As one might not expect, he talked a lot about brothels.

Because you haven’t been hearing enough about Rep. Anthony Weiner and the penis belonging to said congressman lately, Bill Maher closed tonight’s Real Time by offering some unsolicited (we think) advice to Weiner. Maher’s main point: for someone who’s been publicly disgraced to the point plenty of people think he should just resign, Weiner didn’t get much out of this scandal, did he? In fact, in Maher’s own opinion, “Congressman ShinyTits69″ has given us one of the least interesting sex scandals yet.

You’ve probably seen the contents of some of Rep. Anthony Weiner’s more obscene sexts, but you haven’t heard them like this. Bill Maher took advantage of his pay cable slot tonight on Real Time by dramatically reading some of Weiner’s messages verbatim…with the help of Glee star Jane Lynch. This was a can’t-miss idea – as soon as Maher announced it, the crowd applauded. Depending on your opinion of ridiculous, obscene messages, it got wither better or worse from there.

Larry King is pretty much a walking self-parody at this point. That’s not to say he isn’t well-liked – in fact, he sees to be quite popular among his peers. But he’s also old (he’ll turn 78 later this year), and the likes of Conan O’Brien have filled much airtime through the years with jokes painting King as a caricature of an old person. And videos like the one after the jump are a big reason why.

Sarah Palin took a little trip this past week, and just as it was a foregone conclusion Bill Maher would talk about Anthony Weiner’s penis, it was just as much of an ironclad guarantee that he’d address Palin’s tour of the Northeast. Especially intriguing to maher in his panel – how Palin happened to be in such close proximity to Mitt Romney when he announced his run for president, her jewelry choice, and her interpretation of Paul Revere.

You probably haven’t heard, but there’s been some talk this week about a penis that may or may not belong to a certain New York congressman. And believe it or not, the prospect of penis photos of a politician whose last name is a euphemism for a penis led to a few people telling jokes about it, and as a political comedian, Bill Maher was sure to join the fray tonight on Real Time. He did.

Sarah Palin might not be trusted with nuclear weapons by everyone, but when it comes to creating buzz, she’s as reliable as they come. Palin rode into Washington, D.C. on a motorcycle today to kick off a bus tour of the Northeast, and got plenty of attention for it, including from a Fox News reporter on the scene – but judging by Palin’s enthusiasm when asked about the ride, it was well worth it, attention or not.

In the wake of a proposed bill to ban TSA patdowns in Texas failing to get off the ground, Eric Bolling revisited the airline security issue on Follow the Money. After the obligatory clip/interview with “Don’t touch my junk” guy John Tyner, Bolling held a panel discussion on the potential effectiveness of profiling – and even got a liberal guest to agree (with conditions) that some forms of profiling might be worth exploring.

Rachel Maddow devoted some time to potential Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum tonight to share the tale of a classic Catch-22 come full circle – and what Team Maddow is doing to help. The theme for the segment: “Dog pee can’t stop Santorum.” Clearly, this is going to get weird – and Maddow, it seems, was just fine with that.

Reaction to Osama bin Laden’s death was overwhelmingly not just positive, but gleeful – and let’s face it, it’s not tough to see why. Bill Maher, though, tonight pointed out on Real Time that Christians who celebrate the death of even someone as evil as bin Laden are disobeying the part of their faith that instructs them to love their enemies – and, being Bill Maher, delighted in saying so.