Today’s Links: May 31, 2012

OPINION

ZACH WEISSMUELLER: “Zoning vs. Eminent Domain – How Ventura County Shut Down The Pine Mountain Inn”
“Tom Wolf owns the Pine Mountain Inn, a restaurant that’s been serving biker groups and local community organizations since the 1930s. Wolf temporarily had to shut the doors when he suffered a heart attack in 2002, and he was never able to reopen when the county informed him that his property had been rezoned as an ‘Open Space’ back in the 1980s without his knowledge. ‘[The county] wanted everybody out of here,’ says Wolf. ‘And they wanted a complete open space with nothing but deer and frogs… and no people.’ No matter how hard Wolf tried to comply with the ever-changing codes, the county just wouldn’t relent, at one time even ordering him to remove a chicken coop that had never actually existed on the property.”

JOHN TAMNY: “Long-Term Unemployment and the Skills Erosion Myth”
“Whatever the direction of Friday’s jobless number, it can’t be stressed enough that unemployment of the kind we’re suffering at the moment is a wholly unnatural phenomenon wrought by government distortion of wages and benefits, and sagging investment that results from policies in favor of a weak dollar. It will be addressed further along in this article, but joblessness today remains high largely for those two reasons.”

INVESTOR’S BUSINESS DAILY EDITORIAL: “New Yorkers Leave Like East Germans Fled Communism”
“New York thinks of itself as the place to be, but its high taxes have made it a place to flee. […][F]rom 2000 to 2010 it suffered an exodus of some 3.4 million New Yorkers — nearly a million more people than in Germany’s post-war experience and more than that of any other state. And the outflow hasn’t stopped. The income loss for the state is $45.6 billion, the Tax Foundation says.”

NEWS

FDA – FDA Rules Corn Syrup Can’t Change Its Name To Corn Sugar
“Corn-based-sweetener manufacturers may be singing a sour tune today. The Food and Drug Administration just ruled that the ubiquitous high fructose corn syrup that sweetens many of our candies, sodas and snacks cannot be called “corn sugar.” But much like Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Terminator character, they’ll probably be baaack.”

MARRIAGE – Heart of Gay Marriage Law Unconstitutional, Appeals Court Rules
“An appeals court ruled Thursday that the heart of a law that denies a host of federal benefits to gay married couples is unconstitutional. The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston said the Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman, discriminates against married same-sex couples by denying them federal benefits.”

STATE ELECTIONS – Drug-Legalization Democrat Beats Rep. Silvestre Reyes in Texas Primary
“O’Rourke, co-author of ‘Dealing Death and Drugs: The Big Business of Dope in the U.S. and Mexico,’ supports marijuana legalization as a step towards ending the War on Drugs. The primary winner serves as a stark contrast to his opponent when it comes to this issue. Former congressman Reyes worked as a border patrol officer for over 25 years and staunchly opposes drug legalization.”