New Justice Centers springing up all over Ky, but WHY??

reply to post by Asktheanimals


These are not Federal buildings at all. What is going on goes back to the debate between federal funded mandates vs. unfunded mandates. The requirements are to force the upgrade in the system that most local city councils did not want to deal with.

The Federal FEMA systems are accesbible on the internet and talk about their goals in conjunction with DHS.

Originally posted by Xcathdra
reply to post by Asktheanimals

 

These are not Federal buildings at all. What is going on goes back to the debate between federal funded mandates vs. unfunded mandates. The requirements are to force the upgrade in the system that most local city councils did not want to deal with.

The Federal FEMA systems are accesbible on the internet and talk about their goals in conjunction with DHS.

All the 70 new Justice Centers are not Federal buildings but were built with money that the state received from the Feds. The new FBI Headquarters in Louisville, along with the Biological Defense Center and the Fusion Center are indeed Federal Buildings.

Ky is a small state and their crime rate is not out of control, but yet the Feds are spending hundreds of millions of dollars for all of these high tech, bullet-proof Justice Centers, millions on the FBI building and Bio defense building. Counter terrorism Bio Defense in Ky? If you can't see something odd about all of this then you are still asleep. Ky is mostly farmland with mostly farmers and small farms.
I dont know what the Feds are up to or what they know that we dont know, but one thing for sure...Something is happening. Mark this thread for future reference so when the day comes that whatever it is happens, then you can remember I told you so....

Let's not forget that there is a group of ultra wealthy in Ky in the thoroughbred horse industry. People from all over the world come to Ky to buy horses for racing, making millions. " Horse Capitol of The World". I lived in Bourbon county among the horse farms, the horses have better living quarters than most of the population. I just thought I would toss this out there as it may be something to consider in this thread when FBI and Jusitice Centers are being built.

reply to post by kennylee


As I stated in my origional post, its upgrades to keep up with the pace of technology and to hvae systems in place in hopes they are never needed, and to hvae them there when god forbid it is needed. I followed up my statement with I could be wrong, but by all means keep watching as I could be off track.

While there is nothing rong with a dose of paranoia at all, I think people are reading way to much into some of these projects. DHS requirements are being backed up with funding from federal grants to assist local law enforcement in paying for these requirements.

Just because Kentucky is relatively quiet does not mean its not prudent to upgrade facilities when its possible to do so. Also, being Kentucky is for he most part a stable land mass with no known major fault lines running throuh it, means on the off chance something major occurs in a neighboring state that its entirely possible for upgraded facilities in Kentucky to be used in place of the damaged facilities in say Tennessee or even Missouri.

A prime example is going to be the New Madris fault line than runs through parts of Missouri Tennesse East/West border area. Currently if a major earthquake hits the entire Eastern part of Missouri from the Southernmost tip up to the St. Louis area is expected to become non usuable in terms of evacuations, medical, supply distribution etc. Meaning management of those affected areas are going to fall to outlying counties as well as other states in order to establish command centers and evacuation and importation points for the area.

To make this easier, we go back to the DHS requirements for radio compatability etc. I have been involved in motor vehicle pursuits with 2 different agencies in my area, and we could not speak to each other excet by talking to our respective dispatches, and then they would relay by phone to the ohter dispatches, who would then put it back out over the respective agency radio channels, all the while looking at each other out the window.

Thats for just a pursuit, think about mass disaster and how that is going to work. I wont go into details, but you can get an idea of mass disaster plans by looking at decalssified plans from the cold war that details what would happen if a nuclear weapon is detonated, what counties are designated evacuation points, incoming distribution pioints, communication takeover points etc.

Also, if something major happens, why do we expect that the affected area would be able to maintain basic operating neccissities? Anything large enough to cause a mass disaster will most likely affect those functions, meaning other parts of the state, or even surrounding states, are going to be assuming responsibility for operations in other states.

9/11 comes to mind with multiple agencies having communications issues. Katrina comes to mind when using law enforceme4nt from other states, how to coordinate them and get them to designated areas within louisiana.

We are not gearing up to put the US population under arrest. What is going on is an attempt to avoid a break down in basic functions on the off chance something major does occur. Its damned if we do damned if we dont, if we are ready, its the theory we are planning to arrest everyone, if we arent prepared we get accused of something else.

Sometimes, its nothing more than being prepared in hopes it never has to be activated and used.

Thanks for posting, I'm in Ky too.

reply to post by Xcathdra

You could very well be correct in your assumption my friend, but the thing with all of this is the way DHS is promoting IF YOU SEE SOMETHING SAY SOMETHING. That right there hints to me that there is something more to it than meets the eye. Ben Franklin said that if you give up Liberty for a little safety, then you deserve neither. I am a true believer in the Constitution and our founding fathers, as I am sure you are since I gather from your post that you are a LEO.
Going on the assumption that you are LEO, don't you honestly see how our rights and freedoms are being stripped away in the name of security? Just since 2008 when Obama came in, we have went toward a socialist country where Big Brother keeps a close watch on everyone, the intrusive patdowns of the TSA, the WalMart Gestapo videos, more cameras everywhere, the FEDS reading emails and putting so called radical citizens on their watchlist, and spying on Americans with Drones. If they were really so concerned with America's safety, wouldn't it be a good place to start on our southern border where hundreds of thousands come across each year, instead of cracking down on the citizens like they are doing?
All the people that come across the border are not looking for a better life. How many people have came across that want to kill American Citizens or to start their so called Holy Jihad against America?
The seeds of Revolution have been sown in this country and the PTB know this. People are waking up and they will stand up. TPTB have known this and have been afraid of this for some time now and they have been preparing. The Militias along with thousands of other everyday Americans want one thing, the Constitution to be followed and abided by, which isn't happening. Is it wrong to stand up for what your country was founded upon against a tyrannical government? Is it wrong to want America to be free like it once was?
This year will see mass protests in DC. People are fed up. Right now we still have the right to protest, although that will probably be taken away soon.

So, you might be right as far as the buildup in Ky, at least that is their explanation of things, but IMHO, there is far more that they aren't telling you. Does the government tell you the truth all the time? Do they ever do something without telling the People? Time will tell what they are up to, and for the sake of the People of this country, I hope you are correct.

reply to post by kennylee


The see something say something program is not in at all. People are encouraged to call the police if they see a car weaving all over the road, suspicious behavior say at night near closed businesses. People who come across a fight, people in distress etc etc.

To me just because they are putting out a campaign to remind people that if they do see something out of the norm to contact the local Police. Its not in place for people to contact the police on their neighbors because they said they dont like a Government plan, law etc.

As far as rounding up the people. I think, based on sheer numbers, that we the people could take the Government if we had to. Plus, there are going to be Government officals, military, Police etc etc that are going to side with the people as well.

The assumption that evryone in Government / Law / Military will follow with no questions asked is not even logical.

reply to post by Xcathdra

The assumption that evryone in Government / Law / Military will follow with no questions asked is not even logical.

That is in no way my assumption my friend. I KNOW for a fact that there are a lot of LEO's, Military and even some in the government that would be on the peoples side and I am truly grateful for that fact. That is one main point that gives us Citizens a glimmer of hope in this country today, just to know that there are those who took the oath to uphold th Constitution against all enemies, foreign and DOMESTIC, and will uphold that oath.
It just doesn't feel right that the government wants everyone to snitch on their fellow Citizens for anything they deem suspicious like at this link.
homelandsecurity.ky.gov...
I am fifty years old and have seen more of my freedoms taken away in the last 2 years, than have ever been taken in the other 48 years of my life. The government is over extending their reach in the name of safety and are heading our country in the wrong direction. They need to step back and become a smaller part of our lives like the forefathers meant for them to be.
Whether they will start rounding up ones on their WatchLists or not, only time will tell. You don't think they will, but I'd say that it is entirely possible. Here is one on their WatchList that shows they will put anyone on it.

www.youtube.com...

I left KY years ago. Seems like everyone I know that still has a job around home either works in healthcare or in the "justice" system. The only steady work to be had appears to be dealing with those addicted to either food or illegal substances. Either diabetics or drug addicts, take your pick.
Recently, I found myself fielding questions about oxycontin from several of my friends. Apparently, a Canadian television station ran a documentary about "pillbillies". I didn't see the show, but according to my friends, the documentary explored the premise that KY law enforcement officers were ignoring "pill mills" out-of-state just to keep the jails full, the drug courts busy and the "justice" system booming.
Maybe these new "justice" centers are the equivalent of each town getting a new "Walmart" of a sort.

reply to post by kennylee


Sorry about that the last part of my response was not directed at you, but others the have responded. Out of curisoity, can you list the rights which hav e been taken away from you? The question is not meant to be derogatory or anything like that. I have aseen a few people make that statement, but as of yet they have not been able to tell me which rights are gone.

As far as asking people to report suspicious activity... I guess the question is which would be worse, the Government asking the people to just keep an open eye and be mindful of whats going on around you, and if you see something call the Police, or the creation of yet another Federal Department that is geared to nothing but domestic surveilliance at the extreme level?

As far as the Government and their actions, they are not the ones respsonsible for this.

We are

We the people are the ones who have allowed Congress to do what they want, when they want and how they want. We hate the Government so much that we stopped participating in it, placing us into the loop of self destruction. The more Government does to piss us off, the more we bitch yet fail to vote or speak up to our actual reps.

If the people of this country spoke with a loud clear voice that defeciet spending will not be tolerated, and back that view up with voting, I think our Government would get the picture, and act accordingly. I have seen people bitch for and against federal term limits, while they ignore the fact that we already have term limits at that level, as well as all levels of government:

They are called elections...


As far as the pillbillies comment goes, to me thats a contradicting argument. The amount of money that is required to provide for legal incareration of criminals is a staggering amount. Criminals in our society have more rights than those of us who never comit a crime at all. People who are convicted of a crme and placed in jail / prision dont generate income, but expenditures. The reasons Police departments are the first to face cuts when the economy tanks is because we are not a revenue positive producing department, no matter how many citations we write. The Courts are the ones who determine fines, if any. Just because a law says if we write you a ticket for doing 75 in a 55 the fine is 150 dollars, does not mean the fine will be that amount. They can just as easily get community service or no fine at all. Of all the times I have been to court, I have seen the PA and the judges talk to people about fines and the amount of money they make and what they can pay if anything.

Some other factrs to keep in mind, is Law Enforcement does not make the law, but only enforces it, and even then we have some discretion. In my jurisdicition our PA has no problems making a case against driving under the influence of drugs or using the statute for use of co2 as an inhalent while driving. One county over though, their PA does not file on that stuff aside from a few cases that are pretty much dead to rights where the suspect actually confessed.

The construction of Justice centers, at least in my experience is geared towards cutting costs, joint cooperation between agencies at the federal state and local level, as well as making the administration of justice cheaper, faster and easier on the system. With everything located for the most part in one central location, it makes sense.

As I was saying pre 9/11 there was always jurisdictional questions that arose over what agency had jurisidicition where, and in what circumstances an officer out of jurisidiction could legally take action. Since 9/11 that has all changed from top to bottom. The level of training I receive is the same as our State Police, and the authority to act outside of my jurisdicition is the same as if I carried a comission for that area.

Also, since Kentucky is relatively quiet, why not take the time now to improve infrastructure. Doing it now before any possible population boom, or some new fault line being found running under the state makes sense. If its put off now, it might not be brought back to the limelight until its too late and no funding is available, overcrwoding on jails etc etc.

Dont get me wrong, I am not trying to argue with you or anything like that, so please dont take it as such. Just pointing out some other possible alternatives.

A contradiction might exist if the justice system derived it's operating budget from the revenue it produces, but that isn't so. The taxpayer foots the bill, not the criminal. Any comparison between a for-profit business and a goverment entity is not possible. No business can increase it's budget by increasing expenditures. The justice system does. It isn't as if all that money is tossed down a well. Someone turns a profit for all the supplies needed, someone draws a paycheck for all the hours spent. It isn't as if the entire enterprise were staffed by volunteers.

reply to post by crazydaisy


They're not building all these new centres at vast expense to convict horses though are they.

There may be a lot of valuable horses and associated businesses, but courts and so on, are for people. If there isn't the people in the state to justify the amount of new buildings, why build them?

Don't your representatives have to inform the people why they are doing what they're doing?

If not, why not write to your rep and ask?

reply to post by Xcathdra

Out of curisoity, can you list the rights which hav e been taken away from you?

The first thing is that our rights haven't been taken completely away but they are being stripped away slowly. For instance, I never had to worry about expressing my freedom of speech, whether it was right or wrong, unless it threatened someone elses well being. Today, with the government monitoring everyones email, putting people on their WatchLists, and spying on the Citizens, all in the name of safety, I feel like I have to watch what I say at every moment if I don't want that knock on my door from the Feds. A Citizen should not ever feel fear that their government might arrest them for saying something that they don't like. I'm not the only one that feels like this, there are thousands. And now, with this "If you see something say something" tirade on America, it becomes even more of a threat to your freedom of speech. For example:

My friend and I are in WalMart having a casual conversation about how the government is getting too big. We aren't making any threats or talking about anything more than how we need a change in government policies and about how something needs to be done to bring the government back into line. We are overheard by a Ms. Busybody that thinks we are talking about overthrowing the government. In the way she thinks, we must be radicals that want to overthrow the government, since we don't like the government and we think something needs to be done. This would be her 911 call:

Yes, I'm in WalMart and just overheard a conversation between two guys and they were talking about a revolution against the United States Government. It sounded to me like they were planning something big. I didn't hear their exact words, but it scared me enough to call you.

This scenario never has happened to me, but I worry about something like this all the time, and so do many other people I know, people who are normal everyday Citizens, like old time farmers, retired school teacher, a former police officer whom is my best friend. His name is Rick. Rick and I went to lunch the other day and our discussion was how tyrannical the government was getting. We talked for over an hour. Before each sentence though, we would each look around to make sure nobody was listening and then almost whispered so nobody could hear us, even though we were not saying anything that was against the law, but with all the intrusions onto our fourth amendment rights and all the steps the government is taking with their "security", we feel threatened whenever we speak of the government. American Citizens should Not feel this way.

Another right that is being taken is the right to choose our own HealthCare. I won't go into that though, because that is a whole other topic.

As far as asking people to report suspicious activity... I guess the question is which would be worse, the Government asking the people to just keep an open eye and be mindful of whats going on around you, and if you see something call the Police, or the creation of yet another Federal Department that is geared to nothing but domestic surveilliance at the extreme level?

That is exactly what these Fusion Centers are doing. These Fusion Centers are geared at Domestic Surveillance at the extreme level, with no oversight from anyone. They are free to basically do what they want as far as spying on the Citizens.

As far as the Government and their actions, they are not the ones respsonsible for this.

The government are the ones who created these Fusion Centers.

The more Government does to piss us off, the more we bitch yet fail to vote or speak up to our actual reps.

Voting has not done anything to turn the tide. No matter who you vote for, Republican or Democrat, once they get into office, it's more of the same. Then we try to fix it in the next election, then the next, then the next.....

The construction of Justice centers, at least in my experience is geared towards cutting costs, joint cooperation between agencies at the federal state and local level, as well as making the administration of justice cheaper, faster and easier on the system. With everything located for the most part in one central location, it makes sense.

I disagree with this because where I live, one new Justice Center is located 20 miles from another new Justice Center, which is 15 miles from another new Justice Center. Three new Justice Centers within a 30 mile radius of one another, each costing around 12 million dollars. That doesn't make sense, especially when you talk of ONE CENTRAL LOCATION......

Once again, I appreciate your comments even though I don't agree with everything you have said. One thing I wonder though... How old are you? The reason I ask is because I am fifty and I can see a big difference in the way things are now pertaining to the crackdown by the government and them shredding our freedoms, from when I was in my 20's and 30's. Just wondering why you can't seem to see these things that hundreds of thousands of my fellow Americans can see.....

reply to post by kennylee


I am guessing that the reason for the big bug lab at the Shelbyhurst Campus (not main campus) is more due to two reasons: one - Dr. Ron Atlas, biology prof who specialises in microbiology. He was the president of the American Microbiology Society and his research focus is on both oil eating microbes and bioterror related issues. See abstract for one article here: Bioterror so he draws a lot of NIH/Military funding. Two: Sen Mcconnell is a U of L graduate (both undergrad and law school) so I am sure he helped steer the money to U of L.

I know these things as I work at U of L though not anywhere near the big bag bug lab.

Odd steering of federal funding? Perhaps.

Another oddity I'd like to point out about our state: The hydrology of Kentucky is interesting. I have a friend working on his PhD in Geography - Environmental Sciences and at UW Madison and his research is on the water in KY. One interesting tidbit is that we have more usable freshwater in our underground tables that any other state in the Union. Maybe this has something to do with it. If Kentucky has a huge portion of potable water (untapped and unpolluted as it is locked in underground aquifers) then maybe there is some knowledge that once the STHF the water here will be very valuable...

I have no idea though.

Obs out

reply to post by observer

One interesting tidbit is that we have more usable freshwater in our underground tables that any other state in the Union. Maybe this has something to do with it. If Kentucky has a huge portion of potable water (untapped and unpolluted as it is locked in underground aquifers) then maybe there is some knowledge that once the STHF the water here will be very valuable...

Thank you for this information. I never even thought about this. Although I knew we had fresh water here in the state, I never realized how much. This just might be something to do with all of this. They could be expecting a big influx of people to the state because of the fresh water, especially since the water supply is being poisoned in other parts of the nation such as the thread I just read about in PA.
www.abovetopsecret.com...

One thing for certain IMO, is that they are preparing for the eventuality of the SHTF scenario.

It could be some future planned events will "corral" people into and around Kentucky. If the east coast gets blasted with nukes or wrecked by a huge tsunami, that would certainly be a state of refuge for many.

Originally posted by kennylee
Hypothetical scenario - I didnt want to quote the 3 paragraphs since the response would turn into a wall of text.

As far as the opening portion and hypothetical senario I have one question, and please do not take offense. What makes you think the Government even cares about you? I see this a lot in my job, and it always comes back to this question. The Government should fear the people I agree, and to an extent I think that is slowly changing back to that style. The notion that the Government is secretly locking US citizens up (while im sure it does occur because we dont live in a fantasy land) en masse is just goofy to me, because I dont see it.

To put this in somewhat of a perspective, there are over 300 million US Residents. If you took the entire population of the United States (all of them) and resettled everyon to Texas, you would still have land left in that State for expansion. This is why I dont completely buy into the Government out to get the people argument. Beside the population, again Military, Law Enforcement and joe and joanne citizen would not sit still for it, and would fight back.

Originally posted by kennylee
Another right that is being taken is the right to choose our own HealthCare. I won't go into that though, because that is a whole other topic.

Agreed, and hopefully the courts will throw it out the window. So far one appeals court said its legal, and another appeals court said it was illegal, so we have to wait for the USSC.

Originally posted by kennylee
That is exactly what these Fusion Centers are doing. These Fusion Centers are geared at Domestic Surveillance at the extreme level, with no oversight from anyone. They are free to basically do what they want as far as spying on the Citizens.

I am not sure what you mean by Domestic Survelliance by Fusion Centers. If you are referring to Cameras in cities, that is not a Law Enforcement issue, but City Government, since they are the ones who approve / disapprove items.

There is oversite in place - The people

I find fault with most peopls arguement that voting does not matter. At the local level it makes the difference since we are actually doing the Direct Democracy there. Not participating because of the nothing will change argument is exactly why nothing will change. People say they are pissed and paranoid with Government, yet do absolutely nothing in most cases to express those views.

Originally posted by kennylee
The government are the ones who created these Fusion Centers.

I was refering to the new requirements from DHS partially. Right now Law Enforcement budgets are shrinking, and we have to do more with less. Centralizing processes / departments / courts etc allows for this.

Originally posted by kennylee
Voting has not done anything to turn the tide. No matter who you vote for, Republican or Democrat, once they get into office, it's more of the same. Then we try to fix it in the next election, then the next, then the next.....

If people would vote in every election while at the same time sending letters / calls to their reps, change could occur. To me its as if people drive to the polling places, look at the building, get discouraged and just leave (in terms of being apathetic towards voting).

Originally posted by kennylee
I disagree with this because where I live, one new Justice Center is located 20 miles from another new Justice Center, which is 15 miles from another new Justice Center. Three new Justice Centers within a 30 mile radius of one another, each costing around 12 million dollars. That doesn't make sense, especially when you talk of ONE CENTRAL LOCATION......

Each state is broken down into counties (and a few more have counties subdivided into townships, which again have their own government), as we all know. Generally speaking if you arrest someone, they are taken to the jail of the jurisdiction. I used to work with a department that fell into 3 different counties. We had to continually remind ourselves of that because if a felony arrest occured, they had to go to the right jail since that counties court is the court of jurisdiction.

In addition it takes money to house convicted persons, and that funding comes from taxes of the people in that county. Some states actually prohibit joint facilities like you were talking about because it violates their own states laws. Other states have combined their court systems on an individual basis, but only their courts and not other areas.

The other thing to keep in mind for the other centers is disaster preperation. Centralizing departments / offices in a new justice center streamlines the process and lets all agencies work together. Put all your eggs in one basket though, and something occurs that wipes out a justice center, the counties that had those items merged are pretty much screwed until the mess can be sorted out.

Another point is the 911 system, since most Justice centers also house Dispatch. Again all eggs in one basket and it turns deadly since people cant be dispatched. Counties have agreements with surrounding counties to act as backup dispatch centers. They can flip a switch and all calls from one county can be diverted to other counties, who usually have mutual aid channels so the officers can talk to the supporting county dispatch and be sent to calls with minial interuption of services (at least in my state - so its posible it will vary).

Originally posted by kennylee
Once again, I appreciate your comments even though I don't agree with everything you have said. One thing I wonder though... How old are you? The reason I ask is because I am fifty and I can see a big difference in the way things are now pertaining to the crackdown by the government and them shredding our freedoms, from when I was in my 20's and 30's. Just wondering why you can't seem to see these things that hundreds of thousands of my fellow Americans can see.....

Anytime... disagreement is how me find common ground and move forward. Sometimes an idea that seems really bad at first, can be saved by people questioning and offering opinions that others overlooked when the plans were being drawn up.

I am 33 and have been in this line of work for about 10 years now in 2 different states.

As far as the last comment goes I see it from the other side of the window. I do Law Enforcement, and when I see people make comments than seem off ( misinterpetation of law / Individual rights etc) I try to offer alternatives based on my experience and knowledge. One of the larger problems I see is our school systems, and their inability to produce knowledgable students with regards to the Government, individual rights and the fact our rights are not granted to us by the Government but the opposite.

I have seen disaster plans and if the comments people make about their intentions towards the people were true we would be the first to know about it. To date the only time I have ever seen citizens rounded up is when we evacuate people from areas because of a disaster or what not.

I guess its different looking out the window on this side as I am exposed to these issues often and I do not see anything sinister (prepping to round up the people, throwing the Constitution out, throwing the State constitution out along with several other views from people).

On the flip side I dont agree with what the Government does, and I voice my opinion on that when I can in addition to voting and sending reps emails.

I hope this info helps.. and by all means, continue questioning the Government, hold your reps accountible, and support your local media, whose job it is to mind the peoples business on a daily basis for us until we an get home from work.

As I said, my responses are base on my experiance as well as the State I live in, so its entirely possible im wrong with all of this, an Kentucky is being prepped as one big prison camp.

reply to post by kennylee


US Aquifers
There is a pretty large aqufer (The Ohio River Alluviam Aquifer) that runs under Kentucky and a few other states. I dont think its as large as the Ogallala Aquifer but serves the same purpose - drinking water.

The follow up was something I thought of that I overlooked for the new facilities.Each county has its own jail, and many of them are very old and outdated and do not meet Federal DOJ requirements. Since jails are expensive to build for the obvious reasons, it does make sense to do upgrades (Jail and LEO and Judicial) all at the same time, rather than peacemeal it out and run the risk of not being able to upgrade Police or Judicial areas.

Also the longer a major project is pushed off, the greater the odds that when it does come back to the table to be built, its most likely going to be a lot more expensive to build it.

Well I was wrong so I appologize. I found the info we were talking about.

Its an editorial but it gives some of the answers we were looking for. The article is from Feb 2010, but this process apparently started as far back as 2006 when the Kentucky Legislature authorized funds to start upgrading to these new centers..

It took me some time to find an overall article talking about the construction, and not individual articles of court openings. Seems like this is something that is being hidden, or at least not reported on fully. The price tag I think is around, or they have already spent, $800 million dollars upgrading centers to date.


Courthouse construction under Lambert's tenure and a build now pay later is financially squeezing the courts and the counties per Lexington Herald Leader editorial

When it comes to building courthouses, Kentucky is the state that just can't say no.

As a result of those easy ways, as the Herald-Leader's Linda Blackford recently reported, legislators and judicial officials are more preoccupied with balancing budgets than the scales of justice.

It's a sad story of collective self-indulgence. Kentucky's current fiscal crisis can be chalked up to many factors but one — amply demonstrated in the courthouse disaster — is garnering political favor by scattering building projects around the state with the idea that the bill will come due later.

......

Here's the back story: Former Kentucky Supreme Court Chief Justice Joseph E. Lambert embarked on a campaign to replace county courthouses in all of Kentucky's 120 counties. It's kind of a build-now-pay-later deal with the bonds for the new buildings only coming due when they are close to being complete and occupied. That can make it easy to approve projects (no impact in this fiscal year) and hard to pay for them.