It’s that silly season again when lazy "alleged" journalists around the globe start taking the easy way out when facing a looming deadline by running and end of the year awards list up the flagpole. Is PIG going to stoop that low to meet our Top Story Deadline on a holiday weekend? You better damn believe it, Sparky.

Why would you expect us to pass up a chance to salute the good guys and administer some PIGish bitch-slaps on the richly deserving. We scoured our own archives, solicited suggestions from you our devoted PIGsters, sampled the lunacy that passes for journalism in the 21st century, then searched low and lower for those qualified to be honored or pummeled by one of PIG's Golden Oinks of the Year.

PIG's Golden Oinks Selection Committee singles out the following individuals and/or groups for special PIG attention for their amazing, amusing, and or inspiring antics during 2011.

Putdown of the Year: We the PIGs aren't Snooki's biggest fans. Despite that, we're delighted to honor her with this award. This is going to thrill The One, and we have none other than the infamous Snooki to thank for it.

The magic moment occurred while Snooki visited an auto show in Washington, D.C. Those tragically misguided individuals - her loyal fans - were peppering her with questions, when one of them asked Her Snookiness who was hotter, The One, or Bush 43. Without missing a beat, Her Snookiness replied, "I thought George Bush was pretty cute...For an old man."

How much must it suck, for The One, to have Snooki, of all people, rate him second best in cuteness, when pitted against Bush 43? It's off the scale and we have Snooki...SNOOKI!...to thank for it.

Media Whore of the Year: With a quartet of nominees, this is one of the most hotly contested Golden Oink Awards. In addition to a former Golden Oink winner, Gloria Allred, this year's nominees include such perennial contenders as L.A.Mayor Tony Villar and Messiah Barry. They were in it to the end, until Big Mama Karda$hian - Kris Jenner - aced it with her antics before, during, and after the infamous Porn Star Karda$hian wedding caper.

Liar of the year: The most brazen, blatant, lie of the year was pooped out by multimillionaire movie mutant, Michael Moore, when he told a throng of Occutards that he was NOT part of the 1%, but was, he insisted, a charter member of the 99%.

Letdown of the Year: If you haven't seen Lilo's 'Playboy' photos, count your blessings. It's long on hype, and woefully short when it comes to titillation. Thanks for nothing, Hef.

Junk Science Whopper of the Year: Move over Secondhand Smoke...Shut Up and Sit down Global Warming. You're yesterday's news. You're so 'yesterday' that you're not even contenders, this year.

Our first contender for the 2011 Golden Oinks of the Year Junk Science award is Secondhand Smoke's kid brother, thirdhand smoke. What is it? 'Thirdhand Smoke' refers to minute smoke particles which land on carpets, clothes, etc. These minute particles are, these lab coated hooligans insist, especially hazardous to the health of THE CHILDREN.

As fun as that sounds, we have a second contender that's equally insane. It's called Secondhand Television. A USA Today news story defined this steaming load this way:

[Recently] the American Academy of Pediatrics for the first time included warnings about "secondhand television" in its guidelines for kids under age 2. In addition to discouraging screen time for young kids, it warned against watching TV with them nearby, saying the practice hurts their language development. It pointed to several studies, including one from 2008 that found background TV reduced the length of time they played and caused their focus on play to stray.

Winner: Secondhand Television.

Dog Catcher of the Year: Arnold Schwarzenegger locked this one up, when his horndog antics with his homely housekeeper were exposed. I guess there's no accounting for taste.

POTUS Wannabe Pratfall of the Year: Which Oval Office Derby contender perpetrated the most PIG-worthy campaign collapse? Was it Rick Perry, who was the pick to click, until he opened his mouth, stammered incoherently, then stuck his foot in it? Was it The Donald, who was dynamite in the polls, until The One produced a birth certificate and deflated The Donald's campaign? Was it Herman Cain, who was blown out of the contest by the most BORING bimbo eruption in political histor?. We give this one to Herman Cain.

Doomsday Dolt of the Year: When it comes to making an utter, and complete, fool of himself via a prophetic pratfall, Harold Camping is in a class by himself. His failure was only exceeded by his excuses. He nailed this award, when he yammered about the May 21, 2011 event being an 'invisible' judgement day.

Robocall Recipient of the Year: This award goes to a Jihadikaze homicide bomber named 'The Black Widow', who was wired up for an explosive, New Year's Eve departure when 'it' happened. Before she got to her destination in Moscow, the cell phone which sets off the bomb rang, evicting her from the human gene pool. The fatal call was SPAM, a robo call, wishing her a "Happy New Year".

Moonbat of the Year: This coveted trophy is a head lodged in a giant ass made out of bronze which is named 'The Hank'. 'Hank' refers to Georgia Congressman Hank Johnson who opined, during a congressional hearing, that overpopulation might make Guam capsize.

Hugo Skipper Chavez aced this one, early in 2011, when he blamed the absence of life on the planet Mars on - Ta Da - capitalism: "I have always said, heard, that it would not be strange that there had been civilization on Mars, but maybe capitalism arrived there, imperialism arrived and finished off the planet," Chavez said in speech to mark World Water Day. (Reuters)

NO-NAD Nitwit Of The Year: If you're a differently-male individual who sucks at math, our winner - an Ivory Tower Egghead named Sarah J. Gervais - has thrilling news for you. It's not your fault, darlin'. In fact, you'd probably put Einstein and Hawking to shame, if it wasn't for IT. It? You bet, and 'it' is the kind of cow squeeze that could only come from the reality-insulated region of the Twilight Zone: academia.

According to Sarah, the reason you suck at math is HIM. Apparently, every time you fire up those stellar math synapses, some horndog takes visual inventory of your assets and, his "objectifying gaze" throws you off your math game. So, if you're a PIG Gal who can't balance her checkbook, you've got an excuse: some dude 'objectified' your math skills into the crapper. If you're a PIG Dude who can't make 2 + 2 equal 4, you don't have an excuse: you just suck at math.

Heroine of the Year: Ann Barnhardt aced this award with her legendary, Islam-eviscerating, YouTube videos. After her blistering assault on the Religion of Peace, our heroine, triple dog dared Jihadikaze to hit her with their best shot, by giving them her home address and driving directions. That's a HEROINE.

Occutard Moonbat of the Year: Our winner is Tim Franzen, unofficial leader of the Occupy Atlanta hippie infestation. He was deadly serious, when he told a local boob tube station's reporter that he planned to punish the dastardly Koch brothers by levitating the Georgia Pacific Building.

Tim Franzen: "Here it is right here, see?"

Reporter: I nod yes, looking up at the building. I am asking Franzen about his latest proclamation, that he and the group intend to levitate the Georgia Pacific Building if the Koch brothers in New York do not withdraw their political money from Georgia Politics.

Tim Franzen: "We've been having a team of alchemists and faith healers and doctors of physics working together to develop a mathematical formula to levitate the building," Franzen said. (11Alive.com)

Human Gene Pool Improvement Volunteer of the Year: This HGPI adventure unfolded, around midnight, in the Windy City, while 19-year-old Michael Hilling was canoodling with his girlfriend by the shores of Lake Michigan. Everything was spiffy, until Michael's girlfriend dropped her water bottle into the lake's icy waters. That's when Michael fell victim to a lethal brainfart.

Too gallant for his own good, Michael, who can't swim, sealed his fate, when he dove into the icy waters of Lake Michigan to rescue his lady's water bottle.

Zero Tolerance Zombies of the Year: At an Oklahoma cess-school, Parkview Elementary, a seven year old lad horrified school officials, when he 'brandished' a gun. Since he did it more than once, the relevant officials hit the lad with their best shot. In addition to an in-school suspension - isolation in the cess school's equivalent of a penalty box - school officials fired a warning shot over the lad's head. If he brandishes this firearm again, they will nail him with a much longer suspension. Now that you're fired up over a gun-packing tyke, I'll tell you the rest of the story. They punished him for brandishing a FINGER GUN.

PIG's Airline Passenger of the Year: Our heroine is a 61 year old Colorado woman named Yukari Miyamae. While trying to catch a flight at Sky Harbor International Airport (Phoenix, Arizona). she struck a blow for every passenger who has been mauled by a TSA terrorist.

Like any rational adult, Yukari wasn't in the mood to be pawed by some TSA turd. Unlike most of us, Yukari took matters into her own hands, literally. Trapping the TSA bitch's left breast in both of her hands, Yukari squeezed down, then administered a two-fisted titty twister.

Heroic? Oh, hell yes. Bagged, tagged, and dragged? That too, but justice system officials refused to charge her with a felony. You're our kind of gal, darlin'

Killjoys of the Year: This one goes to all the cops, code enforcement cretins, municipal minions, and Elected Tormentors, from sea to shining sea, who waged war on young 'uns who were performing that venerable childhood ritual, running a lemonade stand in their neighborhood. In too many towns to mention, in every part of this once great nation, the heavy hand of injustice reached out to suffocate that honored part of a youngster's American Dream.

Most Entertaining Celebrity Breakdown of the Year: If you're not thinking Charlie "Winning" Sheen you're not paying attention. If you have 'issues' with this award, get over it, because, Charlie's breakdown produced these gems, any one of which is a quote of the year contender:

"I'm tired of pretending I'm not special. I'm tired of pretending I'm not a total bitchin' rock star from Mars."

"I am on a drug – it's called Charlie Sheen. It's not available because if you try it, you will die. Your face will melt off and your children will weep over your exploded body."

"I'm different. I have a different constitution, I have a different brain, I have a different heart. I got tiger blood, man."

"If you borrowed my brain for five seconds, you'd be like, 'Dude! Can't handle it, unplug this bastard!' It fires in a way that's maybe not from, uh… this terrestrial realm."

Inspirational Fan of the Year : A self-described Cricket fanatic, a model named Poonam Pandy, put her modesty on the line to inspire India's cricket team to the top of the heap in the cricket World Cup. How? This popular swimwear model vowed that she'd take it all off, if her nation's team won the cricket World Cup.

Poonam Pandey, 20, who features in a best-selling Indian swimwear calendar, said she wanted to provide an incentive to players by promising them she would bare all -- though whether her offer will be welcomed is not known.

"I'm a cricket fanatic and I'm a diehard supporter of my nation. India needs a lot of support and this is my way of supporting the team," she told several newspapers.. (AFP)

Now that's our idea of INCENTIVE.

Self-Inflicted Wound of the Year: Our hero, a 27-year-old Arizona denizen, tried his best to look macho, when he made a pit stop at a grocery store in Chandler. I'm sure the handgun tucked in the front waistband of his pants was meant to evoke a manly image. It might have got 'er done with greater efficiency if the wasn't PINK. That's right, he had his fiancee's pink pistol tucked in his pants.

Speaking of that pink pistol, it's time to bring up that other image tarnishing matter. While he was being macho, our hero got the thrill of his life, when the gun fulfilled its primary function. His marksmanship was exception, painful, and a significant blow to his manhood. That's right, PIGsters, Old Deadeye managed to shoot himself in the wang with a PINK pistol.

The relevant officials said his: "Injuries are non-life threatening?" Technically, I'm sure that's true. Using his wang for target practice might not kill him, but, depending on the damage inflicted, it might make him wish he was dead.

Korrectnik Brainfart of the Year: Despite 200 years of veneration by English-speaking tykes, the English nursery rhyme, 'Baa Baa Black Sheep' is on borrowed time. If the knee-jerk Korrectniks in north Queensland have their way, the BLACK sheep will be put out to pasture, permanently, in certain Aussie classrooms. You'll be thrilled to learn that they will be replaced, by - TA DA - 'rainbow sheep'. Rainbow Sheep? Do any of them patrol the waterfront dressed only in chaps?

When the Korrectniks hear the term 'black sheep' they bellow RACIST while setting their hair on fire. A rational adult will put the term in its proper context, by tracking down 'just the facts':

The term originated from the occasional black sheep which are born into a herd of white sheep due to a genetic process of recessive traits. Black wool was considered commercially undesirable because it could not be dyed. (Wikipedia)

Unlike the entirely mythical 'rainbow sheep', black sheep are a naturally occurring phenomenon. With that in mind We the PIGS have a message for rainbow sheep venerating Korrectniks: GET OVER IT.

Memorable Moonbat Moment of the Year: If you think you've heard it all, when it comes to gun phobic antics, get over it. In Buffalo (New York) an 'urban anti-violence group' just took the ubiquitous gun 'buy back' into the Twilight Zone. How? You're going to be thrilled.

No doubt, the perpetrators of this farce are the same loons who worry that tykes who enjoy candy cigarettes will soon become chain smoking hellions. With that kind of mind set, this drivel from one parent is par for the course:

"[If my tyke wields a Nerf gun, today...] then there's no fear holding the real gun when they get older. We want to put that fear back into our children."

That's right, PIGsters, some alleged adults perpetrated a buyback campaign for NERF GUNS. We can't have Little Johnny and his pals firing spongy rubber projectiles at each other. Why, the next thing you know they'll want a supersoaker squirt gun. Sooner or later, Little Johnny will want a personalized AK-47 then an Abrams tank. OMG! Little Johnny's Nerf gun has him on the fast track to a TEA Party Membership. Poor Little Johnny...

Capitalist of the Year: I found this item on The Consumerist blog and it rocks my world. If you've been assaulted in an airport by TSA Gate Gropers, this will rock your world, too.

Ground zero for this adventure is an eatery near Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The restaurant's owner and staff have struck a blow for every airline traveler from sea to shining sea, by putting TSA agents on a No Eat List:

"We have posted signs on our doors basically saying that they aren't allowed to come into our business," one employee tells travel journalist Christopher Elliott. "We have the right to refuse service to anyone."

She says that whenever a TSA agent attempts to dine at the restaurant, "we turn our backs and completely ignore them, and tell them to leave... Their kind aren't welcomed in our establishment." (Consumerist)

Will this banishment 'fly' with the proper authorities? It has, so far, because the eatery's staff says local police have already helped evict TSA workers who can't take a hint from the establishment.

How long with this TSA banishment last? "Until TSA agents start treating us with the respect and dignity that we deserve", according to one of the restaurant's staff. When will that be? When Hell freezes over.

Desperado Disguise of the Year: Our hero - we'll call him Swifty - is a Peach State desperado who, despite the worlds DUMBEST disguise, managed to pull off his bank heist.

When Swifty walked into the Cumming (Georgia) money emporium, he had several items with him: gloves, a tool box and a furnace filter. The gloves? I get that. The toolbox? I'm guessing to hold the money. The furnace filter? He used it as a disguise, by holding it in front of his face. Did it work? Not really.

As you can see from the accompanying image, the Best Bank's security camera didn't have any difficulty penetrating his clever disguise. Somehow, despite his furnace filter foolishness, Swifty managed to walk out with some of the bank's money. Sometimes even a moron like Swifty gets lucky.

Moron of the Year: Our hero's name is Nathan Pugh, and he's our dumbass of the year.

He strutted his synaptically shortchanged felon stuff, when he strolled into a Dallas (Mexas, DUH) branch of Wells Fargo Bank, with robbery on his agenda.

He approached the teller, tried to look menacing, then demanded a cash infusion. I'm guessing that he exuded an 'I'm a moron' stench, because the teller did a number on him. She told him that she needed to see two forms of identification, before she could let him rob the bank. Could anyone be THAT stupid? Yup.

Nathan showed the teller his Wells Fargo debit card and state ID card, after which the teller handed over $800. Our hero didn't fare much better, when he tried to escape, because the justice system official made short work of bagging, tagging and dragging him to a graybar. He should know he drill, because he was on parole for two aggravated robberies.

Lawsuit of the Year: After at least 4 years of condescending bullcrap from the NCAA's Korrectniks, The Spirit Lake Sioux Nation has had enough. They're fed up with the NCAA's brainfart over nicknames and logos which evoke Siberian-American themes. Tired of the NCAA's intransigence, the Spirit Lake Sioux Nation is taking the NCAA to court:

"Today, the Spirit Lake Tribe of Indians, by and through its Committee of Understanding and Respect, and Archie Fool Bear, individually, and as Representative of more than 1004 Petitioners of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, filed a lawsuit against the National Collegiate Athletic Association in direct response to their attempt to take away and prevent the North Dakota Sioux Indians from giving their name forever to the University of North Dakota," said Soderstrom in prepared remarks.

Soderstrom alleges that the NCAA has violated "the religious and first amendment rights of the Dakota Sioux tribes." He also alleged a double standard in the application of the NCAA's policy against the use of Native American names and imagery.

"Though the NCAA has decided 'Fighting Sioux' is derogatory, the NCAA supports the University of Illinois' use of the name 'Fighting Illini,' and the use by Florida State University of the name 'Seminoles' along with the Seminole mascot – someone dressed in Native American attire who rides into the FSU stadium on a horse and throws a flaming spear before every home football game," said Soderstrom. "The NCAA claims these are not derogatory depictions because the Illini people and the Seminole people approve of the use of the name and mascot. Inexplicably, the NCAA fails to accept the tribal vote and the sacred religious ceremony as endorsements of the name 'Fighting Sioux' by the North Dakota Sioux Nation." (Plains Daily)

We the PIGs are no bull crap thrilled, that the North Dakota Sioux Nation is taking on the slappably smug NCAA Korrectniks