Dr. Peter Gleick, president of the Pacific Institute, announced the second annual Climate B.S. of the Year Awards on Huffington Post and Forbes blogs Thursday to make examples of bad climate science that was produced, cited, or used in 2011 to try to influence or confuse the public.

Scores of conservative lawmakers and Fox News personalities amplified their pro-greenhouse-gas mantra last year, even as extreme weather, record-breaking temperatures and billion-dollar catastrophesdominated the planet.

First place went to all of the Republican candidates running for president, none of whom sided with the science accepted by 97-98 percent of all climate scientists and every national academy of sciences in the world. Second place went to Fox News and Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation “because of its regular misrepresentation of climate science and anti-climate science reporting among the different Murdoch outlets in the UK, the U.S., and Australia,” the Pacific Institute announced.

Third place went to Roy Spencer and William Braswell “for a debunked research paper on climate sensitivity, and John Christy, for an astounding piece of misleading testimony at a Congressional climate change hearing,” Gleick wrote.

Billionaire badboy brothers Charles and David Koch, who own Colorado property and bankroll lawmakers like Cory Gardner and Scott Tipton, slide into the fourth spot of the bad-science list. The Pacific Institute makes note of the Koch brothers’ well-funded network of anti-climate science groups and highlights a quote from the president of Americans for Prosperity, a Koch-supported super-PAC.

“If you look at where the situation was three years ago and where it is today, there’s been a dramatic turnaround. Most of these candidates have figured out that the science has become political. We’ve made great headway,” Americans for Prosperity’s Tim Phillips “brags outright,” Pacific Institute reports.

For a detailed report on how the Koch brothers influence environmental politics, click here.

Colorado’s conservative congressional delegation has helped the cause. Gardner, Tipton, Doug Lamborn and Mike Coffman have all taken the No Climate Tax Pledge and repeatedly voted to weaken protections for land, air and water. Calling out Gardner specifically, one report found Congress averaged more than one anti-environmental vote for every day it was in session.

Fifth place went to anti-climate-science blogger Anthony Watts, “who said he would accept the results of the Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature … even if it proved him wrong.” The Koch brothers actually funded the study but it backfired and, like many studies before it, confirmed the Earth’s surface is warming and doing so at an accelerating rate. In the end, Watts attacked the study.

The Pacific Institute’s runners-up for its 2011 Climate B.S. of the Year Awards were Harrison Schmitt and the Heartland Institute for ‘Arcticgate’ (documented errors in denying disappearance of Arctic sea ice); Rush Limbaugh for his consistent falsehoods about climate science; and Steve McIntyre for his smear of climate scientist Dr. Michael Mann of Penn State University.”

The recent FoxNews.com article suggests ACORN is “playing a key role” in OWS by “organizing ‘guerrilla’ protest events and hiring door-to-door canvassers to collect money under the banner of various causes while spending it on protest-related activities.”

Former ACORN employees, now with New York Communities for Change (NYCC), are paying former ACORN-affiliated staff $100 an hour, and homeless people $10 an hour, to attend Occupy events in other cities, Fox reports. From the article:

Sources said cash donations collected by NYCC on behalf of some unions and various causes are being pooled and spent on Occupy Wall Street. The money is used to buy supplies, pay staff and cover travel expenses for the ex-ACORN members brought to New York for the protests.

NYCC representatives disputed the story, which relies on unnamed sources to back up its claims. In a response on its site, the group says Fox is trying to discredit Occupy Wall Street, and called the attack a “smear campaign.”

New York Communities for Change is a new organization that fights for low- and moderate-income families. We don’t pay protesters and any monies raised by NYCC’s canvass are used in support of our ongoing issue campaigns. Period. […] We call on Fox News to stop its unseemly attacks and to respect the views of the overwhelming majority of Americans who believe that our nation needs a more equitable distribution of wealth.

Despite the denial, KSP — a group that routinely targets ACORN at its meetings and on more than one occasion have invited ACORN whistleblower Anita MonCrief to speak to its members – seized the opportunity to use the questionable Fox News exposé as a means to generate donations to its poll watcher training program, True the Vote.

“ACORN has reared its ugly head again,” the email message reads. “Major news sources like Fox News have reported that ACORN operatives are intrinsically connected to the Occupy Wall Street movement, going door-to-door seeking donations for bogus organizations then funneling the proceeds to the Occupy effort.”

“Fraud is what ACORN does best, and I have no doubt their support of the Occupy Wall Street movement is a warm-up for the 2012 elections […] Will you take a stand for free and fair elections by making an immediate donation of $25, $50, $100, $250 or more to True the Vote?”

Media Matters for America, a research organization that closely monitors conservative news, http://mediamatters.org/research/201110270020″>found the Fox article’s allegations questionable, citing NYCC’s denial, and the headline’s suggestion that ACORN has played a behind-the-scenes role in the Occupy movement, despite the fact that it’s disbanded.

“The story is incredibly misleading from the get-go,” said Eric Boehlert, a Senior Fellow at Media Matters. “Fox clearly wanted to pretend ACORN officials are directly tied to Occupy Wall Street — but ACORN doesn’t exist anymore, so the entire claim is a problem.”

Boehlert said the story is driven by the desire to marry the two great “boogeymen” of Fox News, ACORN and Occupy Wall Street.

“No matter how quickly a story is debunked,” Boehlert added, “it will get passed around as thought it’s legitimate in conservative circles.”

Here’s True The Vote’s full fundraising pitch:

Fellow Patriot,

They say if it walks like a duck and it quacks like a duck, then it’s a duck. The same holds true for ACORN, the disgraced community organizing group responsible for registering untold numbers of Disney characters to vote in the 2008 election.

Thought to be dismantled after the 2010 elections when even many Democrats were disgusted by the organization’s lengthy resume of scandals, ACORN has reared its ugly head again. Major news sources like Fox News have reported that ACORN operatives are intrinsically connected to the Occupy Wall Street movement, going door-to-door seeking donations for bogus organizations then funneling the proceeds to the Occupy effort.

If it’s organized by former ACORN staffers and it’s using the ACORN business model, then it’s ACORN.

Fraud is what ACORN does best, and I have no doubt their support of the Occupy Wall Street movement is a warm-up for the 2012 elections. So what are we going to do about it? Fight back, of course! That’s why I founded True the Vote, an organization dedicated to restoring integrity to our election processes by training thousands of citizens to volunteer as poll watchers in all 50 states.

Will you take a stand for free and fair elections by making an immediate donation of $25, $50, $100, $250 or more to True the Vote?

We both know that just a few months from now ACORN’s real focus will be what is always has been: subverting our electoral process, overwhelming county offices with fraudulent voter registration applications, and then mobilizing those illegitimate voters on election day. To them, the ends justify any means necessary to assure the continued reign of the Community Organizer in Chief, Barack Obama.

Make no mistake about it, ACORN is playing to win. But this time, True the Vote is too. We urgently need your help to cover the costs of our training programs before primary season begins. That’s why I’m asking you to follow this link right now to make the most generous contribution you can afford to True the Vote.

Don’t look back two years from now and wonder why ACORN got away with election fraud again. Stand with True the Vote today and support our efforts to restore the integrity of America’s election.

Sincerely,

Catherine Engelbrecht
President and Founder, True the Vote

P.S. ACORN is using the Occupy Wall Street movement to practice their fraudulent activities ahead of the 2012 elections. They’re determined to deliver a second term to the Community Organizer in Chief, but this time they’ll have to get past True the Vote first. Will you stand with True the Vote to restore the integrity of our elections by helping us train thousands of volunteer poll monitors in every state? Please follow this link right away to make a contribution of $25, $50, $100, $250 or more to True the Vote.

In its “Good News, Bad News” portion of the show, the three “Friends” hosts accused former U.S. Rep. Steve Driehaus (D-Ohio) of being a “sore loser” for suing national anti-abortion-rights group the Susan B. Anthony List.

For a year now, the SBA List has been involved in a legal battle with Driehaus, who lost his seat in Ohio’s 1st District after the SBA List ran a radio-advertising campaign claiming that by voting for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) last year, Driehaus voted for “taxpayer funded” abortion. Driehaus filed a complaint with the Ohio Elections Commission in October 2010 in response to SBA List’s plans to erect a billboard with the message that Driehaus supported taxpayer-funded abortion. Driehaus dropped the charges but then the SBA List sued Driehaus and the state statute he was using against them. Driehaus filed a defamation counterclaim in response.

“Fox & Friends” told the story a little differently.

Steve Doocy: “[Driehaus] did not go back to Ohio gracefully. He has decided to get even, and he is suing the Susan B Anthony List. He says that their public statements … contributed to his defeat. Wah, Wah.”

Gretchen Carlson: “I don’t know, is this a sore loser situation? I guess so.”

Doocy: “The reason he’s suing the Susan B. Anthony List is they’re a pro-life group and he voted for the president’s health-care reform, which did not have any pro-life protections in it.”

Doocy’s statement is at the heart of the legal dispute between the SBA List and Driehaus. Driehaus, who considers himself to be “pro-life,” has maintained that he only agreed to sign the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) after President Obama issued an executive order prohibiting the use of taxpayer dollars to fund abortions. A federal court this past August ruled in favor of Driehaus, finding the health-care reform law does not provide taxpayer funding for abortion and rejected SBA List’s free-speech defense. Last week the SBA List announced the House’s passage of the “Protect Life Act” would help its case.

The other point the Fox hosts emphasized was that Judge Timothy Black,of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, who is presiding over the case, “used to be the head of Planned Parenthood.” Black was nominated for his position by Obama, and in 2010, anti-abortion-rights groups began reporting that, according to a questionnaire (PDF) submitted to the U.S. Senate Judiciary committee, Black was the director of the Planned Parenthood Association of Cincinnati from 1986 to 1989 and the president from 1988 to 1989. Both positions were unpaid.

Doocy: So conflict of interest? You betcha.

Watch the clip:

Speaking Monday on Fox News, Trump said, “It’s called a modern-day town hall meeting, right? … I didn’t even know I was doing it until you just told me — but that’s OK.”

Bachmann’s 2012 campaign has been alerting the press to the event for the past two days, encouraging those interested in listening on the call to contact the campaign for additional information.

Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann is offering a special experience to her supporters during a nationwide tele-town hall on Monday, Oct. 17 – a chance to speak with featured guest and real-estate mogul Donald Trump. During the call, Bachmann and Trump will discuss critical economic issues facing American families and businesses, while taking questions from the listening audience. This is the first appearance Trump has made on a tele-town hall with a 2012 presidential candidate.

The campaign announced the event to supporters Sunday evening.

During his interview on Monday, Trump added that he was looking forward to it and that it would be “my honor to do it.”

The Hill has posted video of Trump’s remarks with Fox & Friends.

The ad, which is embedded below, mixes tea party rally, campaign and debate footage. Sponsored by Protect Your Health, a group that also operates the Let Him Die? website, the ad’s narrator wants to know: “Will Republican candidates listen to the extremes in their party on health care — or the American people?”

During the CNN/Tea Party Express debate in Florida last week, moderator Wolf Blitzer present a scenario involving a young, uninsured man who contracted a serious illness. Blitzer wanted to know if the man should be left to die if he couldn’t pay his medical bills for an intensive care unit.

U.S. Rep. Ron Paul said the larger community could step in to help with medical expenses. U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann opted to attack recent U.S. health reform instead of answering the question.

The audience, comprised largely of the tea party members as debate sponsors, however, clearly voiced their opinion, verbally and through a show of applause, that the man should be left to die.

Protect Your Care has scheduled the ad to run Thursday through Sunday in the Orlando media market, which coincides with the Thursday night debate sponsored by Fox News and Google. The group also plans to continue to draw support for their cause of protecting Medicare and Social Security in the Sunshine State.

“After proudly gaining my 1 percent in the latest Fox News poll, having started with zero name recognition, I must again ask — why am I being excluded from tomorrow’s debate?” Roemer queried in a circulated statement.

“Even when I garner the required 1 percent needed to qualify, Fox News has decided to exclude me. Once again, the American people will not get to hear a voice that fights against the special interests that create corporate tax loopholes and ship our good jobs overseas. Unfair trade practices and the corrupting influence of money in politics will again not be part of the debate.”

Roemer also pointed out, as he has previously, that he is the only 2012 GOP candidate who has served in Congress and as a state’s executive.

“[A]pparently that is not good enough for the debate sponsors,” he said. “The American people are hungry for this voice.”

During an appearance earlier this month with Jon Stewart of Comedy Central, Roemer said he and his campaign team have asked for invitations to every debate.

“It’s a process that makes no sense,” Roemer said of the debate qualifiers that seem to exclude certain candidates while favoring others.

The former New Mexico governor won the right to participate, according to Fox sources, by cracking 1 percent in the latest five national polls in which he was included—Fox News, CNN, McClatchy-Marist, ABC, and Quinnipiac—which was the criterion the network had set for inclusion.

Talking Points Memo reports Johnson has yet to receive final notification that he will participate in the debate, though he told TPM, “It would be good news if we get it.”

Johnson is a self-identified libertarian who differentiates himself from Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), the more popular of the libertarian GOP candidates, with his support for abortion rights and his opposition to the construction of a border fence. He has attended one other GOP debate, where he was asked about his support for drug legalization and discussed his initial opposition to the war in Iraq.

According to Politico, Johnson’s inclusion in the debate came over the objection of the Florida Republican Party, which has excluded him from Saturday’s Florida straw poll.

If he does indeed receive a debate invitation, Johnson will have temporarily left the ranks of presidential candidates who have too little support to gain the valuable national airtime of a debate. These candidates include former Louisiana Gov. Buddy Roemer (R), Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (R-Mich.) and California Republican Fred Karger.

“I was very pleased with this debate and very excited about the validation of the tea party movement,” Palin told Fox’s Greta VanSusten.

“The winner in this really, I believe, was the tea party movement and that validation of what it is that we’ve been talking about for two years now.”

Palin had high praise for former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich, noting that he was the only one to discuss going after government fraud, waste and “crony capitalism.”

“Hopefully what he talked about could help teach his colleagues up their on the stage,” she added, speculating that some of the 2012 candidates “don’t have a real strong record to stand on” when it comes to such discussions.

But “any of them” with their “pro-private sector” beliefs, she said, would be better than the failed policies of the Obama administration.

When it comes to her own potential presidential aspirations, however, Palin continues to be coy.

“I’m not going to let the media tell me or dictate when a drop-dead date should be,” Palin said.

“I still have that same old dopey, same old answer that I’m sure you guys are getting sick of hearing, and that is I’m still thinking about it, praying about it, contemplating, talking to my family. I’m sick of giving the same answer, believe me. I’m anxious to give an answer and get on with life one way or the other. But whichever direction life takes me, I’m going to continue to speak up for we the people and that tea Party movement and the mama grizzlies.”

Her present role, she said, is to keep raising issues that candidates should be talking about while on the stump because she believes those in the campaign are following her lead.

Watch the embedded clip below:

The event will be held at the Orange County Convention Center Sept. 22-24 and will coincide with the first-ever Florida Conservative Political Action Conference.

In a press release, former Republican Party of Florida chairman Dave Bitner said the event will “give the candidates an opportunity to bring their message directly to the people of Florida while allowing voters to participate in a poll that has historically predicted the eventual Republican nominee for President.”

The first such Republican Party of Florida-sponsored event (Presidency 1) took place in November 1979. The majority of attendees voted for Ronald Reagan over his primary opponents. Reagan went on to receive the national party nomination and eventually won the presidency over Jimmy Carter in 1980.

Watch an ad for the event:

P5 Live Promo from The Victory Group on Vimeo.

Under the agreements, embassies from these nations will work with regional offices of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Wage and Hour Division (WHD) to spread information regarding the minimum wage, overtime pay, child labor rules and other regulations. People from these nations residing in the United States will be able to report workplace abuses to their consulates. Solis also committed the WHD to enforcing labor regulations for immigrant workers in the hospitality, agricultural and other industries with large numbers of low-wage workers.

“This is basically about information,” says Migration Policy Institute (MPI) policy analyst Madeleine Sumption. Because the U.S. labor rights system is based on complaints, she says, migrant workers are faced with language barriers and a lack of knowledge of their rights under U.S. law.

But restrictionist organizations and conservative media have condemned Solis and the administration for signing the agreements, arguing that they benefit undocumented immigrants. The conservative Daily Caller questioned Solis about her intent to “protect illegal workers” at a breakfast event on Wednesday:

“I protect all workers here in this country,” [Solis] told The Daily Caller at a breakfast hosted by The Christian Science Monitor. “I have a vested interest in protecting all workers that work here in the U.S. Period.”

Critics of illegal immigration say Solis’ deals and statements show that she doesn’t value American workers more than foreign workers, and that she’s undercutting U.S. workers’ marketplace clout.

The article also quotes Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), and Mark Krikorian, president of the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), two of the most prominent restrictionist organizations in Washington. Stein accuses Solis of “pandering to a political ethnic bloc,” and Krikorian says that the administration is “ambivalent about American sovereignty … [and] distinguishing between Americans and foreigners,” and that seeking Hispanic votes is a “practical manifestation of this broader ambivalence.”

Phil Kent, a spokesman for Americans for Immigration Control, tells Fox News that, “Obviously everyone wants workers protected in the workplace, that’s not the issue … The problem is the bending over backwards to help and promote black market labor.”

However, it’s by no means definitive that enforcing labor rights for undocumented migrant workers promotes unauthorized immigration. Failing to promote and protect the same labor regulations for unauthorized immigrants could also undercut legal workers by making migrant workers effectively cheaper and easier to exploit by employers, a view that Sumption calls the “demand side” perspective of immigration enforcement. It stands in contrast to the “supply side” perspective, which she summarized as, “If you make life pleasant for the unauthorized than they will stay.”

“My suspicion is that the demand side will be more important,” Sumption says, pointing out that low-skill immigrant workers, having come a long way for a low-wage job, are probably willing to put up with a lot in terms of labor rights infringement.

A July MPI report (PDF), argues that, “The presence of vulnerable workers, including those without immigration status, influences labor standards compliance, as does the necessity of many businesses to cut cost,” and that, “labor standards abuses occur at high rates in certain industries that employ heavy concentrations of low-wage immigrant workers, including those without immigration status.” This suggests a connection between lax enforcement of labor rights and demand for unauthorized immigrants.

The report calls for increasing the number of federal government personnel devoted to labor rights enforcement, which decreased under the Bush administration and has reverted to 2001 levels under the Obama administration. Ultimately, the attention placed upon the signing ceremony by conservative publications may be unwarranted, as the agreements merely extend the role of the consulates in what is an already ongoing process by the Labor Department to increase its labor rights enforcement efforts.

“I wouldn’t describe it as radical,” Sumption says.