This reporter was thinking just a little while back, that what this country needs is another intolerant political loud mouth on the airwaves. It doesn't matter what political party they call home -- R or D, liberal conservative. No TV viewer seems able to go more than a few minutes without having some self-important gas bag named Matthews or O'Reilly, sporting one ideology or another, raging at a camera.

Fortunately, MSNBC brings us another fix -- the emerging show from Air America personality Ed Schultz. Resembling a sort of square-headed Rush Limbaugh, Schultz's politics run more toward Keith Olbermann. But, let's face it: None of these guys are on TV to discuss sensible politics on either side of the aisle. They're on the air to pontificate, yell, scream and (in Schultz's case) have a borderline Network-ish nervous breakdown on camera every night.

If you're anything like me (first of all, you have my deepest sympathy), you haven't been able to sit still since The Daily Show and The Colbert Report went off the air for the holidays. It also may be because my body has absorbed more sugary fat from the holidays than one of Tyler Durden's homemade soaps.

Both shows returned to the airwaves Monday with new episodes. Both also had cable news celebrity cameos so big, no lightning fast news ticker announcing an accidental nuclear missile launch could draw your attention away from them.

The Daily Show returned with another appearance by CNN's gray-haired uber-anchor Anderson Cooper and an interesting interview with new Meet the Press moderator David Gregory. The Colbert Report picked up former Hannity and Colmes pushover Alan Colmes and wound things up with an interview with CNN reporter John King.

Once again I'm forced to ask the question, what the hell is going on here? Have we entered the bizarro world? Is up now down? Has black become white? Did police arrest PGA golfer John Daly for shooting himself in the leg with an unlicensed handgun in a crowded hip-hop club, and the NRA award Plaxico Burres their Humanitarian of the Year award?

Fox News has announced their replacement for the outgoing Alan Colmes, the liberal ying to Sean Hannity's conservative yang on their self-titled debate show: it's Sean Hannity.

He's doing the show all by himself, so finally he has someone worthy of debating him. Stephen Colbert's "Formidable Opponent" will never be funny again.