Odds and ends number 133
Since I'm using the concept from monoblogue, I'm keeping the numbering system, too. Here are thinner slices of bloggy goodness.
As always I have the interesting stuff that stuck around in my inbox and bookmarks.
Michigan builders catch a break
Part of the reason I work here is, when I interviewed with a local firm, I showed them drawings I did for a job just across the line from Toledo up in Michigan, so this story caught my interest.
Unlike other states, Michigan has been slow to implement changes to the building codes. Even at this late date, they were using the 2015 editions of the International Code when many jurisdictions (including most of Maryland and Delaware) had adopted either the 2021 or 2024 editions.
When Michigan finally decided to get with the program, the builders sued, claiming the increased costs for energy efficiency would make houses significantly more expensive. That was based on a Michigan law regarding the payback period for increased costs.
Part of the groups’ argument rests on a provision of Michigan law that requires new code updates to be “cost-effective,” considering costs and benefits over a seven-year time period. They argue the law requires “simple payback” of new costs introduced by the updated codes within that timeframe, meaning the financial benefits of the energy savings exceed the costs within the first seven years.
A federal study of updating Michigan’s residential energy codes found that would actually take 10 to 12 years. Studies commissioned by homebuilders found much longer payback periods stretching over decades.
Remember, Michigan has a much colder climate than we do, particularly in northern Michigan and “da UP, eh?” I’ve always worked with the assumption that five years was a sensible payback period for these types of improvements. If a $200 investment in weatherstripping can knock $5 a month off your energy bill, it’s worth it. But if you spend $30k on solar panels to eliminate a $250 per month electric bill, that’s rather foolish.
One thing I’ve noticed in the newest versions of the code is the idea that people around here require R-60 roof insulation (the former standard was R-49, which moved up one or two iterations prior from the old R-38 standard.) I’m sorry, but all the expense to create space for 14”-15” of insulation (or have to go to more expensive blown-in or spray foam insulation) isn’t worth the relatively modest savings. It’s things like that which the builders objected to, perhaps because the groups writing the code are generally either environmentalist wackos or those who work in the industries which stand to benefit from increased sales.
Fortunately for Michigan builders, their nightmare is on hold indefinitely while courts sort it out. Perhaps a transition period to the more builder-friendly 2024 code is in order.
Accidents will happen, but less often
No one wants to see a child injured or killed by an accidental discharge of a firearm, but unfortunately it happens.
However, whether due to better awareness or the increased availability of gun cable or trigger locks, that number has receded over the past 25 years, according to research done by my friends at ammo.com. What once was 650 accidental gun deaths a year between 1999-2014 is now averaging 486 a year since. The trend has gone the right way in most aspects.
This is the crux of the gun control debate. People who have respect for their guns normally teach their children that a gun is not a toy and can be a destructive tool used in the wrong way. (They can relate this information themselves or use materials from an outside group, like the NRA.) That way they’re more comfortable leaving their firearms in such a manner to allow their quick response in case of trouble.
As I’ve always said, I can buy a gun, load it, and place it on a table in open sight. It won’t harm anyone until it is touched. This family is more prudent but reserves the right to own and use weapons where the situation is appropriate.
In red states, kids matter
In looking at a recent e-mail from the Capital Research Center, we learned that a diatribe intended to be used by leftist parents for advocacy can also be useful to the Right. As their Kali Fontanilla notes:
Most parents assume they will be the primary voice guiding their children through conversations about sex, puberty, relationships, and values. But increasingly, those conversations are being replaced by curriculum pushed by well-funded nonprofits such as the Sexuality Information and Education Council (SEICUS), which is on a mission to embed radical sexual ideology into classrooms nationwide. Their recently updated tool? A “report card” that ranks each U.S. state based on how well it pushes “comprehensive sex ed.” But once you understand what SIECUS really means by “comprehensive,” that report card becomes something else entirely: a warning label.
Here in Delaware, we get a “C” grade from SEICUS, with the requirement of having sex ed earning the “A” but the content just a “D+.” But let’s look at a pair of states that get the good grade and the bad grade to gain the SEICUS perspective:
Their favorite state is Oregon, for which they say:
Sex education is required and each school district must provide human sexuality education courses K-12th grade that follows the developed standards. Instruction and material must be age appropriate, medically accurate, not shame or fear based, LGBTQIA+ inclusive, and build on itself. Must teach HIV and other STI's, child sexual abuse prevention, menstrual health education, consent and information on healthy relationships and dating violence prevention.
On the other hand, we have those backward-ass hicks in Ohio that allow parents to opt out:
In the current session, however, regressive lawmakers have introduced Senate Bill 156, a bill that would require “success sequencing” to be taught in Ohio schools. To be clear, “success sequencing” is another word that denotes “abstinence only until marriage” instruction. It insinuates that students won’t succeed or have good outcomes later in life if they do not wait to marry and then have kids. Not only is this theory not evidence-based, but it is also stigmatizing to youth, shaming them for their decision-making. House Bill 96, an appropriations bill, also slips in funding for “success sequence” curriculum through instruction on social inclusion that the Department of Education must offer as a training program.
Beyond sex education, the Ohio legislature continues to be the stage for legislative attacks in the form of “parental rights” and anti-transgender bills, with three of these being enacted in 2024. House Bill 8, also known as the Parents Bill of Rights, was also enacted and requires schools to adopt policies including parental notification on health and well-being (potential “forced” outing clause) and any instructional materials with “sexuality content”, directly implicating sex education. This law also prohibits any “sexuality content” from being taught in grades kindergarten through third. House Bill 68 and Senate Bill 104 were signed into law and now make Ohio a hostile state for transgender youth by banning gender affirming care for minors and prohibiting transgender youth from using bathrooms and accommodations that align with their identity. While these laws are not direct attacks on sex education, they do seek to make school environments more hostile and less safe and affirming for all students, especially LGBTQIA+ students.
Looks like Ohio pretty much deserves an A to me.
You and I both know that not every parent talks about the birds and the bees with their kids. However, there’s a point where the basics of reproduction are explored in health class at an appropriate time in a child’s development and then there’s putting menstrual products in boys’ bathrooms just because some biological girl “feels” like a boy that day. If I remember correctly - and this was nearly 50 years ago when I was in 7th or 8th grade - we separated out the boys and the girls when it came to that chapter in the health book. I’m guessing the girls got the menstrual education there, from a female teacher. (We had a male teacher handle our end.)
Things were pretty much fine until the Rainbow Mafia came along, so maybe it’s time for a rewind. Parents know what’s best when it comes to that.
Still putting their finger on the scale
The folks at WalletHub keep trying to tell us “blue” states are more patriotic than “red” states. There are two reasons why that’s interesting.
First of all, thanks to the 2024 election, there are more red states out there. Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin all switched sides. Respectively in this year’s survey, those states ranked 34, 22, 28, 32, 37, and 26.
I’ve found that each year WalletHub updates their rankings on the same page, so I only have the top 20 from 2024 because I saved the e-mail. Worth noting is that Arizona plummeted from 15 to 34 in one year, so I wonder how many of these other states which went for Trump fell in the rankings. (Here in Delaware we fell from 16 to 20. Maryland bumped up from 9 to 8.)
The overall average ranking for “blue” states increased from 23.44 to 21.21, perhaps from losing the “dead weight” of low-ranking states. But when AmeriCorps and/or Peace Corps membership or a civics education requirement is ranked equal to average number of military enlistees per capita, that’s a definite tell.
I’d love to see someone add categories like average percentage of homes displaying a flag or church attendance, which are more in line with the traditional concept of “patriot” and likely would accrue to the benefit of “red” states. And if you want to ask someone what makes up a patriot, perhaps we should skip the ivory tower academic types and ask people who work at The Patriot Post. (After all, patriot is part of their name.)
You could probably even get better answers by asking those people who play on teams called the Patriots, from New England’s version all the way down to high schools. (Somerset may be a problem since many of their players hail from overseas. But I bet they give intriguing answers.)
That’s enough for now. We’ll see what I come up with next month.
Until my next edition of odds and ends, you can Buy Me a Coffee since I have a page there.
Until my next edition of odds and ends, you can Buy Me a Coffee since I have a page there.