Showing posts with label Yabba Dabba D'oh. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Yabba Dabba D'oh. Show all posts

Thursday, July 7, 2016

Last Call For Cadillacs And Dinosaurs

After years of legal wrangling and tens of millions in tax breaks, Kentucky's status as anti-science embarassment full of slack-jawed yokels enters a new phase with the grand opening of Ark Encounter in nearby Grant County.

A 510-foot-long, $100 million Noah's ark attraction built by Christians who say the biblical story really happened has opened in Kentucky.

People lined up as much as an hour before the Ark Encounter opened near Williamstown at 9 a.m. 
Since its announcement in 2010, the ark project has rankled opponents who say the attraction will be detrimental to science education and shouldn't have won state tax incentives. 
"I believe this is going to be one of the greatest Christian outreaches of this era in history," said Ken Ham, president of Answers in Genesis, the ministry that built the ark. 
Ham said the massive ark, based on the tale of a man who got an end-of-the-world warning from God about a massive flood, stands as proof that the stories of the Bible are true. The group invited media and thousands of supporters for a preview Tuesday, the first glimpse inside the giant, mostly wood structure. 
"People are going to come from all over the world," Ham said to thousands of people in front of the ark during a Tuesday preview. 
Ham's group has estimated it will draw 2 million visitors in its first year, putting it on par with some of the big-ticket attractions in nearby Cincinnati.

I'm thinking Ham is overestimating that number by an order of magnitude or so, which means this place is probably going to go belly up before too long.  Frankly, I hope the drainage at the park is so bad the place floods and the ark sinks, but I'm nowhere near that lucky.

Still, it'll bring a couple hundred jobs (for good Christians only, mind you) in Grant County, which does badly need them.  Sure, those jobs are coming at a cost of a quarter-million in tax breaks each, but what would I know about math, I live in Kentucky, right?

Bevinstan needs some attractions to pull the rubes in.  We can't be the nation's laughing stock 100% due solely to Matt Bevin, after all.

Thursday, January 28, 2016

The Yabba Dabba D'ough

Looks like the Commonwealth lost its lawsuit to the Ark Park, and we Kentuckians get to fork over millions to a place where man rides dinosaurs and the earth is 6,000 years old.

The state of Kentucky must give millions of dollars in tax subsidies to a Noah’s Ark theme park owned by a creationist ministry, even though that ministry refuses to comply with the state’s request not to engage in hiring discrimination, according to an opinion by a George W. Bush appointee to the federal bench. Under Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove’s opinion, the creationist group Answers in Genesis (AiG) stands to gain up to $18 million.

That's roughly $4 a person, so even if you refuse to visit, hey, you bought a ticket. But on appeal this may not hold.

Judge Van Tatenhove’s decision in favor of AiG is on much shakier ground, however, when he claims that AiG is entitled to the subsidy even if it wants to engage in employment discrimination. He roots this decision largely in a non-sequitur about what AiG’s obligations would be if they were sued by an employee alleging discrimination. As the judge notes, federal law exempts “a religious corporation, association, educational institution, or society” from the federal ban on employment discrimination “with respect to the employment of individuals of a particular religion to perform work connected with the carrying on by such corporation, association, educational institution, or society of its activities.” Thus, a religious group like AiG typically has the right to hire only members of a particular faith without having to face a federal lawsuit. 
But the fact that federal law provides a particular exemption does not necessarily mean that Kentucky must also offer the same exemption. And it certainly does not mean that Kentucky must also provide tax subsidies to groups that engage in discrimination. In Bob Jones University v. United States, the Supreme Court rejected a school’s claim that it was entitled to federal tax subsidies, despite the fact that the government had denied such subsidies because the school prohibited interracial dating. More recently, in Christian Legal Society v. Martinez, the Court held that a student group that banned “unrepentant homosexual conduct” could be denied valuable benefits under a public law school’s anti-discrimination policies. As Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg explained in her majority opinion, “our decisions have distinguished between policies that require action and those that withhold benefits.”
Judge Van Tatenhove’s opinion, in other words, rests on the extraordinary proposition that the state of Kentucky is required to subsidize discrimination. That is not what the Constitution provides.

Question is will Matt Bevin and AG Andy Beshear appeal the ruling?  I can certainly see Beshear doing it, as his father is the one who challenged Answers in Genesis in the first place.  But Bevin can order him not to, and then things get tricky.

We'll see.

Monday, January 18, 2016

Welcome To Jurassic Pork

A new year and a new administration in Frankfort means it's time to check in with Ken Ham and the Yabba Dabba D'oh. The new Noah's Ark Encounter that's being built off tens of millions of taxpayer dollars and will finally open this July as Newsweek's Lindsey Tucker takes a look.

Despite many competitive advantages, including buying a 99-acre parcel of land from the city for a mere dollar, the $101 million project has been plagued for five years by setbacks that include a lack of public support, unfruitful fundraising efforts and a bitter lawsuit over $18 million in tax incentives that the state withheld due to church-state separation concerns. But none of this has discouraged Ham, who says his ark could draw as many as 2 million visitors in its first year, although such projections are highly disputed.

Last month, I flew to Kentucky to meet Ham and tour the ark site and AiG’s design studio. The ark—which is still being built at the end of a very long, carefully guarded dirt road with a sign marked “Danger… Keep out”—is hidden from public scrutiny, and for good reason. In order to incentivize building there, Williamstown declared the ark site and the surrounding 1.25 miles a tax increment financing (TIF) district, which is a fancy way of saying that over the next 30 years, 75 percent of sales and real estate taxes generated within the area will go back to fund Ark Encounter. There’s also an employment tax for workers in the district, but more on that shortly.

Ham didn’t stand up when an assistant shuffled me into his office one Friday afternoon. He has railed against the media time and time again for, he says, falsely claiming that taxpayer money is going toward building the ark. When he speaks, he does so slowly, his words even and calculated. “No Kentucky taxpayer money is going to build the Ark Encounter,” he tells me. Several times.

Ham is telling the truth, but it’s a literal interpretation of the truth. The money used to build Ark Encounter came from donations of almost $30 million, plus $62 million in high-risk, unrated municipal bonds backed by the project’s future revenues. If Ark Encounter never makes significant profits (and bond documents warn that it may not), neither the city nor AiG is on the hook for the bond money. However, according to Mike Zovath, chief actions officer for AiG and Ark Encounter, the millions in tax dollars that will be rebated through the formation of the aforementioned TIF district could go toward repaying the bonds and funding future attractions. What neither of them mentioned in conversations with me or in their many blog posts on the subject is that, as part of the TIF agreement, employees working within the TIF district will be subject to a 2 percent employment tax on gross wages for the next 30 years. In other words, $2 out of every $100 earned by people working at or around the park will go directly to paying off the attraction. So while tax dollars might not actually have been used to build the ark, a boatload that would otherwise go back into the community will instead be used to pay off Ark Encounter’s debt.

Nice scam if you can get it, huh?  Workers, many of whom will be making minimum wage, are the ones who will be taxed to pay off the park's debt for the next 30 years.  But let's not lose sight of the true function of the park:

There’s more than just public money at stake. Other Ark Encounter attractions will reportedly include a petting zoo, a first-century village and so-called teaching exhibits with titles like “Flood Geology” (how the separation of continents and marine fossils found on mountaintops “are a direct result of the flood” ) and “The Ice Age” (AiG insists there was only one). Famed scientist and educator Bill Nye, who came under fire from some scientists in 2014 for dueling with Ham in a televised evolution vs. creationism debate, warns that using commonwealth dollars to suppress science is bad for the whole country. “Raising a generation of young people who are confused about the natural history of the Earth is not in our best interest,” he says. “This project is going to slow the response of voters in the Commonwealth to climate change and it’s going to hold us all back.” Given the way AiG rejects scientific evidence, he thinks it might not be so bad if the ark park goes the way of the Titanic.

Now, should the ark park, well, sink during the Bevin years, how much will ol' MIT grad Matt put into saving the place?  I think we'll find out before too long.

Friday, December 12, 2014

Ark-itechcts Of Their Own Disaster

Joe Sonka gives us some good news:  Dinosaur Steve's Ark Park here in Kentucky will not be getting taxpayer money after all.

Kentucky’s Tourism Arts & Heritage Cabinet Secretary Bob Stewart informed representatives of the proposed Ark Encounter tourist attraction today that their project will not be eligible for up to $18 million in tax incentives from the state, due to their refusal to pledge not to discriminate in hiring based on religion
“As you know, since the filing of the original incentive application in 2010, we have strongly supported this project, believing it to be a tourism attraction based on biblical themes that would create significant jobs for the community,” wrote Stewart in a letter to Ark Encounter’s attorney. “However, based on various postings on the Answers in Genesis (AIG) and Ark Encounter websites, reports from Ark Encounter investor meetings and our correspondence, it is readily apparent that the project has evolved from a tourism attraction to an extension of AIG’s ministry that will no longer permit the Commonwealth to grant the project tourism development incentives.” 
Stewart explains that their application will not go forward because the state will not grant incentives to a company that openly intends to discriminate in hiring based on religion, saying it is a violation of the state constitution for these incentives to be used to advance religion. He detailed how Ark Encounter representatives had previously promised not to discriminate in hiring several times, but recently they have stated they have every right to do so, saying, “The Commonwealth’s position hasn’t changed. The applicant’s position has changed.” 
Stewart cited AiG CEO Ken Ham’s Nov. 19 fundraising letter that accused the Beshear administration of religious persecution and reaffirmed their desire to discriminate in hiring based on religion. He also cited other statements throughout the year from AiG officials claiming the purpose of the park is to evangelize and indoctrinate its visitors. 
“Certainly, Ark Encounter has every right to change the nature of the project from a tourism attraction to a ministry,” wrote Stewart. “However, state tourism tax incentives cannot be used to fund religious indoctrination or otherwise be used to advance religion. The use of state incentives in this way violates the Separation of Church and State provisions of the Constitution and is therefore impermissible.” 
Stewart went on to wish the Ark Encounter project well, despite the fact that it will receive no money or incentives from the state.

Good.  I've been saying the Yabba Dabba D'oh here should never have gotten a dime, and it looks like finally that Ken Ham will have to fork over his own cash.  I'm not paying for a Christian indoctrination theme park with my tax dollars, especially when "Christian" here has nothing to do with the teachings of Christ and everything to do with being a complete bigoted asshole to everyone.

Good riddance, and I hope the whole thing burns.

Saturday, December 24, 2011

Ark Of The Covered Up

As Joe Sonka points out over at Fat Lip this week, the Yabba Dabba D'oh is running into some serious financial trouble and hasn'teven broken ground yet.  And it may not any time soon.

As we mentioned a month ago, there’s quite a bit of speculation about why Ken Ham and Answers in Genesis haven’t even begun the groundbreaking for their giant boat with dinosaurs on it (otherwise know as Ark Encounter) in Grant County. Even though they have successfully lobbied their way into tax incentives from the Beshear administration and Grant County officials, they appear to have hit a snag of late.

Their groundbreaking was pushed back from spring, to summer, to fall, and the most recent media report was to next spring. Meanwhile, their fundraising goal of $24.5 million appears to have ground to a halt at just over $4 million, where it has been for quite a while. They had reached the $3 million mark all the way back in May.

Nobody seems to know nothin' publicly.  Privately however...

On Oct. 27, Todd Cassidy, the executive director of the tourism department’s office of financial incentives, sent an email to [company Senior VP Mike] Zovath with AiG asking for the status of Ark Encounter.

“It has been a while since we last spoke,” wrote Cassidy. “May I ask the status of the fund raising and any proposed ground breaking?”

Zovath’s reply the next day revealed not only problems delaying their groundbreaking, but also difficulties raising enough funds to build the giant dinosaur boat in question.

“Todd, we actually considered an official ground breaking earlier this month but too many complexities got in the way so we ended up putting it on hold until everything is worked out,” wrote Zovath. “Funding is progressing, a little slower due to the very slow economy.”

It looks like somebody's figured out the scam:  why does a multi-million dollar theme park, that charges ticket prices and everything need donations in the first place?

Ark Encounter's smelled like a scam since Day One, and Gov. Dinosaur Steve has backed Answers In Genesis and this entire idiotic project for years now.  At this rate it will never get off the ground, never be built, never sell a single ticket, and most importantly, never create a single job in Grant County.

And it's the people donating to the park who are clearly getting ripped off here, as well as the people of Grant County and other Kentucky taxpayers like myself.  If this keeps up, there's going to be a hell of a lawsuit for these idiots to deal with.

Merry Christmas, Bluegrass State.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Dinosaur Steve Versus The Axe Man

In three weeks here in Kentucky we'll choose a governor.  Democratic incumbent Steve Beshear is famous for giving tens of millions in tax breaks to the Ark Park, and he's the guy I'm voting for without hesitation.  It should tell you how bad his opponent, Republican David Williams, truly is.  Here's the Williams economic plan:  Axe the Tax.

Republican gubernatorial nominee David Williams wants to eliminate state personal and corporate income taxes as part of his plan to create and retain jobs in Kentucky.
Williams' plan, released Wednesday, also recommends several short-term tax suspensions designed to jump-start Kentucky's job market and several changes in the law, including allowing voters to decide whether their counties should have a right-to-work law, which would allow an employee to opt out of joining a union.
The plan also would allow voters to decide whether their local governments should have to pay the prevailing wage for public works projects.

Revenue problem?  Why, I have no idea what you're talking about.  Knocking out some $3.8 billion in yearly revenue (more than 10%) doesn't seem to bother the Axe Man much.  What will the state do in the meantime?

Williams did not explicitly say how he would make up for revenue if income taxes are eliminated, but his plan calls for a commission of economic and tax experts to come up with a new state and local tax structure that would receive an up-or-down vote in the legislature.

He has no clue.  When your entire economic plan is "eliminate the state income tax and wait until A Wild Jobs Appears and throw a Pokeball at it" it seems people aren't taking it very seriously at all around here as Williams has been forced to complain it's the media's fault why he's losing by 30 points.  The again, maybe it's because that "new state and local tax structure" will of course fall directly on working class families in the form of his new "consumption tax".

Williams would replace the state’s personal and corporate income taxes with a broader consumption tax of some sort. He says of this proposal, “If you tax consumption, people will make discerning choices about consumption and you will encourage productivity.”
Consumption taxes as a substitute for income taxes is backwards tax policy at its worst and is catastrophic for middle- and low- income families. In fact, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP)  found that the impact of a similar proposal in 2009 was disastrous:  the poorest 20 percent of Kentuckians would have seen their taxes rise by $136 on average, while the richest one percent would have received an average tax cut of $40,910.

But Williams has managed one thing, however:  he's made me want to get up early in three weeks and go vote for Dinosaur Steve.  Who said Kentucky Republicans can't accomplish things?

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Dinosaur Steve's Action Playland Gets My Tax Dollars

Kentucky doesn't quite have as huge a budget hole to fill as some other states, but it's the Democrats giving away massive tax breaks in my state to, I don't know, Bible theme parks, that kind of has me a little upset.

The city of Williamstown in Grant County has agreed to give a biblically themed amusement park a property tax discount of 75 percent over the next 30 years.

Mayor Rick Skinner said the offer is laid out in a memorandum of agreement that will be followed by a formal tax-increment financing deal with Petersburg-based Ark Encounters LLC in coming months.

The tax deal is in addition to almost $200,000 given to the company by Grant County's economic development arm as an enticement to keep the project located there, along with 100 acres of reduced-price land.

And that's not counting the state's promise of $40 million worth of sales tax rebates and a possible $11 million in improvements to the interstate near the project that would be financed by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet.

Officials say the theme park, which will feature a full-size replica of Noah's Ark, is generally supported in Grant County, but the array of state and local incentives worry some people, who aren't sure they will pay off in the end.

City Council member and former mayor Glenn Caldwell said he's still evaluating the numbers.
"I'm trying to be cautious in representing our city," he said, "making sure people will not be burdened with additional costs because of this project."

The property tax agreement means the Ark Encounter would pay 25 percent of the taxes due on 800 acres of property that is eventually expected to be worth $150 million. Most local property taxes are used to finance Williamstown Independent Schools.

And when Williamstown schools come up short next time, I'm sure Republicans there will be screaming to cut teachers instead of maybe charging the Ark Park guys what their property really is worth.

Can't wait until that happens.

Monday, June 20, 2011

The Jack Attack Is Back

Joe Sonka notes that Jack Conway's bid for reelection to the post of state Attorney General is finally showing signs of life.

Amanda Van Benschoten reports this morning that Conway has easily doubled his fundraising totals since the last report just before the primary, passing $400,000 and almost catching up to P'Pool. If Conway can match his fundraising, it will still be a close race, but he should have the edge. Especially if the Williams campaign continues to look like a giant drag on the rest of the GOP slate down ticket. He's also hired an actual campaign manager, Melissa Wideman, who'll be starting full-time in July, is competent, and isn't you know who. Factor in the happy happy cn|2 poll from earlier this month and things don't look nearly as bleak for Conway, who had been taking on the look of a burnt out and unenthusiastic zombie candidate. (also, it's pronounced 'pee pool', and I believe is French)

And yes, his GOP opponent is named P'Pool.  I have no idea if that's Klingon or what.

The notion that local Republicans are a giant anchor in the 2011 state races in Kentucky is very interesting.  Then again, in 2007, scandal cost the Republicans the Governor's mansion when Ernie Fletcher ran afoul of hiring laws and that was a drag on all the other races for the GOP.

We'll see if Williams is equally as toxic.  Judging by the numbers, it seems to be that Dinosaur Steve is sufficiently Republican enough to win anyway.

Saturday, May 21, 2011

And Speaking Of World-Ending Stupidity...

Here in the NKY, state tourism officials have voted unanimously to give my state tax dollars to the Yabba Dabba D'oh.

Plans for the construction of a "creationist theme park" in Kentucky are moving right along, with the state's tourism board on Thursday granting the project $43.1 million in tax incentives.

The theme park -- dubbed Ark Encounter -- is backed by both Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear (D) and Answers is Genesis, a Christian organization that also built a similar attraction, the Creation Museum.

"This was the last real hurdle for us as far as I'm concerned," Mike Zovath, co-founder of Answers in Genesis, told the Associated Press.

The tax incentives could subsidize up to 25 percent of the project. As part of the incentives, the state would return the sales tax on costs such as food, admission and gift sales. In order to qualify for tax incentives, the park must meet certain attendance requirements. 

That's great.  The problem is we're giving tax dollars to giant boats and dinosaurs when actual humans in the state are suffering through yet another round of education and social service cuts.

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.”

And while developers say the economic benefits of the Ark park will make up for the cost of the tax breaks — pointing to Kentucky’s recently opened Creation Museumnot all are convinced. Indeed, after lengthy consideration, Tennessee declined to give tax breaks to a similar proposed project, Bible Park USA, concerned that it was not a sound investment of taxpayer dollars. 

Kentucky:  we can afford to invest in giant boats, but not education.  And these are the state's Democrats behind this project, like Gov. Dinosaur Steve.

Christ, indeed.  Joe Sonka, as always, has much more on this idiocy.

Monday, February 21, 2011

Dinner With Schmucks

I'm not really sure what's more frightening, the Creation Museum itself, the idea of date night at the Creation Museum, or the idea of the Creation Museum rejecting a same-sex couple at date night.  But Barefoot and Progressive's Joe Sonka hit one out of the park with this one.

A Date Night event at the Creation Museum in Petersburg was disrupted when a same-sex couple was denied entry.

While accounts differ, what is clear is that a man who planned to enter the Feb. 11 event with a male friend was told the two would not be allowed to enter. Additionally, they did not receive a refund of the $71.90 cost for the two tickets they had purchased online.

"On the website, there was no mention of sexual orientation," said Jonathan Meador, who was involved in the situation.

Mark Looy, chief communications officer for the Creation Museum, said it was clear from the promotional material that the event was for heterosexual couples only.

The event included dinner, a talk from museum founder Ken Ham about love and the Biblical view of marriage and musical performances.

"The message was one of Christian marriage, which the Bible teaches is between a man and a woman," Looy said.

Meador attended the event with a female guest and a third man, who told security guards he was waiting for his date.

By Meador's account, when the male friend informed security personnel that the friend was also male they were told they would not be allowed to enter.

Meador and his date were allowed in.

And then it got nuts from there.  The museum is saying one thing,  Joe Sonka is saying another, and if anything the CM guys got punked.  Hard.  I laughed for a good five minutes.

Date Night at the Creation Museum.  I can hardly breathe.

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Tax Break Raiders Of The Lost Ark, Part 4

The massive scam that is Ark Encounter isn't going unnoticed.  Joe Sonka is all over this one at Barefoot And Progressive.  The depressing tragicomedy that is the Yabba Dabba D'oh continues.  Now park builder Ken Ham says 200 million people would come to see the Ark Encounter in Kentucky.

“A lot of left-wing media and bloggers have reacted very negatively, writing a lot of false information. They only represent a minority of the people in this nation. The majority of people in this area and across the nation are supportive. The statistics show about 200 million people would want to come if the ark were rebuilt. Locally, the majority of people are really thrilled because it’s family-friendly and it would bring hundreds of jobs to the region,” said Ham.

“There is a growing anti-Christian element in this nation,” Ham added. “This has opened people’s eyes about how anti-Christian these people and some in the media have become.”

Yeah, 2/3rds of the entire country would come to see it.   That's all contained in the park's feasibility study, commissioned by Ken Ham's business partner...and oh, Governor Steve Beshear's office has never seen it.

When Gov. Steve Beshear held a Capitol news conference to announce potential state tax incentives for an amusement park built around a life-size Noah's Ark earlier this month, he cited a feasibility study that predicted the park would attract 1.6 million visitors in its first year.

However, neither Beshear nor other state officials had seen or read the study, which was commissioned by Ark Encounter, LLC, the group building the theme park.

The state doesn't have a copy of the report, according to responses to requests under the Open Records Act sent by the Herald-Leader to the state tourism and economic development departments and to the governor's office.

Officials with Ark Encounter also declined to give the Herald-Leader a copy of the 10,000-page report, including its 200-page executive summary.

To recap:

Ken Ham and his Ark Encounter guys are putting dinosaurs on their little replica Ark in Grant County, they have a 10,000 page report saying 200 million people will come to see it, nobody's actually seen the report, and the state has just unanimously given the preliminary green light for the $37.5 million in tax breaks based on attendance from the feasibility report...a report nobody in the state government has actually read or even seen.

Do you see why as a Kentucky taxpayer I just might have a bit of a problem with this deal here?

If it turns out the feasibility report is complete bull, the Ark Encounter guys lose their tax break.  The report hasn't been seen yet.  The Arts Cabinet voted unanimously to give them the tax break anyway...and none of them saw the report.

Gov. Steve Beshear, you have a massive, massive problem here.  And when the Yabba Dabba D'oh blows up in your face, don't act surprised.

Friday, December 17, 2010

Tax Break Raiders Of The Lost Ark, Part 3

If you're near Grant County, Kentucky and want a job, the Yabba Dabba D'oh is looking for you...

...if you're a Christian, that is.  Others need not apply.  PZ Myers:

There is some faint concern from the Kentucky governor that the Ark theme park will discriminate in hiring — I doubt that it will become a major sticking point. But still, it's true, they will be selective in their hiring based on religious belief. They say that isn't true, but one thing we know about creationists is that they lie.
"There will be positions that will require Bible knowledge because...we have certain things in there that are requiring biblical knowledge," he explains. "That doesn't mean, though, if you don't have that you can't work over in the restaurant or some other part of the facility."
Oh. Since atheists tend to know more about religion and the Bible than Christians, can we expect a larger proportion of them to show up in those jobs requiring biblical knowledge? No. Because they have a requirement that people sign a testimonial of their faith, which means they're actually going to discriminate on the basis of whether you agree with them or not.

Liars. Like I said.


OK, so you can apply to flip burgers, but you have to sign a document saying you're a believer.  And my tax money is going for this.

We deserve being a national joke, frankly.

Thursday, December 16, 2010

A Scam As Old As Time

Which, if you ask the Ark Encounter people, is 6,000 years.  Via Yellow Dog, Joe Sonka crunches the numbers on just how many visitors the Yabba Dabba D'oh park is going to get (and its expected tax revenue base as a result).  Turns out not only does the Yabba Dabba D'oh feasibility study stink like a load of T-Rex dung (it was performed by the park owner's business partner!), but the estimate they came up with (1.6 million people per year, 80% from outside Kentucky) is also total dino poop compared to other attractions in the area.

But speaking of "feasible numbers", let's take a look at other parks in the area, and whether ARG's estimates seem feasible.

The Creation Museum averages over 300,000 visitors per year. And this is an all year round attraction, as the exhibits are inside no matter what the weather, unlike Ark Encounter. In fact, the major differences between the two are:

1) Ark Encounter is an outdoor attraction, meaning that this will be a mostly seasonal attraction
2) Ark Encounter has a giant boat, whereas the Museum has animatronic dinosaurs. I wonder which one kids will like more.
3) The Creation Museum is right next to 2,000,000 people. Ark Encounter is in the middle of nowhere.

Yet "ARG" expects us to believe that Ark Encounter will get 6-7 times the visitors that the Creation Museum gets. Interesting.

OK, how about King's Island? King's Island, which is nearing it's 40 year anniversary, had 3 million visitors in 2009. King's Island, of course, has about a million rides and a water park for kids to go nuts in. And despite the fact that Ark Encounter has no rides (just a giant boat), ARG expects people to believe that it will receive over half the annual attendance of King's Island in it's first year, and then 2/3 of its attendance in the following years.

Does this even pass the smell test?

How about the Cincinnati Zoo? In 2008, this zoo in the heart of a city of 2,000,000 people had 982,043 attendees. Yet ARG expects us to believe that Ark Encounter in Grant County will double the zoo's attendance in it's second year.

Have Steve Beshear's people really seen these numbers?

How about Kentucky Kingdom in Louisville? Before rides starting chopping little kids' legs off recently, in 2005 it had 850,000 visitors. So a park with tons of rides and water park in the middle of a metropolitan area of over 1,000,000 people had 850,000 attendees a year, but ARG expects a park with a giant boat to have twice that amount in it's first year.

If you believe that the Yabba Dabba D'oh is going to attract that many visitors, I have a six thousand year old picture of cavemen riding dinosaurs to sell you too.  My tax money is paying for this?  Really?  For a big boat, a petting zoo, and a soul-crushing miasma of science-killing ignorance?

Keep up the good work on this, Joe.

New tag for this national friggin' embarassment:  Yabba Dabba D'oh.
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