tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11363027.post4573549512930927588..comments2024-03-28T09:14:20.479-05:00Comments on driftglass: Vast and Spuriousdriftglasshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09379167083253389153noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11363027.post-229730357348943142013-07-13T13:37:22.380-05:002013-07-13T13:37:22.380-05:00I always love it when people start misreading the ...I always love it when people start misreading the ADA.<br /><br />In fact, the actual ADA legislation did NOT mandate retrofitting of buildings or anything relating to the built environment.<br /><br />The ADA was a piece of civil rights legislation, allowing people with disabilities to bring a lawsuit against companies or governments who have not take reasonable steps to provide full accessiblity to facilities.<br /><br />In an effort to provide guidance to what reasonable accomodation means, the Act included the Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards and the ANSI accessibility standards in the appendices. (in fact, the ANSI standards have been updated twice since 1990, I wonder if the Act has been updated?)<br /><br />There was no real enforcement arm in the ADA other than litigation. Some states, like Wisconsin, changed their code to reflect and reference the ADA, so the state plan examiners and building inspectors could enforce the specific stipulations of the referenced standards; but that doesn't prevent someone from bringing an ADA suit against the owner, so much as inoculate the designers and state agencies.<br /><br />Since much of the country has adopted the International Building Code, the ADA has become largely moot as regards the built environment; the IBC directly incorporates the current ANSI standards for accessiblity, so the specifics, regulation and eforcement of accessibility in the built environment is pretty clearly called out.<br /><br />But the UFAS guidelines remain in place, which creates some confusion, as the UFAS guidelines have not kept up with the ANSI standards, and conflict in some cases. So a building that is built subject to both standards cannot quite do so.<br /><br />But don't get me wrong. The current state of accessibility building standards is far, far better than what existed in 1990 (although I have to say that when I analyzed the ADA requirements vs. the Wisconsin requirements, the Wisconsin code was already 90% of the way there). And the treaty discussed actually doesn't require much from the US, but rather called for the treaty partners to bring their own accessibility standards up to ours.<br /><br />But I guess I wasn't surprised that there are still people who saw the ADA as overreach; I still sometimes deal with clients who don't see that building a project that is better able to serve a wider array of people is actually a good thing, and figure they can save some money by skirting the law.<br /><br />Sorry about the length of this comment, driftglass. Where should I put this soapbox?zombie rotten mcdonaldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10601960953323752278noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11363027.post-32873850584967212492013-07-12T14:12:09.019-05:002013-07-12T14:12:09.019-05:00The internet has not been the cure-all for ignoran...The internet has not been the cure-all for ignorance, especially the willful kind. If anything, it's made the delusional even more delusional, since they can pick-and-choose their sources of "information" in ways they couldn't before. <br /><br />In the old days, you had a few easy news sources. Sure, conservatives still said crazy things back then but we also had a media that would more-or-less fact check them. <br /><br />Today, people can bury their heads exclusively in Britebart and hate radio, getting all their "information" from these sources, sources which are designed to confirm their bigotry and validate their paranoid conspiracy theories. On the off chance that they accidentally turn on the television while the news is on, reporters rarely, if ever, fact check any lies they come across. That's the blogger's job. <br /><br />And so the alternate reality bubble is stronger than ever. DeistPaladinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11363027.post-76387100774794298612013-07-12T11:33:45.081-05:002013-07-12T11:33:45.081-05:00From the esteemed Mr. Peirce, listing the groups t...From the esteemed Mr. Peirce, listing the groups that will emerge from woods, hair afire to oppose any nomination the Usurper makes replacing Napalitano;<br /><br />"The Edward Snowden Popular Front For The Liberation Of Stuff We Already Knew."<br /><br />....oh and he will be excoriated for that one line, because that is most assuredly not allowed in the new Randian frontier.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com