I came across this ridiculous report at Alternet and, of course I had to post it.
It's one of those things too stupid to really be true, but is and is another reflection and measurement of how far this country has sunk into Teh Stoopid:
A group of private investors and religious organizations is hoping to build a Bible-themed amusement park in Kentucky, complete with a full-size 500-foot-by-75-foot reproduction of Noah’s Ark, a Tower of Babel, and other biblical exhibits on a 800-acre campus outside of Williamstown, KY. Their effort got a shot in the arm yesterday when the state approved $43 million in tax breaks for the project. In addition to the tax incentives, approved unanimously by the state’s tourism board, taxpayers may have to pony up another $11 million to improve a highway interchange near the site.
Life is too short to waste talking about creationsim, so I am going to "morans" immediately.
More over the curly thing
Beyond constitutional issues, the tax breaks for an amusement park come at a time when state leaders are asking residents to sacrifice as they cut important social programs. “The state has gone through eight rounds of budget cuts over the past three years,” including cuts to “education at all levels” and a pay freeze for all teachers and state workers. Meanwhile, the state cut funding for Medicaid by shifting enrollees to managed care plans, which often make it more difficult for enrollees to access care while increasing administrative costs by up to 20 percent by adding a new “layer of bureaucracy between the Medicaid Department and providers.”
There's your Christian values in action: gut services for the poor and needy to give tens of millions to wingnut religious organizations and other professional shysters. It's ugly and its insane.
But it does get worse - and here's why I decided to post it:
Gov. Steve Beshear (D) has been a strong proponent of the $150 million project, even holding a press conference at the Capitol yesterday to tout the state’s involvement. Saying there’s nothing “remotely unconstitutional” about taxpayers incentivizing the Ark park, Beshear said, “The people of Kentucky didn’t elect me governor to debate religion. They elected me governor to create jobs.” Daniel Phelps, a geologist and president of the Kentucky Paleontological Society, called the governor’s support of the proposal “embarrassing for the state.”
The Head Moran here is A DEMOCRAT!
A DEMOCRAT - clearly has to be a Blue Dog given the backwardsness of the subject matter - is supporting, aiding, and abetting this cockamamie project!
Not acceptable, but a little search tells me I shouldn't be surprised
FRANKFORT — The Democratic re-election campaign of Gov. Steve Beshear rolled out the names of 70 Republicans on Friday who endorse him and said more names will be forthcoming.
Some of the local fingerwaggers will saunter by to tell us we need to be happy for this genius, I can just feel it, but with Dems like this, the GOP can spend more time abusing the poor slaves they keep in the Marianas Islands.
Democrats have to be the party of education, science, and reality and any time spent at all talking about creationism is time wasted. Democrats cannot be sucking up to this ftothy margin of unhinged, poorly-educated delusional material.
Perhaps Gov Beshear can cut some more social services and fund a Bigfoot Research Project, or maybe hire Harold Camping as a consultant on the Future.
[UPDATE]: Hill Jill below feels I am dogging the good Democratic Governor of Kentucky a bit too hard just because he is gutting social services for the poor to pay for a delusional theme park, and she offers some of his accomplishments. Check out her rebuttal and YOU decide.
[UPDATE] II Got a tweet from a non-kossack who sends me this
Indiana and Ohio decided not to embarrass themselves like Kentucky
The New York Times wrote about Kentucky's Flintstone Truther Park today. Here's the paragraph that jumps out:
(Ark Encounter's Cary Summers) said they had been offering the proposal quietly for two years, and also showed it to officials in Ohio and Indiana. But Kentucky was by far the most receptive and offered the most generous financial incentives, he said, because it sees tourism as a promising means of economic development.
So even Indiana's Republican Governor Mitch Daniels said no to giving these grifters their tax tax dollars. ("Truce" in the Culture War, Mitch?)
According to one comment there, even Tennessee turned down this economic dynamo.
I was wrong; Bashear is clearly a job-creating genius. I stand corrected.