Let’s face it – it’s not really an episode of Real Time with Bill Maher if the host doesn’t spend some time bashing the Republican party, and tonight, Maher closed out his program doing just that. In addition to ridiculing the party for falling short on its supposed strengths (“The Republicans, the fiscally conservative, strong on defense party, are neither fiscally conservative nor strong on defense”), Maher also paid some very…detailed compliments to the White House’s current occupant.

Osama bin Laden is dead, and while few doubt that’s a good thing in itself, some couldn’t help but wonder if the price – both monetarily and in lives lost in the time since 9/11 – was worth it. Tonight, the panel on Real Time with Bill Maher weighed in on the topic – though, as is clear from the title of this post, Maher asked the question a bit more provocatively.

An ESPN Outside the Lines investigation has revealed rampant gambling in a south Florida youth football league, and in some cases young players were paid based on performance.

TNT’s Inside the NBA crew got all dressed up in English attire the other night, and spent a segment discussing their thoughts on the royal wedding.

Bill Maher welcomed conservative firebrand Andrew Breitbart onto his Real Time panel tonight, which alone probably would have been enough for some heated discussions. Add liberal political analyst Laura Flanders to the mix and…well, you get tonight’s panel. (Yes, sparks flew.)

Lawrence O’Donnell does not like Donald Trump. And as he’s done so many times before (here, here, here here, and here), O’Donnell devoted some time on tonight’s Last Word to blast what he doesn’t consider a serious presidential bid. He detailed some of the reasons why on tonight’s program, but in a shocking twist, it seems hearing about Donald Trump is actually getting old for some…and guest Melissa Harris-Perry wasn’t afraid to say so.

Rachel Maddow tonight devoted some time to “the Paul Ryan thing;” namely, that “Republicans voted for [it]” and now must defend it at town hall meetings. They haven’t always done so with great success, but Maddow noted a lack of coverage of this, save for liberal websites…plus one site she apparently doesn’t think is so liberal these days.

When Real Time with Bill Maher’s staff booked both Ed Schultz and Michael Steele to appear on the show tonight, everyone involved had to be salivating over the potential for the two to get into loud disagreements. And when the panel debated politicians’ relative honesty and proposed Medicare vouchers, the inevitable came to pass.

A full zero episodes of Real Time with Bill Maher have passed since the host’s last incendiary remark about Islam, so naturally, we were due for another. And tonight, in speaking to Irshad Manji of NYU’s Moral Courage Project, he delivered.

President Barack Obama was clearly thrilled – and relieved – last night when Congress agreed to a budget deal that prevented a government shutdown. The Washington Monument was behind the president when he gave his address announcing the deal, and he proudly noted that thanks to the agreement, it would remain open. And today, Obama celebrated the deal once again by paying a visit to another Washington landmark, the Lincoln Memorial.

Bill Maher was his usual understated self on Real Time tonight, urging everyday Americans to begin “a class war” on Wall Street. And he illustrated the need for such a fight by drawing a comparison to the backlash received by one Charlie Sheen after his disastrous show in Detroit. And as much as we groaned initially about having to hear Sheen’s name again, we’ll admit Maher got in some good lines.

The big news of the night is that the government will indeed not shut down, as a deal was reached on a federal budget through the end of the year (in the meantime, a stopgap measure will be passed so the larger deal can be finalized). President Barack Obama spoke on the deal, praising Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Speaker of the House John Boehner, as well as the deal itself.

When former Democratic National Committee chair/former Democratic presidential hopeful/yeller Howard Dean recently criticized Fox News as nothing more than “a very expensive, incredibly well-funded, right-wing propaganda organization,” it was only a matter of time before someone at the network responded. Today, On the Record anchor Greta Van Susteren did.

The status of President Barack Obama’s U.S. citizenship is the “issue” that just will not die. Most recently, that’s thanks to the attention-seeking efforts of the endlessly attention-seeking Donald Trump, which at one point included Trump releasing some birth-certificate-ish-but-not-actually-an-official-birth-certificate document. This lunacy inspired Bill Maher to look at not only Trump’s, but other “birth certificates” of prospective 2012 GOP presidential candidates – documents even less valid than the one Trump produced.

You’ve probably heard how there’s “A Slobbering Love Affair” between the mainstream media and President Barack Obama. You’ve probably also heard how “Fox [is]…a political operation.” Good news, though, if such differing views leave you paralyzed with doubt over who’d perpetrating the vast media conspiracy and who it benefits: neither represents what a real vast, crazy media conspiracy looks like.

Last night, a moment of silence for Japan was held before the U.S.-Argentina soccer match at the Meadowlands. Nice gesture…mostly.

Bill Maher doesn’t think Republicans are interested in doing much but opposing President Barack Obama at every turn, and with that in mind, on Real Time he devised a 2012 presidential candidate he said would be a perfect fit for the party in its current state. Why? The candidate is the exact opposite of Obama in every way but gender, right down to his name…Karab Amabo.

Bill Maher was startled by the results of some polls on Republicans’ beliefs he read recently, and devoted a segment on tonight’s Real Time to analyzing them. And while any segment where Maher discusses Republicans is in danger of turning into a bash-fest filled with accusations of racism, this one stayed calmer…and produced a pretty good segment of television.

In light of the commencement of airstrikes on Libya earlier in the day, CNN asked: what, if anything, will Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi do to fight back? Anchor Fionnuala Sweeney welcomed Libya scholar Ronald Bruce St. John for his opinion…if only anyone had been able to hear it.

Remember Knut, the adorable German polar bear initially rejected by his mother but then taken in by zookeeper Thomas Dorflein, whose care allowed the cub to become a celebrity due to his almost frightening cuteness? Heartwarming, right? Well, sadly, no aspect of this story met a happy ending. Dorflein died in 2008, and today came the heartbreaking news that Knut is no longer with us, either.

While Bill Maher didn’t say anything as provocative on Real Time this week as, say, calling the Qur’an a “hate-filled holy book,” it wouldn’t be Bill Maher if he weren’t antagonizing someone, and tonight he needled one of his favorite targets, the Republican Party. Maher’s main beef with the right wing tonight: a perceived lack of focus on real issues in favor of “useless distractions.”

If you recall, Bill Maher had some harsh words for the Qur’an while talking to Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), a Muslim, on his program last Friday. Ellison contested Maher on this point, but in general, there wasn’t too much outrage over what really were some incendiary remarks on Maher’s part. Bill O’Reilly couldn’t help but notice the non-uproar, and took some time on tonight’s O’Reilly Factor to ask: why?

Casey Heynes became the latest YouTube sensation—and unofficial anti-bullying PSA posterboy—when he was captured on video bodyslamming a kid that bullied him.

Zach Galifianakis is method. In the middle of his Saturday Night Live monologue tonight, he announced the joke portion was over, then ripped off his clothes – revealing a Little Orphan Annie dress. Sure enough, he then kicked into a lip-synced version of “Tomorrow” (we hope it was lip-synced, anyway), of course flashing some underwear all the while.

Bill Maher took it upon himself on Real Time tonight to analyze George Will’s prospective field of realistic Republican presidential candidates for 2012. In a development that will shock precisely no one, Maher didn’t seem overly taken with the field – although in a somewhat more surprising turn, neither did one of his conservative panelists.