New Poll Says Americans Want Higher Taxes On Wealthy And No Entitlement Reform From Super Congress (LINKS)

Selected stories from around the web this morning.

• DOW up 150 points
• NEW POLL - Americans Want Higher Taxes On Wealthy, No Entitlement Reform In Super Congress
• Is There Enough Money Left to Save The World’s Banks? - Bloomberg
• Consumer Confidence drops to lowest level since 1980
• Flash Trading Stub Quote Rule Violations - Letter to SEC Head Mary Schapiro
• FRAUDCLOSURE - Assistant AG resigns after sending memo blasting Pam Bondi
• Fool Me Twice: Bank of America Plays Hide And Seek Using Fannie Mae - FORBES
• Zero GDP growth for French economy in second quarter
• Italy to pass tough austerity measures today
• SEVERE Funding Problems At European Banks Causing Liquidity Crisis
• Retail sales post biggest gain in four months
• BofA struggles to sell China Bank stake - FT
• Need Answers On Banks? Don't Bother Asking Auditors - FORBES

Click to read more ...

VIDEO - Mitt Romney Heckled Aggressively At Iowa State Fair Over Social Security And Medicare

Video - Romney battles citizens of Iowa - Aug. 11, 2011

This is highly entertaining.

Click to read more ...

UK's George Osborne: "Deficit Cuts Have Made Britain A Safe Haven In The Sovereign Debt Storm" (VIDEO)

Video - Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne - Aug. 11, 2011

A separate but related statement from Osborne follows inside.  The problem is global debt, which Osborne understands but Geithner, Obama, Bernanke and the EU do not.

Click to read more ...

Gold Falls Most In 7 Weeks, France, Italy, Spain, Belgium Impose Short-Selling Bans, China Lets Yuan Appreciate MOST In 3 Years, No Muni Problems After S&P Downgrades

France, Italy, Spain, Belgium to Impose Short-Selling Bans - Bloomberg

China Allows Yuan To Appreciate MOST In 3 Years

Geithner Announces Plan To Sell, Rent 92,000 Government Owned Foreclosures

Lloyd Blankfein Loses $52 Million In Personal Stock Value In Latest Month

Weak Demand For Latest Treasury Auction At Record Low Yields

After S&P Downgrades Municipal Bonds, No Problems Surface

4ClosureFraud Petition To Absolve Pam Bondi Of Blame - Satire 

Gold Falls Most in 7 Weeks

Bernie Madoff’s old pants transformed into luxury iPad cases - And they're selling

U.S. Banks Are Spared Stresses of 2008 Amid Market Rout

'You Should All Be Fired': Mom Wanted To Fly Banner Over Washington Not Wall St.

Treasury Bond Auctions Save U.S. $647 Million

Recent Cut in Household Spending Points to NEW Recession

Hedge Funds Buying Farmland Reaps Annual Gains of 16%

Turkey Joins Greece, South Korea in Banning Short Selling

Ron Paul Beaming With Confidence Before Next Week's Iowa Straw Poll

Click to read more ...

Bank Of America's Backdoor Bailout - Dumping Mortgage Trash Onto Taxpayers Via Fannie Mae

Before we get to the story from the WSJ and The Street.com, a few BofA links from today:

• Conference call - CEO Moynihan calls BofA 'much stronger' than in 2007
• Chris Whalen Says: "Seize And Restructure Bank Of America NOW!"
• CHART - Bank OF America Stock Has Fallen 50% In A Month
• LIVE BLOG: Bank of America CEO Faces Investor Grilling

Despite the wishes of Sheila Bair and Chris Whalen, I don't see BAC being nationalized and restructured.  They have too much political power behind their godforsaken franchise of usury.  This deal with Fannie is an outrage.  Now taxpayers are on the hook for any and all lawsuits associated with the fraud.  This was a transfer of liability more than anything else.

Click to read more ...

The Military Industrial Complex Loves You And Thanks You For Your Support (Video Eisenhower Farewell Speech 1961)

Video:  Dwight D. Eisenhower's farewell address - Jan. 17, 1961

The ominous rise of the military industrial complex.  Two more inside.

Click to read more ...

Selling The Wars - Image Is Everything When You're Marketing A $3 Trillion War Machine

The Pentagon budgets half a billion dollars to market its wars in the U.S.

Click to read more ...

Meet Maurice Johnson - Homeless And Unemployed With A Masters In Physics From Dartmouth, EE From Purdue

Maurice Johnson lives in Boston, by way of Cleveland.  He has a Masters Degree in Plasma Physics from Dartmouth College, and a Masters in Electrical Engineering and Acoustics from Purdue University.  He worked for more than a decade at Lockheed Aerospace & Aerodyne. He is now jobless and living in a homeless shelter, but actively seeking employment.

Maurice has an in depth "LinkedIn" profile here: http://linkd.in/lK0bdJ 

Maurice's e-mail address is given in the video if you have a job opportunity to discuss.

Click to read more ...

DOW Trades Up 300 Points, Simon Johnson On Bailout 2.0, EU Considers Short Sale Ban, Goldman Sachs Has Lost Its Mojo, BofA Tries To Raise Cash, Whalen On Banks To Buy

DOW trades up 400 points

Why The Market Gods are Angry - Dylan Ratigan & Bill Fleckenstein

Goldman Crashes: Reports 24% Trading Day Losses In Q2, Vs. 1% In Q1

‘Seven lean years’ may be optimistic, Grantham now says

UK Will Stick With Austerity Plan Because It's Working Says Osborne

Swiss franc slumps 5% against dollar, euro

Mortgage rates fall again, 30-year near record low

Europe Considers Ban on Short Selling

Another Round of Bailouts? - Simon Johnson

BofA talks to Gulf SWF funds to cut $17 billion China Bank stake

Wall Street Firm accused of defrauding Wisconsin schools out of $200 million

Free college tuition for the long-term unemployed

Foreclosure activity drops to 44-month low due to processing delays

Chris Whalen On Good Buys In Banking Sector

Great George Carlin Quote On Politics - Profanity

Click to read more ...

Chris Whalen: "We Need To Seize And Restructure Bank Of America NOW! The Founders Embedded Bankruptcy Into The Constitution For A Reason"

Whalen on Bank of America yesterday on Reuters Insider.  Bank of America discussion begins at the 3-minute mark.  Runs 2 minutes from there.  Worth the time.

• Watch it HERE

---

Click to read more ...

DOW Closes Down 521 Points - Bears Create Another Bloodbath For U.S. Equities

After rallying back from earlier 400+ point losses, the DJIA tanks in the final hour to close down over 500.

• Read the details here

---

Click to read more ...

Bernanke Scoffs At Fed Dissent, Super Congress Debt Panel Named, Death Of A Climate Exchange, Dimon Defends Zombie Banks, Merkel Faces German REVOLT Over Bailout

Merkel faces German REVOLT over Eurozone BAILOUT

Bernanke Indicates Fed Dissenters Won’t Impede Additional Asset Purchases

BofA Sells Mortgage Portfolio to Fannie Mae

US Banks Face 'Headwinds' But Aren't 'Zombies': Jamie Dimon - CNBC

Goldman Sachs: "QE3 Is Now Our Base Case"

Goldman Sachs' Education Management Corporation Accused of Widespread Fraud

Boehner names GOP members of Super Congress Debt Panel

Reid Will Name Sens Murray, Baucus, Kerry To Debt Panel

Summary Of Super Congress Appointments From Both Sides

McConnell wants 'significant entitlement reform' from Super Congress

And Now, The Dumbest Thing You Will Ever Hear

PHOTOS - Riots In Chile

Death of a carbon salesman: Chicago Climate Exchange

Slide in U.S. Home Values Slowed in Second Quarter, Zillow Says

Click to read more ...

UPDATE: Dylan Ratigan Explains His 'Mad As Hell' Moment

Video - Dylan Ratigan - Aug. 10, 2011

• "It's a bought tax code.  We're harvesting trillions to benefit corporations through trade agreements and we've built a system that allows these same corporations to avoid paying taxes."

Solid, short clip from the day after Ratigan's now famous rant.

Click to read more ...

Gold Adds More Than $50 To Top $1800 For First Time

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Gold futures added to gains Wednesday, topping $1,800 an ounce for a fresh intraday record as equities slump. Gold for December delivery GC1Z +2.96% added $50.90, or 2.9%, to trade at $1,794.80 an ounce -- well on its way for a record settlement and trading as high as $1,801 an ounce during the session. Gold had posted an intraday record on Tuesday, and settled at a record as well.

Click to read more ...