Allentown Named "Playful City"

According to an article at the City of Allentown website,  Allentown is one of only two communities in PA to be named a "Playful City USA Community" by KaBOOM  a non-profit organization that promotes unstructured play. 

According to KaBOOM CEO Darell Hammond: 

“Allentown took a stand and determined that the future of their community—their children—deserve a commitment to the cause of play. This is an investment in the future, not an expenditure, and cities and towns across the country can replicate initiatives from these Playful City USA Communities so that they too can bring play back into the lives of their children.”

In the article, Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski  cites these two programs for city youth: SPP, a free Summer Playground Program available at most Allentown school playgrounds, and ACHIEVE, a program that partners with the Allentown School District, City Health Bureau, Wildlands Conservancy, Public Library, Fire Department, and Recycling Bureau.

My family and I are greatly looking forward to the new, handicapped-accessible, interactive, and free Destination Playground that will be built at Cedar Beach Park. This will be a great place for families from all over Allentown to meet for a common cause: our children. It's time for all the citizens of Allentown, young and old, natives and transplants, to start focusing on what brings us together, rather than on what separates us. Equal Opportunity for all. Our parks are for everyone to enjoy, even the "outsiders" who have relocated here-- as they are branded by the handful of Konstant Krankypants Kvetchers known kollectively as the "Defenders of the Parks" (wink wink) and "led" by embittered, vendetta-driven, 2005 Allentown Mayoral election loser Mike Molovinsky and his coded racist agenda.  

Oh and speaking of Cedar Beach Park, don't miss SportsFest there this weekend! 

Hooray for Allentown for being forward-thinking, for Moving Forward Together (well, most of us anyway), and for caring about our kids.

Post written by Mr. & Mrs. Dottie.

Allentown Named "Playful City"

According to an article at the City of Allentown website,  Allentown is one of only two communities in PA to be named a "Playful City USA Community" by KaBOOM  a non-profit organization that promotes unstructured play. 

According to KaBOOM CEO Darell Hammond: 

“Allentown took a stand and determined that the future of their community—their children—deserve a commitment to the cause of play. This is an investment in the future, not an expenditure, and cities and towns across the country can replicate initiatives from these Playful City USA Communities so that they too can bring play back into the lives of their children.”

In the article, Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski  cites these two programs for city youth: SPP, a free Summer Playground Program available at most Allentown school playgrounds, and ACHIEVE, a program that partners with the Allentown School District, City Health Bureau, Wildlands Conservancy, Public Library, Fire Department, and Recycling Bureau.

My family and I are greatly looking forward to the new, handicapped-accessible, interactive, and free Destination Playground that will be built at Cedar Beach Park. This will be a great place for families from all over Allentown to meet for a common cause: our children. It's time for all the citizens of Allentown, young and old, natives and transplants, to start focusing on what brings us together, rather than on what separates us. Equal Opportunity for all. Our parks are for everyone to enjoy, even the "outsiders" who have relocated here-- as they are branded by the handful of Konstant Krankypants Kvetchers known kollectively as the "Defenders of the Parks" (wink wink) and "led" by embittered, vendetta-driven, 2005 Allentown Mayoral election loser Mike Molovinsky and his coded racist agenda.  

Oh and speaking of Cedar Beach Park, don't miss SportsFest there this weekend! 

Hooray for Allentown for being forward-thinking, for Moving Forward Together (well, most of us anyway), and for caring about our kids.

Post written by Mr. & Mrs. Dottie.

White Male Rage Over Sotomayor

Here's the entire comment, in context, that Sonia Sotomayor made during a lecture at UC Berkeley that has White Male NeoCon Right Wingnuts rolling around on the floor and foaming at the mouth over:

Whether born from experience or inherent physiological or cultural differences, a possibility I abhor less or discount less than my colleague Judge Cedarbaum, our gender and national origins may and will make a difference in our judging. Justice O'Connor has often been cited as saying that a wise old man and wise old woman will reach the same conclusion in deciding cases. I am not so sure Justice O'Connor is the author of that line since Professor Resnik attributes that line to Supreme Court Justice Coyle. I am also not so sure that I agree with the statement. First, as Professor Martha Minnow has noted, there can never be a universal definition of wise. Second, I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life

Let us not forget that wise men like Oliver Wendell Holmes and Justice Cardozo voted on cases which upheld both sex and race discrimination in our society. Until 1972, no Supreme Court case ever upheld the claim of a woman in a gender discrimination case. I, like Professor Carter, believe that we should not be so myopic as to believe that others of different experiences or backgrounds are incapable of understanding the values and needs of people from a different group. Many are so capable. As Judge Cedarbaum pointed out to me, nine white men on the Supreme Court in the past have done so on many occasions and on many issues including Brown. -Sonia Sotomayor

When read in context, it is clear that Sotomayor's comment is about the reality that different people have different life experiences. Diversity of opinion is good for the court. A judge's background can make a difference. In fact, her comment is the opposite of racism. She is saying that she hopes a Latina would make wise decisions, just like the previous white males did.

Drug addicted gas bag Rush Limbaugh has labeled her a "reverse racist." He says "He(Obama) just wants one of his own on the court to do his dirty work, from the highest court in the land, and she fits the bill." "Obama is the greatest example of a reverse racist, and now he has appointed one."

Newt Gingrich, Pat Buchanan, Glenn Beck, Michael Steele, Dick Cheney, Karl Rove, have all expressed their outrage over the Sotomayor comment. And at this blog in my previous post, I received numerous vile comments, some that we published, most that we rejected, from foaming at the mouth hysterical anonymous commenters gone bonkers. G. Gordon Liddy has said "let's hope the key conferences aren't when she is menstruating or something, or just before she is going to menstruate." Ex Congressman Tom Tancredo has referred to Sotomayor as the ring leader of the Latino's version of the KKK.

FACT: All but four of the 110 Supreme Court justices in our nation’s history have been white men.

Twist and shout all you want, connected white guys, your privileged days of exclusive and unchallenged power are over.

White Male Rage Over Sotomayor

Here's the entire comment, in context, that Sonia Sotomayor made during a lecture at UC Berkeley that has White Male NeoCon Right Wingnuts rolling around on the floor and foaming at the mouth over:

Whether born from experience or inherent physiological or cultural differences, a possibility I abhor less or discount less than my colleague Judge Cedarbaum, our gender and national origins may and will make a difference in our judging. Justice O'Connor has often been cited as saying that a wise old man and wise old woman will reach the same conclusion in deciding cases. I am not so sure Justice O'Connor is the author of that line since Professor Resnik attributes that line to Supreme Court Justice Coyle. I am also not so sure that I agree with the statement. First, as Professor Martha Minnow has noted, there can never be a universal definition of wise. Second, I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life

Let us not forget that wise men like Oliver Wendell Holmes and Justice Cardozo voted on cases which upheld both sex and race discrimination in our society. Until 1972, no Supreme Court case ever upheld the claim of a woman in a gender discrimination case. I, like Professor Carter, believe that we should not be so myopic as to believe that others of different experiences or backgrounds are incapable of understanding the values and needs of people from a different group. Many are so capable. As Judge Cedarbaum pointed out to me, nine white men on the Supreme Court in the past have done so on many occasions and on many issues including Brown. -Sonia Sotomayor

When read in context, it is clear that Sotomayor's comment is about the reality that different people have different life experiences. Diversity of opinion is good for the court. A judge's background can make a difference. In fact, her comment is the opposite of racism. She is saying that she hopes a Latina would make wise decisions, just like the previous white males did.

Drug addicted gas bag Rush Limbaugh has labeled her a "reverse racist." He says "He(Obama) just wants one of his own on the court to do his dirty work, from the highest court in the land, and she fits the bill." "Obama is the greatest example of a reverse racist, and now he has appointed one."

Newt Gingrich, Pat Buchanan, Glenn Beck, Michael Steele, Dick Cheney, Karl Rove, have all expressed their outrage over the Sotomayor comment. And at this blog in my previous post, I received numerous vile comments, some that we published, most that we rejected, from foaming at the mouth hysterical anonymous commenters gone bonkers. G. Gordon Liddy has said "let's hope the key conferences aren't when she is menstruating or something, or just before she is going to menstruate." Ex Congressman Tom Tancredo has referred to Sotomayor as the ring leader of the Latino's version of the KKK.

FACT: All but four of the 110 Supreme Court justices in our nation’s history have been white men.

Twist and shout all you want, connected white guys, your privileged days of exclusive and unchallenged power are over.

Newspapers as Nonprofits

Our founding fathers established a press system because they realized the necessity to inform all citizens. It was public policy. The news as a public good. They knew that an informed citizenry was essential to democracy.

Now, due to the failing economy, the internet, media consolidation ( i.e. big corporate takeovers) and a failing business model based on circulation and ad revenue, these are dark times for the venerable printed newspaper. And a tragedy for democracy.

I read this the other day: WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. government could provide tax breaks for newspapers or allow them to operate as nonprofits to help the struggling business survive, Sen. John Kerry said Wednesday.

Senator Ben Cardin of Maryland is proposing legislation (The Newspaper Revitalization Act)

http://cardin.senate.gov/news/record.cfm?id=310392 which would allow newspapers to restructure as nonprofits. The purpose of this legislation is to save local papers and community papers, not the big media conglomerates. Nonprofit status would allow for advertising and subscriptions to be tax exempt. The newspaper would subsist on tax deductible donations and contributions. As a nonprofit, the newspaper would not be allowed to make political endorsements. They would be allowed to operate for educational purposes, like NPR or PBS.

This sounds good to me, because it would allow for many perspectives and different points of view. Media consolidation has suppressed the diverse voices in our community. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concentration_of_media_ownership

And this would be one way to help local and community newspapers to stay afloat, hopefully preserving some investigative journalism.

Newspapers as Nonprofits

Our founding fathers established a press system because they realized the necessity to inform all citizens. It was public policy. The news as a public good. They knew that an informed citizenry was essential to democracy.

Now, due to the failing economy, the internet, media consolidation ( i.e. big corporate takeovers) and a failing business model based on circulation and ad revenue, these are dark times for the venerable printed newspaper. And a tragedy for democracy.

I read this the other day: WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. government could provide tax breaks for newspapers or allow them to operate as nonprofits to help the struggling business survive, Sen. John Kerry said Wednesday.

Senator Ben Cardin of Maryland is proposing legislation (The Newspaper Revitalization Act)

http://cardin.senate.gov/news/record.cfm?id=310392 which would allow newspapers to restructure as nonprofits. The purpose of this legislation is to save local papers and community papers, not the big media conglomerates. Nonprofit status would allow for advertising and subscriptions to be tax exempt. The newspaper would subsist on tax deductible donations and contributions. As a nonprofit, the newspaper would not be allowed to make political endorsements. They would be allowed to operate for educational purposes, like NPR or PBS.

This sounds good to me, because it would allow for many perspectives and different points of view. Media consolidation has suppressed the diverse voices in our community. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concentration_of_media_ownership

And this would be one way to help local and community newspapers to stay afloat, hopefully preserving some investigative journalism.

A New Playground in Allentown!

We are lucky to have a wonderful park system in Allentown. Our family spends a lot of time at parks and on playgrounds. We take advantage of the Muhlenberg School playground, where our son can stay after school and play with his friends. Other than the school playground, which has old equipment, and is like a swamp after it rains, there are no other public playgrounds in the west end of Allentown. This is why I am excited about plans for a new fully accessible destination playground to be built at Allentown's Cedar Beach park. According to the mayor, this playground will "consist of the latest technology and most innovative playground equipment available." Wow, that sounds great!

Unstructured play is so important to a child's physical, social, emotional, and intellectual development. Childhood obesity is a problem in this country. Too many kids stay home and play video games or watch television. Too many parents use television as a babysitter. The American Heart Association advocates for one hour of play a day for kids.

Our community is changing and growing. There are more children. Children of all ages can benefit from a new playground. New playground equipment looks more like big modern sculptures for kids to explore and be creative. These newer structures are safer than the old equipment, and are handicap accessible. They are also designed with less flat surfaces, which helps to deter graffitti. And it's free fun! I know that there are many Allentown children (and parents) who will benefit from the new playground.

A New Playground in Allentown!

We are lucky to have a wonderful park system in Allentown. Our family spends a lot of time at parks and on playgrounds. We take advantage of the Muhlenberg School playground, where our son can stay after school and play with his friends. Other than the school playground, which has old equipment, and is like a swamp after it rains, there are no other public playgrounds in the west end of Allentown. This is why I am excited about plans for a new fully accessible destination playground to be built at Allentown's Cedar Beach park. According to the mayor, this playground will "consist of the latest technology and most innovative playground equipment available." Wow, that sounds great!

Unstructured play is so important to a child's physical, social, emotional, and intellectual development. Childhood obesity is a problem in this country. Too many kids stay home and play video games or watch television. Too many parents use television as a babysitter. The American Heart Association advocates for one hour of play a day for kids.

Our community is changing and growing. There are more children. Children of all ages can benefit from a new playground. New playground equipment looks more like big modern sculptures for kids to explore and be creative. These newer structures are safer than the old equipment, and are handicap accessible. They are also designed with less flat surfaces, which helps to deter graffitti. And it's free fun! I know that there are many Allentown children (and parents) who will benefit from the new playground.