Hippies, Communists, and Assorted Other Goofballs Manage to Kill SuperFerry...

[Volpone]

So 15 years ago I tried to open up a little paintball business in rural Wisconsin. I shelled out a couple thousand dollars for equipment and inventory, got a loan to buy some land, and went about getting the zoning I needed. After fighting with the backwards locals and crooked politicians for four years I regretfully gave up on that dream. It left a sour taste in my mouth that lingers to this day.

But that can't compare to the way the people behind the Hawaii SuperFerry must feel.

When I lived in Hawaii, this business was bringing like three huge catamaran jet ships--roll-on/roll-offs (RORO) to run shuttle service between Oahu, Maui, Kauai'i, and the Big Island. They got the boats, got the docks, hired a bunch of people...and were promptly shut down by protesters who didn't want cheap, easy, economical travel between the islands.

They bitched that the environmental impact study conducted hadn't been adequate and demanded that another one should be done before they'd be allowed to operate. So like a week before they were going to open for business they had to lay everyone off and the ship just sat there.

Eventually they got a waiver to operate and started doing runs--and were promptly shut down again when idiots in rubber boats and on surfboards and such interfered with there docking in the harbors.

So they arranged for anyone who was stranded to have their cars shipped home and loaded stranded travelers on planes and worked with the authorities to deal with THAT problem.

Heck, even after they took care of that, they STILL didn't renew service to Kauai'i because that's where the most vocal agitators were.

But I had many an enjoyable trip to Maui on the Alakai, the name of the ferry running to that island. So I thought their problems were behind them. Service to the Big Island was scheduled to start in December and it was only a matter of time before the residents of Kauai'i saw the value of the ferry service, right?

Wrong. This week I was uploading some photos from my motorcycle jaunts around Maui and went to look up the name of the ferry. Imagine my surprise to find out that a judge threw out their waiver to operate in mid-March and completely put them out of business.

 

[Ancalagon]

Damn. The Alakai was built by Austal USA (Mobile AL). We were hoping for a couple more.

My buddy works at the shipyards down there (Atlantic Marine), and until the economy turned south was hoping to move over and up to Austal. Now he's just glad they are keeping him running 50 a week.

 

[14thDoctor]

So 15 years ago I tried to open up a little paintball business in rural Wisconsin. I shelled out a couple thousand dollars for equipment and inventory, got a loan to buy some land, and went about getting the zoning I needed. After fighting with the backwards locals and crooked politicians for four years I regretfully gave up on that dream.

You should have looked into the zoning first, before you started spending money. That's just common sense.

It left a sour taste in my mouth that lingers to this day.

:bergman:

 

[Volpone]

I did. There was no zoning for paintball. So I worked with the zoning administrator. He told me what kind of zoning I would need. I did all the necessary hearings, and then the hicks turned around and fucked me anyway.

But still, no big loss. I ran games anyway and the equipment paid for itself. I moved to a job that has, thus far, made me far more than my business ever would've. Two years ago I sold the land for 4 times what I paid for it. And now I live somewhere nice and only have to come back to that part of the country to visit family. :bergman:

 

[14thDoctor]

Ah.

So what you're really saying is that government intervention made your life better in the long run.


Hooray for government!

 

[Volpone]

Another funny thing that happened in Hawaii while I was there: The company that owned the Molokai Ranch wanted to expand on the resort they had there and offer--I forget--vacation condos, something like that. At any rate, they wanted to develop some property they owned on Molokai. The protesters, hippies, and activists managed to get the project killed.

At that point, the Molokai Ranch corporation said the business wasn't profitable and went out of business. On an island with a population of something like 5,500, 250 people lost their jobs. And that doesn't even include the people who worked at gas stations and restaurants and all the other places tourists spend money.

You want to hear the other funny part? Turns out Molokai doesn't have its own utilities. The ranch provided water. Fortunately for the people on the island, the government pushed through legislation that forced Molokai Ranch to continue to provide utility service to the island. :S:

 

[Scorponok]

You want to hear the other funny part? Turns out Molokai doesn't have its own utilities. The ranch provided water. Fortunately for the people on the island, the government pushed through legislation that forced Molokai Ranch to continue to provide utility service to the island. :S:

O RLY? What if they just turned the taps off, then vandalized their own private property?

 

[Khalid Sheikh Mohammed]

Westerners cease for naught in their quest towards destruction of working order.

 

[Dirk Funk]

O RLY? What if they just turned the taps off, then vandalized their own private property?

Ala Howard Roark? :twisted:

 

[Blindgroping]

So...
NCL opperates there. Moving around All the islands, why aren't they treated the same way?
Those are some big fucking ships.

 

[SaintLucifer]

So 15 years ago I tried to open up a little paintball business in rural Wisconsin. I shelled out a couple thousand dollars for equipment and inventory, got a loan to buy some land, and went about getting the zoning I needed. After fighting with the backwards locals and crooked politicians for four years I regretfully gave up on that dream. It left a sour taste in my mouth that lingers to this day.

But that can't compare to the way the people behind the Hawaii SuperFerry must feel.

When I lived in Hawaii, this business was bringing like three huge catamaran jet ships--roll-on/roll-offs (RORO) to run shuttle service between Oahu, Maui, Kauai'i, and the Big Island. They got the boats, got the docks, hired a bunch of people...and were promptly shut down by protesters who didn't want cheap, easy, economical travel between the islands.

They bitched that the environmental impact study conducted hadn't been adequate and demanded that another one should be done before they'd be allowed to operate. So like a week before they were going to open for business they had to lay everyone off and the ship just sat there.

Eventually they got a waiver to operate and started doing runs--and were promptly shut down again when idiots in rubber boats and on surfboards and such interfered with there docking in the harbors.

So they arranged for anyone who was stranded to have their cars shipped home and loaded stranded travelers on planes and worked with the authorities to deal with THAT problem.

Heck, even after they took care of that, they STILL didn't renew service to Kauai'i because that's where the most vocal agitators were.

But I had many an enjoyable trip to Maui on the Alakai, the name of the ferry running to that island. So I thought their problems were behind them. Service to the Big Island was scheduled to start in December and it was only a matter of time before the residents of Kauai'i saw the value of the ferry service, right?

Wrong. This week I was uploading some photos from my motorcycle jaunts around Maui and went to look up the name of the ferry. Imagine my surprise to find out that a judge threw out their waiver to operate in mid-March and completely put them out of business.

A Nazi government would have rounded up such agitators, lined them up, then plugged them full of holes. Then, they would have had that business up and running in no time. No one would fuck with a Nazi government. Hippies would be the first to go, along with the Jews, cupcakeERS, PAKIS, CHINKS, FAGS etc. After all this, we have PARADISE! All you dumb fucks do is further prove my point about the need to adopt Nazism, and that Hilter was RIGHT.