Kentucky Tax Dollars May Go To Creationist Theme Park

[marmar]

If Kentucky governor Steve Beshear (D) has his way, the state will soon be home to a creationist theme park that contains, among other things, a 500-foot-long wooden replica of Noah's Ark containing live animals such as juvenile giraffes. The "Ark Encounter" is a collaboration with the non-profit organization Answers in Genesis which also runs the Creation Museum in Boone County, KY. The group is dedicated to "portraying the Bible's view of history."

Among the historical points pushed by Answers in Genesis is the idea that the Earth was created in six days a mere 6,000 years ago and that at one point in time man and dinosaurs co-existed peacefully.

The project alone raises some eyebrows as one wonders about the priorities of a state pushing a particular religious interpretation of history. But the project gets even more controversial because the park's developers are seeking close to $40 million in state tourism development incentives, igniting the debate as to just how entangled the state can be in this project before it runs afoul of the First Amendment.

Normally we expect to see Republicans pushing for the use of state or federal tax dollars to support religious displays (or, conversely, to take down the ones they don't agree with). But in this case it is the Democratic governor pushing hard for the project. To be fair it could be because projections are that the park will impact the local economy to the tune of $250 million annually--an impressive number especially in time of struggling state and local governments. ...........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.care2.com/causes/civil-rights/blog/kentucky-tax-dollars-may-go-to-creationist-theme-park/

[opihimoimoi]

1. Stunning absense of Reason and Logic.....they been at the Bourbon again...

[Riftaxe]

2. I know it's not your headline

and only a blog...but such blatant dishonesty probably hurts more then it helps.

[Wednesdays]

11. Please get me up to speed on this...

What is the blatant dishonesty? :shrug:

[Riftaxe]

13. You cannot give dollars away

that do not exist yet, it is deductions, and so on, a thoroughly beaten horse on the other threads on this. Please practice equine kindness :)

[AlinPA]

3. It's not just Kentucky. That creationism stupidity is everywhere. nt

[social_critic]

8. Don't get nasty

It's a religious belief. Can't we all just learn to git along?

[awoke_in_2003]

9. Sure we can...

when believers stop using taxpayer money to promote your bullshit.

[Riftaxe]

15. They believe in a god that might or might not exist

but apparently you believe in dollars that absolutely do not exist yet. Please see the other threads on this subject :P

[awoke_in_2003]

17. what?...

maybe I am missing the joke, but taxpayer money DOES exist, and it shouldn't be spent on unprovable bullshit.

[Riftaxe]

18. Deductions and exemptions

are given on the assumption that money has been made, not that it will be made, if it falls flat on it's face (heh, i would never attend such a place) then no dollars have been spent.

Which of course leads to the eternal question, if it does succeed were the dollars created by god, or evolution...i vote evolution :)

even given the shaky financial situation, giving credits for ephemeral money does not equate to real money being spent.

[Riftaxe]

19. of course

in this situation separation of church vs state does not even enter, since it is a private enterprise so is eligible for any of the entitlements promised to any other. That pesky first amendment.

It's a blog, it studiously avoided giving any facts...which is what blogs tend to do. It is meant to inflame, and cause knee jerk reaction...sadly in this day and age, it could pass for populist journalism.

[AlinPA]

12. It will be interesting to see how the grizzlies get along with the koalas. nt

[TommyO]

4. the people behind this park have some idiotic assumptions about how many people they can pull in

Holiday World, a very popular amusement park, about 160 miles west of the proposed park, had a record breaking season in 2010, they hosted 1,182,636 guests this past year, the proposed creationist park is saying they'll draw 1,600,000 when it's opened. the proposed park is in a good location, being within driving distance of Columbus, OH, Cincinatti, OH, Frankfort, KY, Louisville, KY, and even Indianapolis, IN, but just outside of Cincinnati is Kings Island, Louisville KY's Kentucky Kingdom will be reopening in 2012, and there's the aforementioned Holiday World which is wildly popular with visitors, and even amusement park enthusiasts. The creation park has some very strong competition, and quite frankly, not enough attractions (read rides) to draw people in.

[social_critic]

5. They could have Jesus walk on water

That would be one real good attraction. Plus they can have fish sales, and t-shirt shops with cavemen riding dinosaurs...

[Riftaxe]

16. Debating religion is like debating

whether strawberries or raspberries taste better, now we all know it's strawberries but try to convince the other side...*sigh* :)

[Occulus]

20. Nope.

People who like strawberries don't say people who like raspberries should be killed.

And they don't put it in writing and call it "holy".

[Riftaxe]

21. well there is that...

but the strawberry contingent is notoriously rational...lol maybe i can get a job on fox or msnbc?

on edit, both cable channels tend to tiptoe around the salient facts, to sell ratings to their strawberry/raspberry followers.

[Initech]

6. How do they even know what Noah's Ark looks like?

[social_critic]

7. it's in the Bible, silly

We just need to work out a few kinks. I'm working on the catapult to launch the kangaroos back to Australia. My buddy Jim has the insects - we got to have a set of compartments for all sorts of bugs, and the way to feed them. But it's doable, if we just Read the bible over and over, I'm sure we'll figure it out.

What I can't figure out is, where will all that water go when it has to drain? Are we being tricked and we're gonna be floating around until we hit Everest?

[sarcasmo]

10. When do us Atheists get a government financed museum?

[LAGC]

14. What does Rand Paul think of this?

It would be interesting to see where he falls on this question...