We libertarian opponents of IP sometimes perplex IP advocates and leftists. There’s an analogy here to the way libertarians, and especially anarcho-libertarians, are treated by mainstreamers. The press does not know what to do with libertarians, for example. They typically use “libertarian” to denote civil-libertarian ACLU types; while libertarian thinkers and institutions are often described as “conservative.” And “anarchy” is usually associated with chaos, bomb-throwing, or leftist anarchists–rather than with anarcho-libertarianism, which is the only genuine form of anarchism.

On Wednesday July 30, the Federal Reserve announced that investment houses could tap the central bank for a quick source of cash through January 30. The program, started on March 17, was originally supposed to last until mid-September. Another program, where investment firms can temporarily swap more risky investments for safe Treasury securities will also continue through January 30, the Fed said. And, it will also let commercial banks, in a separate program, bid on cash loans that last longer — for 84 days, besides the 28-day loans now available.

Reported here. William Patry, veteran copyright lawyer, author of Patry on Copyright, and now Google in-house lawyer, apparently realizes how messed up copyright law is:

This week, the Wall Street Journal’s Holman Jenkins returned to his hobby horse of propping up housing prices by having the federal government pay for the destruction of houses. ($ article)

One year after the beginning of the modern credit crisis, Randall Forsyth , writing in Barrons, provides an fine round-up of what caused this mess to begin with. His theory is that the problems began when statistical modeling of mortgages replaced old-fashioned credit reports when it came to valuing mortgage loans.

The BBC reports that the government will ban employers from counting tips as part of the minimum wage. This “will benefit those working in industries such as restaurants.”