Saturday night’s SNL was a packed affair, with fan-favorite guest host Betty White and a host of SNL alumnae returning to Studio 8H. It’s no surprise that there were simply too many good sketches – classics like “Debbie Downer” and “Bronx Beat” ended up as web-only extras — along with a sketch lampooning the Times Square bomber. All funny — except the Times Square bomber sketch had been leaked to Politico’s Patrick Gavin earlier that day. Could that have been why it was cut?

It takes a real SNL aficionado to recognize a sketch hailing from a full decade ago – but tonight those aficionados got their reward with the final sketch of the night, “Census Taker,” in which Tina Fey calls on Betty White at home to get her census information, only to be befuddled by her responses. If that sounds familiar, you might need more plans on a Saturday night — and also, you probably saw the identically-themed sketch in 2000 featuring Tim Meadows and Christopher Walken. Compare and contrast!

Bill O’Reilly has never exactly been the #1 cheerleader of undocumented workers, but tonight, he declared war. Talking to guest Charles Krauthammer about their differing views on using the military to prevent illegal immigration, he suggested that discussing the matter as a social problem is futile when “there is an invasion from a foreign country, Mexico, into the United States.” And just in case you didn’t hear him, he repeated himself. Twice.

President Barack Obama spoke in the conference hall of the Capitol today about the health care reform bill which is coming close to meeting enough votes to pass in the House of Representatives, which earlier today decided not use the “deem and pass” strategy to railroad the bill through Congress. “I know this is a tough vote for some of you,” said our president, adding “Don’t do it for Nancy Pelosi, or Harry Reid, or me. Do It for the American People.” Pay attention folks, this speech is definitely one for the history books.

So maybe you didn’t love The Blind Side (you hard-hearted cynic). Maybe you thought that Meryl Streep should actually win some of her nominations. Maybe you (like me), loved An Education and were blown away by little Carey Mulligan, or maybe you, like Oprah, were blown away by Gabourey Sidibe in a powerful, important story. [...]

Wait a second, Neil Patrick Harris? What about Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin? Never mind: They ceded their opening mojo to NPH for the greater good, but what a letdown when they actually (and awkwardly) took the stage. NPH is a crowd pleaser galore, but what would have pleased the crowd more: An opening number by the actual hosts.

The Snowpocalypse has given skeptics a reason to dance on the frozen grave of climate change, from Sean Hannity to Matt Drudge to Senator Jim Inhofe‘s grandkids. Needless to say, it is driving the greener-than-thou community and the scientists who actually study this material crazy. Case in point: former DNC chair Howard Dean on ABC News last night expressing complete loss of belief in the legitimacy of Republican global warming detractors and claiming they simply “don’t believe in science.”

Aw. Indianapolis native David Letterman welcomed Super Bowl XLIV MVP Drew Brees of the winning New Orleans Saints to his show last night — despite his allegiance to the Colts — celebrating the new champion in the name of his team, his city and his super-cute baby son. Letterman showed Brees’ upcoming Sports Illustrated cover [...]

In case you’re wondering how the Sarah Palin “Telepalmter” story is going to play out this week, look no further than this morning’s Morning Joe. NBC News’ Andrea Mitchell satirized the former governor (and future candidate for President?) by writing her colleagues’ names on her hand, and Joe Scarborough pushed back with the omnipresent conservative TOTUS meme, which states that every politician except President Obama is allowed to use a teleprompter.

Jon Hamm Shirtless! Sexy Jon Hamm Muscles! Sweaty Glistening Don Draper! SNL was kind to the SEO gods last night thanks to not one but two shirtless Jon Hamm sketches plus adorable Michael Bublé, who is Canadian. SNL was super-strong last night thanks not only to Hamm’s self-evident hotness but his equally impressive penchant for [...]

Even though the release of Game Change has made it seem like a relic, it was only Friday when former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani stated that there had been “no domestic attacks under Bush. Robert Gibbs responded with a dose of reality, but he hadn’t had a chance to react to Rudy’s later clarification (through a spokesman). I asked Gibbs about it today, and he just seemed glad that Giuliani had cleared up the most glaring omission.

Happy 20th anniversary, The Simpsons! God does that make me feel old. Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa & Maggie may not have aged a bit over the past two decades, but it has nonetheless really been that long — and tonight Fox celebrated by airing a special Simpson’s 20th anniversary documentary special — Simpsons 20th Anniversary [...]

At today’s White House briefing, Huffington Post’s Sam Stein asked Robert Gibbs about Rudy Giuliani‘s remarks on ABC’s Good Morning America. Gibbs succeeded where George Stephanopoulos failed, calling Rudy out for his inconsistent statements on civilian justice for terrorists, and observing that much of what Hizzoner said didn’t “quite gibe with reality.” You might say he took Giuliani to Schooliani.

After his jokes about the Palin women spawned a movement to get him fired, you’d think David Letterman would have developed a teensy bit of sensitivity about sex and gender issues. Apparently not. A bit from his Tuesday night show, in which a stagehand flees the set in horrified disgust at transgender Obama appointee Amanda Simpson, has Human Rights Campaign calling Dave out and calling for an apology.

Last night, Jennifer Lopez performed on “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” in a sparkly, skintight, sorta see-through bodysuit that covered her top to toe but left little to the imagination — so you can imagine that the focus today is not on her rendition of “Louboutins.” But for me, the focus is on how awesome J.Lo is, because she invented that schtick — and as such, was a hugely influential figure in the past decade. Call her “Jenny From The Aughts.”

Um, this is some of the weirdest audio I’ve ever heard: Dude calls the operator to — politely! — report that he’s just been stabbed. Operator: 911 Man: Uh, yes ma’am – would it be possible to send an ambulance here? Operator: What’s going on? Man: Uh, there’s a knife stuck in my chest.

There’s a 2 year-old news clip circulating anew on the internet, thanks to The Huffington Post and FunnyorDie.com. The Funny or Die connection is especially unfortunate, given the clip’s subject matter. HuffPo Comedy’s post, entitled “News Anchor Can’t Stop Laughing While Describing A Gruesome Murder,” had little information on the clip that wasn’t included in the headline. While the clip is darkly funny, it made me want to find out the story behind it. Now, the laughing anchor responds!

On MSNBC yesterday, reporter Jim Miklaszewski had the kind of brain freeze that TV people have nightmares about. Trying to pull the phrase “Pottery Barn rule” out of some dark crevice, he instead emerged with the “Crate and Barrel syndrome.” Contessa Brewer, a delightful guest at Tuesday night’s Mediaite party, opted to empathize with, rather than correct, Miklaszewski.

The right-wing echo chamber is gearing up to take another shot at unseating “Safe Schools Czar” Kevin Jennings. Their last volley, in which a smear involving NAMBLA made it onto Fox News, failed to gain Van Jones-style traction, so they’ve dressed an even weaker smear up as a report by “independent researchers,” and slapped it under and audacious headline.

John Hodgman is an expert. That’s what his books are about, that’s what he does on the Daily Show, that, at least, is what he thinks he is in those ubiquitous Mac vs. PC ads, which if they were a teen comedy would no doubt end up with him scoring the hot girl. It’s not [...]

The Huffington Post previewed an ad, earlier this week, that euphemistically asked whether Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) has the “toughness” to get a public health insurance option passed. Mediaite has been trying for several days to get a statement from Senator Reid’s office, and we finally have it. They must have needed the time so they could make it extra-tough.

With the resignation of Van Jones and the sinking of ACORN, the right-wing noise machine sits on a mighty perch. The mainstream media shows every sign of capitulating to their new pimp, at the ready to swarm whatever prey is selected for them. The latest victim-to-be is the Obama administration’s “Safe Schools Czar,” Kevin Jennings. Before I get to deconstructing the mountain of smears against Kevin Jennings, let me tell you what he has done.

There has been a battle brewing for years between the “real news” and the fake news, with poll after poll showing that more and more Americans get their news from comedy shows like “The Daily Show.” Who can forget Jon Stewart’s throwdown with the hosts of “Crossfire?” More recently, Stewart got into a fact-fight with Bill O’Reilly (and won), and became a hero-of-the-moment to the right for pointing out the mainstream media’s abdication on the ACORN story.

In between all the search results for “SNL” on YouTube that consist of Jenny Slate dropping the F-bomb, there are a few other clips from other sketches, including the monologue from host Megan Fox and performances by musical guest U2. Alas, no results so far for the quite funny Transformers-inspired digital short (call it ‘D**k [...]

Disgraced former Illinois Governor and thwarted reality star Rod Blagojevich was on the Daily Show with Jon Stweart last , and some in the Chicago media were disappointed. They wanted it to be more hard-hitting! Make Blago squirm! But why would he bother? Blago passed long ago from news into entertainment.