Today’s Links: October 1, 2012

OPINION

BLAKE HURST: “Organic Illusions
“A recent study by a group of scientists at Stanford University found that the nutritional benefits of organic food have, to say the least, been oversold. Apres moi, le deluge. A furor has erupted. In our modern-day version of holy wars, we’ve replaced debates about gnosticism and Manichaeism with arguments about the virtues of locally grown versus sustainable versus organic. As with all wars over doctrine, the rhetoric has been fierce.”

TRAVIS BROWN: “In ‘Live Free or Die’ New Hampshire, The U.S. Looks For Tax Leadership
“In New England, there remains one granite pillar against the tyranny of high tax burdens, found within the spirit of New Hampshire. This November, leadership from the State Legislature will attempt to end the creeping encroachment of the personal income tax applied to gaming winnings and interest from dividends. The New Hampshire Income Tax Amendment, known as CACR (13), would ban all forms of personal income taxes applied to a natural person.”

JASON ZENGERIE: “‘The. Polls. Have. Stopped. Making. Any. Sense.
“The 1,072 Ohioans who participated in PPP’s poll were, as is the case with almost every poll taken today, older and whiter than the electorate. As a result, Jensen decided to give more weight to certain respondents’ answers. ‘If the whole world was releasing unweighted polls,’ he says, ‘Mitt Romney would be heading to an easy election.’ For instance, although African-Americans accounted for just 7 percent of the respondents to PPP’s poll, Jensen believes—based on census data, past elections, and the current political environment—that black voters will make up 12 percent of the Ohio electorate come November. So Jensen multiplied his African-American respondents’ answers by 1.5.”

NEWS

STATE LAW – Calif. First to Ban Gay Teen ‘Conversion’ Therapy
“Gov. Jerry Brown has signed legislation that makes California the first state to ban a controversial form of psychotherapy that’s aimed at making gay teenagers straight.”

INTERNET – Iran Unblocks Gmail
“Iran maintains one of the world’s largest Internet filters, blocking access to tens of thousands of websites on the grounds that they are criminal or immoral, but the block on Gmail had even prompted complaints in parliament.”

UNEMPLOYMENT – Real Unemployment Reaches 20% In 7 Colorado Counties
“The slowest economic recovery since World War II is going especially slow for sections of Colorado, according to a letter from the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE) obtained by The Colorado Observer.”