Links, 8/10/11

The HuffPo looks at how the Panama trade deal will just make it easier for rich Americans to dodge taxes.

Bank of America may be insolvent and stealing homes from people, but the police still obey them, rather than Community Organizers, even when the Organizers catch BoA being a deadbeat.

More than three times as many people showed up for free school suppliers in Houston over the weekend than showed up for Rick Perry’s religious-political revival. (h/t C&L) It sort of makes you wonder how a bunch of purportedly religious people missed the crowds of needy kids.

Apparently, if you want to be on MTV’s The Real World, you have to sign a document acknowledging you may be raped, infected with sexually transmitted diseases.

The National Journal reminds us that it took a comedian–Al Franken–to get serious about reforming credit rating agencies.

Apparently, FBI is going to try to make sure its agents appear to know the Domestic Investigations and Operations Guide by making the test of their knowledge easier. This is after a bunch of agents cheated to pass a longer test last year.

DHS says states can’t opt out of Secure Communities, the program that, in the name of deporting undocumented people with criminal backgrounds, has instead served to deport others. The decision will likely make cities less safe, as the threat of deportation leads undocumented people to avoid interacting with cops, even if they’ve experienced crime.m