How Ark Park is taking everyone for a ride

Can I take lessons Mr Ham?

There's a history of this sort of thing. About 30 years ago, someone was trying to build a Christian theme park/resort/timeshare development in a rural area up the Ottawa valley. As I recall, it was way oversold (much of that through area churches), a lot of people lost the money they'd put in, and some of the promoters almost got arrested. The nucleus of the project survived as a Christian holiday camp: http://logoslandresort.com/faq/#history
There is a Noah's Ark replica facing the highway.

So building the ark is "non profit". Sure it is. You can't make any money just by building something. It's educational. Sure it is. You are going to use it to educate kids about how to ignore and distort science in order to maintain their untenable religous preconceptions. Now that's real education you betcha.

It is obvious that corrupt government officials who are either religiously motivated or have just outright been bought off are already involved in this fiasco. It is also obvious that Kenny is never going to get enough money donated to build this monstrosity. So it is either swindle the government and trick them into paying for it, or go bust and admit that god was not in on his side ion the first place.

And who needs 91 million dollars to build an ark that will never float? You could build an entire zoo for that amount of money. Hell you could build an entire university for price. Why not build something useful, or at least honest with all that hard stolen money? Why use it to perpetuate a blatantly transparent lie? If you really wanted to brainwash people with your made up crap, advertising would be a much more efficient way to go. For this amount of money you could run ads all day long on every channel, radio and TV.

Of course if Kenny did let the project fail, it would become glaringly obvious that someone with the resources of the entire fundamentalist population and all of the modern equipment required couldn't even build an ark that would't hold any animals and could never float anyway. What better proof could you want that this would be impossible for one family with stone age tools to accomplish? Way to go Kenny.

So let me get this straight. Kenny has swindled millions of tax payers into paying for his for-profit religious theme park, even if they don't share his religious beliefs. THen he is planning on charging them parking and admission if they should be so bold as to want to see what their money paid for. And he will no doubt expel them if they show the slightest negative response or offer any criticism. And he has done all this in the name of a god who has promised that if he just prays hard enough the ark would magically appear, fully formed and ready to sail! Way to go Kenny.

What is preventing them with modern tools and resoures from building a real, seagoing ark like they belive the Noah family built with stone age tools, to put a stop to all criticism?

That should be very easy with todays resources. I'd love to see it on the oceans.

Maybe that's why they are not getting enough donations. If it were going to carry two of every kind of animal and be sea worthy, I'm sure the faithful would cough up any amount necessary. As it is, not so much. Anyway, they already have the museum. Why not use the profits from that to build the magic ark? I wonder, did Kenny pull the same crap with the funding for that fiasco as well? If he already got away with it once, that might explain why he thinks he can get away with it again.

There is something creepy about building a celebration of the largest mass disaster ever related. Who could imagine spending a fun holliday at it? Are they going to feature a diorama of drownings?

As far as it not attempting to duplicate the Ark - and what is there to the Ark if it doesn't float or carry large numbers of animals - there are good reasons why they wouldn't. But that raises the question of how can one think for a moment that their failure to attempt it is somehow supposed to demonstrate its plausibility.

But there is somethng about creationism whereby shooting oneself in the foot is counted as a victory.

An alert reader tells us that the Ark will open on July 7 and remain open for 40 days and 40 nights. Cute.

Will they bring out Jack Chick to christen it?

Wouldn't it be ironic if there was a flood and the ark park was destroyed?

DS said: Wouldn't it be ironic if there was a flood and the ark park was destroyed?

Unlike Noah’s handcrafted bateau, Ark Encounter will not hold livestock. Regarding the question of how Noah would have managed to fit two of all the world’s animals into his ark, Jeanson said it was a misconception that all the animals of today were stuffed into the ship’s hull. Instead, according to young earth creationists, it was the ancestors of modern-day species that were taken by Noah, and the animals we know today descended from those: for example pigs and horses came from one male and one female bovid herded on to the ark.

I have this mental image of a charity collecting box in the shape of a boat, with a coin slot in the roof.....

Michael Fugate said: In an article about the Park in the Guardian, Harvard PhD Nathaniel Jeanson (2009 "Metabolic regulation of hematopoietic stem cells") claims, “A global flood would have dramatically affected geological processes worldwide” leading to an earth that is 6000 years old, but appears 4.5 billion years old. Although not written as direct quotes, he also opines.....

Unlike Noah’s handcrafted bateau, Ark Encounter will not hold livestock. Regarding the question of how Noah would have managed to fit two of all the world’s animals into his ark, Jeanson said it was a misconception that all the animals of today were stuffed into the ship’s hull. Instead, according to young earth creationists, it was the ancestors of modern-day species that were taken by Noah, and the animals we know today descended from those: for example pigs and horses came from one male and one female bovid herded on to the ark.

Can Harvard rescind a degree for inanity?

[F]or example pigs and horses came from one male and one female bovid herded on to the ark.

It's too bad they didn't keep better records on the ark. What was this amazing pig/horse ancestor called? Was it a porse? Was it a horig? What did it eat? How many toes did it have" One? Two? Three? Man we would have really been able to make mush faster progress in determining the phylogenetic relationships if they had only kept better records on the ark.

Given that creationism is apologetics without a whiff of science, it is perfectly acceptable to provide completely contradictory answers depending whose should needs saving.

Michael Fugate said: In an article about the Park in the Guardian, Harvard PhD Nathaniel Jeanson (2009 "Metabolic regulation of hematopoietic stem cells") claims, “A global flood would have dramatically affected geological processes worldwide” leading to an earth that is 6000 years old, but appears 4.5 billion years old. Although not written as direct quotes, he also opines.....

Unlike Noah’s handcrafted bateau, Ark Encounter will not hold livestock. Regarding the question of how Noah would have managed to fit two of all the world’s animals into his ark, Jeanson said it was a misconception that all the animals of today were stuffed into the ship’s hull. Instead, according to young earth creationists, it was the ancestors of modern-day species that were taken by Noah, and the animals we know today descended from those: for example pigs and horses came from one male and one female bovid herded on to the ark.

Can Harvard rescind a degree for inanity?

DS said: It is obvious that corrupt government officials who are either religiously motivated or have just outright been bought off are already involved in this fiasco.

I would not want to whip a dead horse, but if horses, cows, and pigs shared a common bovid ancestor, was it a ruminant, or did cows simply evolve that ability? If so, why? But creationists never ruminate on questions such as those.

quentin-long said:

DS said: It is obvious that corrupt government officials who are either religiously motivated or have just outright been bought off are already involved in this fiasco.

Hmm. The way your sentence is structured, it appears to read as if you think the word "corrupt" is equally applicable to both Them What's In On The Scam and sincere religious believers. Granted, a Venn diagram of those two groups would display a non-trivial degree of overlap, but surely there's an equally non-trivial percentage of Bible-believing Gov't officials who would gladly support the Ark Encounter out of gullibility rather than venality or whatever other form of corruption?

But the election of a Republican governor who will take office in 2016 could render the lawsuit moot. Gov.-elect Matt Bevin could drop the court defense and move to place the ark's application back in the tax rebate program. Bevin has said he supports tax rebates for the project.

Rolf said: What is preventing them with modern tools and resoures from building a real, seagoing ark like they belive the Noah family built with stone age tools, to put a stop to all criticism?

Matt Young said: An alert reader tells us that the Ark will open on July 7 and remain open for 40 days and 40 nights. Cute.

Matt Young said: I would not want to whip a dead horse, but if horses, cows, and pigs shared a common bovid ancestor, was it a ruminant, or did cows simply evolve that ability? If so, why? But creationists never ruminate on questions such as those.

Matt Young said: But creationists never ruminate on questions such as those.

Matt Young said: I would not want to whip a dead horse, but if horses, cows, and pigs shared a common bovid ancestor, was it a ruminant, or did cows simply evolve that ability? If so, why? But creationists never ruminate on questions such as those.

stevaroni said: If horses, cows and pigs share a common ancestor, as recently as post-flood Biblical times, the original Jews wold have known this, since they would still be dealing with various half-and-half animals within living memory. So how is that cows are clean while pigs are unclean?

DS said: So let me get this straight. Kenny has swindled millions of tax payers into paying for his for-profit religious theme park...

Just Bob said:

stevaroni said: If horses, cows and pigs share a common ancestor, as recently as post-flood Biblical times, the original Jews wold have known this, since they would still be dealing with various half-and-half animals within living memory. So how is that cows are clean while pigs are unclean?

It's that way because God says so. Shut up if unless you want to be stoned.

Matt Young said: Oh dear -- something else I got from a little bird. Not surprisingly,

But the election of a Republican governor who will take office in 2016 could render the lawsuit moot. Gov.-elect Matt Bevin could drop the court defense and move to place the ark's application back in the tax rebate program. Bevin has said he supports tax rebates for the project.

stevaroni said:

Matt Young said: I would not want to whip a dead horse, but if horses, cows, and pigs shared a common bovid ancestor, was it a ruminant, or did cows simply evolve that ability? If so, why? But creationists never ruminate on questions such as those.

If horses, cows and pigs share a common ancestor, as recently as post-flood Biblical times, the original Jews wold have known this, since they would still be dealing with various half-and-half animals within living memory. So how is that cows are clean while pigs are unclean?

Matt Young said: I would not want to whip a dead horse, but if horses, cows, and pigs shared a common bovid ancestor, was it a ruminant, or did cows simply evolve that ability? If so, why? But creationists never ruminate on questions such as those.

Re "Right. If there were no pigs or cows before the magic flood, only pows and cigs, how would they know which animals were clean and which were unclean?"

Wipe each of them with a damp cloth, and see which leaves more debris on the cloth?

stevaroni puts his finger on the sore point. There's no way that Williamstown can ever pay back the debt, although the lenders will certainly hand out the pain when it all goes belly-up. Which it will. Maybe it might break even the first year, but after that, forget it. Everyone who can be reached will be out of a job and in hock out the wazoo. But I'm betting that Ham and family will be miles away, in perfect safety and comfort.

Some con artists just have to be there, to watch when the sting goes in and the suckers realise that they've been had. The look on their little faces is what it's for. Some even come to believe the con themselves. I don't think Ken's in either group. I think that when the feces impacts the air impeller, he'll be far far away.

Maybe he might go back to Queensland, where the dopes still grow on trees, but the drawback is that the trees are further apart. It's not that our dopes are any brighter than your dopes, you understand, it's just that demographics dictate that there's fewer of them, just as we have fewer geniuses.

Me, I wonder whether Ken might have the further chutzpah to insulate himself further from the inevitable fallout. I wouldn't be surprised if during the first year of operation, while massaged figures might give the impression that this stone turkey is going to fly, Ken announces that he's "laying down his burden" and going on to other calls of the Lord. He will then act real surprised when it all comes to tears.

We'll see.

As G-d is his witness, he thought this turkey could fly?

Would you believe, float?

How about...

Fundamentalists believe that the dietary laws of Moses were laid down by Moses, that is to say, about 1200 BCE. The Flood, they believe, occurred about 2500 BCE. That leaves 1300 years for an ancestral bovid to evolve into both the bovine and the porcine kind. Both are mentioned separately in the dietary laws, and what's more the ancient Hebrews knew perfectly well that cattle were ruminants and pigs were not. That is actually specified in the text.

And during this... well, 'genetic explosion' is the only expression that comes to mind... nobody thought to mention that every generation of ancestral cattle and pigs was markedly different from the last.

I wonder when this amazing radiation ceased? And why? I suppose the reason is the usual one: God said so.

Dave Luckett said: Fundamentalists believe that the dietary laws of Moses were laid down by Moses, that is to say, about 1200 BCE. The Flood, they believe, occurred about 2500 BCE. That leaves 1300 years for an ancestral bovid to evolve into both the bovine and the porcine kind. Both are mentioned separately in the dietary laws, and what's more the ancient Hebrews knew perfectly well that cattle were ruminants and pigs were not. That is actually specified in the text. And during this... well, 'genetic explosion' is the only expression that comes to mind... nobody thought to mention that every generation of ancestral cattle and pigs was markedly different from the last. I wonder when this amazing radiation ceased? And why? I suppose the reason is the usual one: God said so.

stevaroni said:

DS said: So let me get this straight. Kenny has swindled millions of tax payers into paying for his for-profit religious theme park...

How is it that Williamstown was able to float a $62 million dollar bond in the first place? According to the 2010 census Williamstown has 3,925 people, 1,279 households. That's $48,000 in debt for each household. 62 million dollars is probably twenty years worth of municipal budget for a town this size. My dad lives in a similarly situated small town in the east that has been struggling for 5 years to find a two million dollar loan to replace their circa 1939 municipal building. How the f*** does a town this size get any reputable bank to lend that much money with them on the hook as a co-signer? Any bank with a loan officer with a pulse has to know that 1) Ark park will never turn a profit and 2) Williamston will never be able to make good on that kind of money. This isn't a religious litmus test for politicians or some gullible church investing its tithe. At some point there's a bank full of accountant that has to write a real check with lots of zeros on it and those accountants simply have to know that in the real world they can't get $48,000 out of each household in some tiny little Appalachian coal town, no matter what the fine print on the bond says. How is it that real adults with actual money are willing to lend any of it to these people?

harold said: The obvious, and almost certainly correct, assumption, is that either the Ark Park will generate tax free profits, or if it loses money, loans will be repaid by the taxpayer, or at least, no loss will ever be borne by the lender. First you can just f*** over Williamstown and garnishee every paycheck and local tax dollar until you break their back. If that doesn't do the trick, Republican and DINO politicians can simply come up with a bill that forces all Kentucky residents to make the payments. But you also may not care much. I have no evidence that this was done, but another thing you can do, is to exploit the sympathy of huge lenders for things like this. You could set up a corporation to loan money to the Ark Park, then go to Bank of Too Big to Fail for a loan to loan to the Corporation to Loan to Ark Park. The unlikely worst case scenario is that Corporation to Loan to Ark Park won't get money back from Ark Park, won't be able to repay Bank of Too Big to Fail, and will "go bankrupt". Corporation to Loan to Ark Park is just a pass-through entity; Bank of Too Big to Fail is the only entity that would actually lose any money (other than trivial fees to set up corporations and whatnot). And that isn't much of a risk for anyone but the taxpayer. Bank of Too Big to Fail makes a fortune charging unexpected fees to captive consumers, and will be "bailed out" by the general US population if they ever lose money at any rate. $62M is to them like 62 cents to you. They make the loan merely as a gesture of solidarity with the general idea of crony capitalism and forcing the public to bear private risk. They either get the money back if you can squeeze their payments from KY or US taxpayers, or they don't but don't care, or if they decide they do care the general US taxpayer can be forced to give them money (perhaps in the form of a "temporary tax break" or something) to make up for the loss.

stevaroni said:

DS said: So let me get this straight. Kenny has swindled millions of tax payers into paying for his for-profit religious theme park...

How is it that Williamstown was able to float a $62 million dollar bond in the first place? … At some point there's a bank full of accountant that has to write a real check with lots of zeros on it and those accountants simply have to know that in the real world they can't get $48,000 out of each household in some tiny little Appalachian coal town, no matter what the fine print on the bond says. How is it that real adults with actual money are willing to lend any of it to these people?

Both those groups are apt to make more noise than people who are simply minding their own business.

DS said: It's too bad they didn't keep better records on the ark. What was this amazing pig/horse ancestor called? Was it a porse? Was it a horig?

Alert Reader now informs us that Mr. Ham would prefer a Court ruling on the tax incentives to a reversal by the Governor-Elect.

It’s too bad they didn’t keep better records on the ark. What was this amazing pig/horse ancestor called? Was it a porse? Was it a horig?

Alert Reader is very alert indeed. He reports that Mr. Ham has posted an article concerning his faux Ark on the Fox News Website. The article is standard creationist nonsense, and a great many of the comments seemed to be highly critical.

Matt Young said: Alert Reader now informs us that Mr. Ham would prefer a Court ruling on the tax incentives to a reversal by the Governor-Elect.

“If the commonwealth can legally provide financial incentives to the project, Governor-elect Bevin would certainly support doing so,” Bevin spokeswoman Jessica Ditto said in a statement.

harold said:

Michael Fugate said: In an article about the Park in the Guardian, Harvard PhD Nathaniel Jeanson (2009 "Metabolic regulation of hematopoietic stem cells") claims, “A global flood would have dramatically affected geological processes worldwide” leading to an earth that is 6000 years old, but appears 4.5 billion years old. Although not written as direct quotes, he also opines.....

Unlike Noah’s handcrafted bateau, Ark Encounter will not hold livestock. Regarding the question of how Noah would have managed to fit two of all the world’s animals into his ark, Jeanson said it was a misconception that all the animals of today were stuffed into the ship’s hull. Instead, according to young earth creationists, it was the ancestors of modern-day species that were taken by Noah, and the animals we know today descended from those: for example pigs and horses came from one male and one female bovid herded on to the ark.

Can Harvard rescind a degree for inanity?

No, and Harvard seems to be a target for this admittedly rare type, the creationist who will force themselves through a "secular" PhD program just so that they can later use the degree to falsely imply expertise beyond its scope, or to lend credence to their blatant distortions of the field in which they received the PhD. It's a small sample overall, but Jonathon Wells, Jason Lisle, and this jerk are all alums of Harvard. I hypothesize that they target the "most prestigious" university. Then, when there, they keep to themselves and do PhD grunt work, rather mindlessly cranking out papers, more or less as glorified technicians, no offense to good lab techs intended, since they fail to gain any in depth understanding of the material. (Somewhat similarly, the main physicians I am aware of who publicly deny evolution are neurosurgeons Carson and Egnor. Neurosurgery is a wonderful field and pursuing it for any reason is good, but it does sometimes attract those who defensively seek out the "most prestigious possible" specialty as a defense mechanism. However, neurosurgeons have the huge advantage that, while it's absurd to deny the very science that makes neurosurgery possible while practicing it, you can still competently take out a brain tumor and get paid for doing it. Whereas the "I publicly deny all the science that my PhD rests on, the minute my PhD is granted" crowd must by necessity work for ICR or the DI.) The fundamental logical flaw inherent in this approach should be obvious. If "Harvard PhD" gives extra validity to a person's opinions, then of course, the consensus among science faculty and PhD graduates of Harvard should be what counts. By touting himself as a "Harvard PhD" to promote views opposite those taught at Harvard, he's literally saying that only three or so science PhD's in the history of Harvard count. After all, virtually none of the other people awarded a science PhD from Harvard in 2009 share his views. He's literally saying "In my case Harvard is so great that being a Harvard PhD validates my claims, but in everyone else's case, except my buddies Lisle and Wells, Harvard credentials mean nothing". Granted, this approach is very, very unusual. Overwhelmingly, the preferred creationist approach is to have no credentials, fake credentials from a diploma mill, or valid credentials but in a field completely unrelated to the false claims you are making about evolution.

harold said:

Michael Fugate said: In an article about the Park in the Guardian, Harvard PhD Nathaniel Jeanson (2009 "Metabolic regulation of hematopoietic stem cells") claims, “A global flood would have dramatically affected geological processes worldwide” leading to an earth that is 6000 years old, but appears 4.5 billion years old. Although not written as direct quotes, he also opines.....

Unlike Noah’s handcrafted bateau, Ark Encounter will not hold livestock. Regarding the question of how Noah would have managed to fit two of all the world’s animals into his ark, Jeanson said it was a misconception that all the animals of today were stuffed into the ship’s hull. Instead, according to young earth creationists, it was the ancestors of modern-day species that were taken by Noah, and the animals we know today descended from those: for example pigs and horses came from one male and one female bovid herded on to the ark.

Can Harvard rescind a degree for inanity?

No, and Harvard seems to be a target for this admittedly rare type, the creationist who will force themselves through a "secular" PhD program just so that they can later use the degree to falsely imply expertise beyond its scope, or to lend credence to their blatant distortions of the field in which they received the PhD. It's a small sample overall, but Jonathon Wells, Jason Lisle, and this jerk are all alums of Harvard. I hypothesize that they target the "most prestigious" university. Then, when there, they keep to themselves and do PhD grunt work, rather mindlessly cranking out papers, more or less as glorified technicians, no offense to good lab techs intended, since they fail to gain any in depth understanding of the material. (Somewhat similarly, the main physicians I am aware of who publicly deny evolution are neurosurgeons Carson and Egnor. Neurosurgery is a wonderful field and pursuing it for any reason is good, but it does sometimes attract those who defensively seek out the "most prestigious possible" specialty as a defense mechanism. However, neurosurgeons have the huge advantage that, while it's absurd to deny the very science that makes neurosurgery possible while practicing it, you can still competently take out a brain tumor and get paid for doing it. Whereas the "I publicly deny all the science that my PhD rests on, the minute my PhD is granted" crowd must by necessity work for ICR or the DI.) The fundamental logical flaw inherent in this approach should be obvious. If "Harvard PhD" gives extra validity to a person's opinions, then of course, the consensus among science faculty and PhD graduates of Harvard should be what counts. By touting himself as a "Harvard PhD" to promote views opposite those taught at Harvard, he's literally saying that only three or so science PhD's in the history of Harvard count. After all, virtually none of the other people awarded a science PhD from Harvard in 2009 share his views. He's literally saying "In my case Harvard is so great that being a Harvard PhD validates my claims, but in everyone else's case, except my buddies Lisle and Wells, Harvard credentials mean nothing". Granted, this approach is very, very unusual. Overwhelmingly, the preferred creationist approach is to have no credentials, fake credentials from a diploma mill, or valid credentials but in a field completely unrelated to the false claims you are making about evolution.

stevaroni said:

DS said: So let me get this straight. Kenny has swindled millions of tax payers into paying for his for-profit religious theme park...

How is it that Williamstown was able to float a $62 million dollar bond in the first place? According to the 2010 census Williamstown has 3,925 people, 1,279 households. That's $48,000 in debt for each household. 62 million dollars is probably twenty years worth of municipal budget for a town this size. My dad lives in a similarly situated small town in the east that has been struggling for 5 years to find a two million dollar loan to replace their circa 1939 municipal building. How the f*** does a town this size get any reputable bank to lend that much money with them on the hook as a co-signer? Any bank with a loan officer with a pulse has to know that 1) Ark park will never turn a profit and 2) Williamston will never be able to make good on that kind of money. This isn't a religious litmus test for politicians or some gullible church investing its tithe. At some point there's a bank full of accountant that has to write a real check with lots of zeros on it and those accountants simply have to know that in the real world they can't get $48,000 out of each household in some tiny little Appalachian coal town, no matter what the fine print on the bond says. How is it that real adults with actual money are willing to lend any of it to these people?

Steven Thompson said:

stevaroni said:

DS said: So let me get this straight. Kenny has swindled millions of tax payers into paying for his for-profit religious theme park...

How is it that Williamstown was able to float a $62 million dollar bond in the first place? According to the 2010 census Williamstown has 3,925 people, 1,279 households. That's $48,000 in debt for each household. 62 million dollars is probably twenty years worth of municipal budget for a town this size. My dad lives in a similarly situated small town in the east that has been struggling for 5 years to find a two million dollar loan to replace their circa 1939 municipal building. How the f*** does a town this size get any reputable bank to lend that much money with them on the hook as a co-signer? Any bank with a loan officer with a pulse has to know that 1) Ark park will never turn a profit and 2) Williamston will never be able to make good on that kind of money. This isn't a religious litmus test for politicians or some gullible church investing its tithe. At some point there's a bank full of accountant that has to write a real check with lots of zeros on it and those accountants simply have to know that in the real world they can't get $48,000 out of each household in some tiny little Appalachian coal town, no matter what the fine print on the bond says. How is it that real adults with actual money are willing to lend any of it to these people?

As I understand it, the town isn't taking out the loan; while the town's name is on the bonds, from what I've read, the town isn't actually liable for them. Neither is Answers in Genesis; Ark Encounter has sole liability for the bonds. I doubt that there's some giant bank advancing them 62 million dollars; the bonds are being sold to small investors. The taxpayers are on the hook for whatever improvements are made to roads and so forth to handle the expected influx of visitors. In addition, since property taxes for the Ark Encounter real estate will be used to pay off the bonds, taxpayers will be out whatever property taxes might have accrued from some alternate use of the land (assuming that there would have been some revenue-generating alternate use of the land). But it looks as if they are not responsible for paying off the 62 million dollars if the Ark Encounter fails; in that case, the bondholders, not the taxpayers (or Ken Ham), will be on the hook.

Regarding people and animals surviving on the Ark for a year, I point out that it’s possible that many of the animals could have spent some of the time in a form of hibernation, lulled by the darkness and the rocking of the ship.

Karen Spivey said: I read part of that article on the Fox site, and saw this gem:

Regarding people and animals surviving on the Ark for a year, I point out that it’s possible that many of the animals could have spent some of the time in a form of hibernation, lulled by the darkness and the rocking of the ship.

No, that's not hibernation. Besides, animals like horses can't be down for very long without suffering serious consequences.

As I understand it, the town isn’t taking out the loan; while the town’s name is on the bonds, from what I’ve read, the town isn’t actually liable for them. Neither is Answers in Genesis; Ark Encounter has sole liability for the bonds. I doubt that there’s some giant bank advancing them 62 million dollars; the bonds are being sold to small investors. The taxpayers are on the hook for whatever improvements are made to roads and so forth to handle the expected influx of visitors. In addition, since property taxes for the Ark Encounter real estate will be used to pay off the bonds, taxpayers will be out whatever property taxes might have accrued from some alternate use of the land (assuming that there would have been some revenue-generating alternate use of the land). But it looks as if they are not responsible for paying off the 62 million dollars if the Ark Encounter fails; in that case, the bondholders, not the taxpayers (or Ken Ham), will be on the hook.

Excuse me, but if god is on your side why do you need bonds? If god is on your side, why do you need someone else to take the fall? If god is on your side, why can't you get enough revenue from your museum? Why can't you get enough donations from the clueless rubes? Why do you even have to build anything at all? Couldn't you just pray and poof, there it is!

Here is a thought, maybe god really isn't on your side. Maybe that's why you need tax breaks and junk bonds. Maybe god is really pissed and is going to send another flood. Sure hope that thing can float.

DS said: Excuse me, but if god is on your side why do you need bonds? If god is on your side, why do you need someone else to take the fall? If god is on your side, why can't you get enough revenue from your museum? Why can't you get enough donations from the clueless rubes? Why do you even have to build anything at all? Couldn't you just pray and poof, there it is! Here is a thought, maybe god really isn't on your side. Maybe that's why you need tax breaks and junk bonds. Maybe god is really pissed and is going to send another flood. Sure hope that thing can float.

Excuse me, but if god is on your side why do you need bonds?

Our informant now tells us that the Ark "replica" will open on July 7. See Genesis 7:7.

Like the original the "flood of visitors" might not be quite as much as anticipated.

I wonder if visitors that come in pairs would get a discount?

Depending on which chapter of Genesis they apply, only the unclean visitors might get a discount for coming in pairs. Clean visitors would have to come in sevens.

Either way, I won't be eligible for a discount, because these days the wife and me have a hard time coming in pairs. Coming in sevens is right out.

7/7. How propitious. Also the tenth anniversary of the London Transport bombings. No doubt an important date in the religious fanatic calendar, which is odd, because it's usually based on moon cycles, they being loonies and all.

Dave Luckett said: 7/7. How propitious. Also the tenth anniversary of the London Transport bombings. No doubt an important date in the religious fanatic calendar, which is odd, because it's usually based on moon cycles, they being loonies and all.

Matt Young said: Our informant now tells us that the Ark "replica" will open on July 7. See Genesis 7:7.

I vote for 7/7/2107. Or maybe 6/6/66.

Posted under "Ye Gods, these people are stupid".

Remember that big kerfuffle last year when Ark park, in violation of state and federal law, was discovered to be applying a religious test for prospective employees?

Remember how they lost $1.8 million in state tax credits because of it?

Remember how they've spent the last year lobbying and lawsuitng to win those valuable tax credits back?

Remember how we all talked about how totally pig-fuck-ignorant it was for AiG to publicly post said religious requirements right on their help-wanted website so that it was totally unambiguous that they were, in fact, applying a religious test for clearly non-ministerial positions, thereby undermining any plausible deniability, the grease that lubricates the wheels of political sausage-making?

Remember how we said "Surely, these idiots cannot be so stupid as to not fix this?"

We were wrong.

Diligent AiG watcher Tracey Moody now points out that AiG is still openly advertising job applications that require a "Salvation testimony", "Creation belief statement" and "Confirmation of agreement with the AiG Statement of Faith".

A quick perusal of the AiG "career opportunities" website shows these requirements for the traditionally ministerial positions of "2nd Shift Housekeeping Associate", "Senior Network Engineer" and Greenhouse Technician to name a few.

Things I Am Thankful For Today: That the people who run AiG are so spectacularly good at shooting their own feet.