These are those same God fearing, Bible pounding, Jesus loving fundamentalists who want to eliminate the SNAP (food stamp) and housing assistance programs for those who need help (Jesus would have done just that - at least in THEIR Bible), cut veterans benefits and healthcare, take affordable healthcare away from millions of Americans, and, among many other things, go to a land war again in Iraq, this time to kill the ISIS who are threatening to kill Christians.....God's only chosen people on the earth.

Frankly, I gave up on Christianity; Jesus was a good teacher but Christianity sucks. And the Christians ignore the fact that their Jesus was a dark haired, dark eyed, dark skinned, middle eastern bleeding heart liberal Jew who hated the capitalist money system and...was NEVER a Christian. He also had long hair, a beard, wore sandals and a dress. He taught against judging others as you might be judged yourself. The Christian fundamentalists are much like the Islamic fundamentalists in their pushing of their religion.

I would suggest it unconstitutional for the government to give a private business amusement park any support or subsidies or tax credits as that would be a violation of the 1st Amendment's separation of church and state. They can talk and preach all they want and they don't need taxpayer's money to be able to do that; they can pay for their own religion. Many states allow churches (houses of worship) tax breaks on their donation income and property. BUT....this is a for profit enterprise - a preaching amusement park - and would not qualify under IRS Code 501(c)(3) exemption for a church or religion. But then, Christians have been cheating and corrupt since the Catholic Church rewrote the Bible at the Council of Nicaea in 325AD to give them power to tax the monarchies of Europe....and left out about half of what was written in the ancient texts and edited the rest to give them dominion over mankind.

naive faithful flocks.

I'm appalled that the state of Kentucky would give tax subsidies to a church that isn't really a church.

I applaud their decision to withhold those tax breaks due to their discrimination.

Are these the same people?

This isn't a religious/church tax exemption - it is a typical corporate tax break (you set up shop here, create jobs, help local economy, etc and we'll give you a tax break).

Just trying to clarify it - not defending it. Less than a mile from where I sit, a large pharma company built a massive complex, hired lots of people, and scored major tax breaks for doing so. Ten or so years later, they 'downsized' and shut it down, leaving thousands with no jobs (and a big empty eyesore). And of course, didn't have to pay back any of the tax breaks. And while they did provide jobs for some amount of time, along with helping smaller businesses in the vicinity, their massive profits went elsewhere. Took advantage of the tax breaks and then bailed.

Anyway, I don't think the potential tax breaks here have anything to do with religion/church.

I, too, am happy to see the state is attaching strings about fair hiring practices to the breaks.

see the state "attaching strings about fair hiring practices to the breaks."

is a violation of Federal Equal Employment law as they discriminate a person because of their religion. I would love to see a potential employee refuse to sign their required religious declaration and then file a Federal lawsuit of discrimination. I would think (but might be wrong) that even the conservative justices of the SCOTUS would see this as unlawful discrimination.

Given the precedent set there, my bet there would be the business wins their case.
Besides, if Kentucky is a Right to Work State, it doesn't WHY you don't get hired. Right?

workers against discrimination.

i do not get your angst.

I understand the idea of giving tax breaks to companies in order to stimulate the local economy, but these are usually companies with a proven record of stability or a business plan that makes sense. This Ark business is just two white elephants (male and female) with a religious angle up front. A dubious investment for the state to say the least, and one that should have been rejected at the first drop.

This was entirely predictable.

In the Religion group, for one, people try to apologize for the bible by saying it is often just a collection of morality tales and is not to be taken as literally true. I don't get that here. It seems to me that AiG takes their bible seriously.

literally