Madhula blog

Rep. Michele Bachmann v. Michelle Obama on breastfeeding

Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota on Tuesday blasted the First Lady's support for breastfeeding as evidence of a "nanny state" mentality.

"This is very consistent with where the hard left is coming from," Bachmann , according to widespread reports. "For them, government is the answer to every problem."

"I've given birth to five babies, and I've breastfed every single one of these babies," Bachmann said. "To think that government has to go out and buy my breast pump for my babies, I mean, you wanna talk about the nanny state I think you just got the new definition of the nanny state."

Last week, the IRS ruled that , a move pushed by the Obama administration along with more flexible work rules related to breastfeeding. These changes come amid reports that Michelle Obama , especially among African-Americans, as a way to help combat childhood obesity--the focus of the First Lady's "Let's Move" campaign.

This isn't the first time the "Let's Move" campaign has been the target of "nanny state" attacks.

Sarah Palin has repeatedly criticized the campaign: Palin"Sarah Palin's Alaska," in December saying the dish "is in honor of Michelle Obama, who said the other day we should not have dessert." Palin criticized the campaign on Ingraham's show the month prior.

Bachmann, a star among conservatives--especially those affiliated with the tea party--is considered a potential candidate for president in 2012.

(Photo of Bachmann: Alex Brandon/AP)

Calif. governor drops plan to sell state buildings

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – California Gov. Jerry Brown announced Wednesday he is dropping a plan hatched by former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to sell 24 state government buildings to private investors because the high cost of rent did not make sense for taxpayers.

The state had been in negotiations to sell the properties for $2.3 billion and use the proceeds after paying off construction bonds to help close the state's general fund budget deficit. Under a deal approved by lawmakers, the state would have continued using the space by entering into a 20-year lease with the new owners.

The Associated Press reported in April that the deal would end up costing the state $5.2 billion in rent over 20 years, likely saddling taxpayers with costs beyond whatever the state would net from the sale. That assessment was confirmed by the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office, which found the sale shifts taxpayer costs to the future. The state controller and treasurer also opposed the sale.

"No doubt there's a huge budget deficit and the Legislature and the governor tried to do everything they could, but it's still very daunting," Brown said Wednesday. "The sale of the buildings really didn't really make much sense. It didn't make much sense because it in effect is a gigantic loan with interest payments."

Brown said selling and renting back the space amounted to a 10 percent loan and that the sale would have been "the ultimate in kicking the can down the road."

The AP also reported in April that the Schwarzenegger administration quietly removed appointees from two oversight bodies that must sign off on the sale, replacing critics of the move with people who support it. The move was made as the state began taking bids on the properties, quashing any dissent or independent financial studies that might have emerged as the sale moved forward.

Properties that were put up for sale included the Ronald Reagan office building in downtown Los Angeles, the San Francisco Civic Center, which houses the state Supreme Court, and buildings in downtown Sacramento that house the attorney general's office and state Department of Education.

Cancelling the sale means Brown will have to cover a $1.2 billion gap that was expected to be filled by the sale's proceeds. His administration is proposing taking out short-term loans from special funds for less than a 1 percent interest rate — a "fraction of the cost," Brown said.

He estimated his plan to borrow from Medi-Cal, prison construction bonds and other state resources would be paid back over three years at a cost of about $18 million. Such a maneuver would save the state $6 billion over 35 years compared with Schwarzenegger's proposal, Brown said.

The governor added he expected to be able to pull out of the sale without a legal fight.

Administration officials said state programs would not be hurt by the alternative borrowing plan.

Brown previously had not commented on the proposal. But as attorney general, he declined to represent Schwarzenegger in a lawsuit seeking to block the sale.

Three former state building authority members had sued to stop the sale, saying it amounted to an unlawful gift of public funds and illegally bypassed the state Judicial Council, which has authority over some of the buildings that Schwarzenegger wanted to sell. Plaintiffs Jerry Epstein, A. Redmond Doms and Don Casper were ousted by Schwarzenegger's administration for questioning the sale.

The sale had been set to close Dec. 15 but the state appeals court temporarily blocked it until Schwarzenegger left office, leaving the decision to Brown.

"We are thrilled with the decision. It's exactly what we were trying to accomplish through the litigation, and we're pleased we were able to provide the opportunity for Gov. Brown to review the transaction," said Anne Marie Murphy, an attorney representing the plaintiffs.

A telephone message left with a representative of the buyers was not returned Wednesday. The state had awarded the sale of the buildings to California First LLC, a consortium of investors led by a Texas real estate firm and a private equity firm based in Irvine.

Private Moon Race Team Signs Rocket Deal with SpaceX

A privately funded team hoping to win a multimillion-dollar race to the moon has figured out how it's going to get most of the way there — aboard a commercial rocket that could launch in 2013.

The team Astrobotic Technology Inc., which aims to take home the Google Lunar X Prize, has signed a contract with private spaceflight firm Space Exploration Technologies — SpaceX for short — to launch its robotic payload to the moon aboard a Falcon 9, Astrobotic officials announced Sunday (Feb. 6).

The mission could launch as soon as December 2013, team officials said. Astrobotic's expedition will search for water and deliver payloads, with the robot narrating its adventure while sending 3-D video.

Taking home the prize

The Google Lunar X Prize is an international moon exploration challenge to land a robot on the lunar surface, have it travel at least 1,650 feet (500 meters) and send data and images back to Earth. The first privately funded team to do this will receive the $20 million grand prize.

An additional $10 million has been set aside for second place and various special accomplishments, such as detecting water, bringing the prize’s total purse to $30 million.

The Google Lunar X Prize expires whenever all prizes are claimed (or, failing that, at the end of 2015). Twenty-one teams are currently in the race.

Astrobotic, a spinoff from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pa., is counting on SpaceX to get its payload off the ground.

Launching to the moon

Astrobotic is the first Google Lunar X Prize team to announce a launch contract with SpaceX, prize officials said.

SpaceX — which in December became the first private company to successfully return a spacecraft from Earth orbit — usually charges between $49.9 million and $56 million for a launch to low-Earth orbit. But it's lowering its prices for the prize.

"SpaceX is a Preferred Launch Partner, having offered substantial discount to all Google Lunar X Prize teams as a way of further fostering exploration and innovation," officials wrote on the X Prize website.

The Falcon 9 upper stage will sling Astrobotic on a four-day cruise to the moon. Astrobotic will then orbit the moon to align for landing. The spacecraft will land softly and precisely using technologies pioneered by Carnegie Mellon for guiding autonomous cars, team officials said.

The rover will explore for three months, operating continuously during lunar days and hibernating through lunar nights. The lander will sustain payload operations, helping to provide power and communications, officials said.

Astrobotic wants to win the $20 million, but its ambitions don't stop with the Google Lunar X Prize.

"The mission is the first of a serial campaign," Red Whittaker, chairman of Astrobotic Technology and founder of Carnegie Mellon's Field Robotics Center, said in a statement. "Astrobotic’s missions will pursue new resources, deliver rich experiences, serve new customers and open new markets. Spurred further by incentives, contracts, and the Google Lunar X Prize, this is a perfect storm for new exploration."

Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark Only Halfway in the Light

The Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark review embargo has finally ended. Predictably, Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark hasn't garnered much love from critics, who have sharpened their tools for months. When I saw the musical for myself on Feb. 1, I figured they'd have until the new March 15 opening date to avoid the drubbing. But even after all their mishaps and extra time, they couldn't salvage enough of it to please critics, or perhaps some preview audiences. Yet although the Spider-Man review buzz is terrible, the worst of it may not be warranted -- despite still being a disappointment in many areas.

Warning: Spoilers follow

The combination of director Julie Taymor, and lyricists Bono and The Edge, was guaranteed to provide vastly different fireworks. Bono's rock expertise, and Taymor's Broadway spectacle, is on full display in one big show. Yet although the best of Bono and Taymor is found at various points, the worst of both of their styles is evident as well. Since the two brands of music have a hard time blending together as a whole - to say nothing of the other musical genres on display - there's never a real flow to the action.

The fits and starts in Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark are most evident in the songs, as they go wildly back and forth in quality. Some early promise is established in the opening "Behold and Wonder" as the legend of the show's big new character, Arachne, is established with visual splendor. But Peter Parker's intro in "Bullying By Numbers" lands with a thud, though it is washed out with terrific staging in Peter and Mary Jane's combined "No More" number.

A more problematic techno approach is used with Norman Osbourne's "D.I.Y. World" before the long awaited flying begins in "Bouncing Off The Walls" But the most soaring anthem of Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark comes with "Rise Above" which finally succeeds in blending musical and visual power. Yet the rest of the musical struggles to have the same success.

"Pull The Trigger" serves as the most vintage Taymor number, as dancing generals pressure Norman into his fateful experiments. After "Picture This" blends Peter, MJ and the future Green Goblin together, "I'll Take Manhattan" becomes the big first act closer. However, this first act finale has relatively little music, and instead features the controversial Spider-Man/Green Goblin midair fight. Since I was sitting in the ideal seats for the fight - and since Spidey landed close to me at various points - the battles did ultimately live up to the hype.

But in spite of the flying sequences succeeding, Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark still proves problematic in other areas. With the songs and different styles going back and forth with no flow, and with a rushed approach towards telling the origin story, the show had already proven to be a mixed bag. Despite the clearly expensive visuals on stage and in mid air, no emotional resonance had much hope of coming through, unlike the movies and comics.

Yet for all the first act concerns by critics and audiences, Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark has been bashed more for a much messier second act. Indeed, things get more complicated from here, as the legendary Arachne comes from almost nowhere to be the major villain, and a temptress for Peter. While the first act seems to retell the original Spider-Man movie, plot point for plot point, the second act appears to be a remake of Spider-Man 2, as Peter tries to give it all up for MJ. Given how well that worked in the movie, the musical suffers even more from the bar it set.

The songs also remain erratic, with success coming from the title "Turn Off The Dark" number, Arachne's "Think Again", Mary Jane's "If The World Should End" and Peter's "The Boy Falls From The Sky" Yet there are also failures like "Spider-Man Rising" "Walk Away" "Sinistereo" "Deeply Furious" and the climactic "Love Me Or Kill Me" They told us that a new ending had just been put in place - but given how it was so rushed, anticlimactic and eye-rolling, one must hope that more rewrites are in store.

However, despite all the problems of the second half, the pace is slowed down a bit more. This gives the Spider-Man legend, and the Peter/Mary Jane love story, more room to breathe than it did before. In spite of all the problems around Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark, Peter and Mary Jane's love does give the musical what little real resonance it has. Since their love story in the movies ultimately became a weak link, it is refreshing to see the characters come together like they did in the first film.

My showing had an understudy playing Mary Jane, although she wound up having one of the show's best voices. As Peter and Spidey, Reeve Carney has pretty much nothing to work with, especially since the actual main character is often an afterthought. As Arachne, T.V. Carpio often soars, especially considering her costume, and that's she in the air more than anyone. Michael Mulheren doesn't sing as J. Jonah Jameson, but he predictably walks off with the funniest material.

Meanwhile, Patrick Page does the most scenery chewing as Norman/Gobby, although his speaking and singing style sounds more like Bill Hader's Willem Dafoe impression, with a bizarre Southern accent. Alan Cumming was originally cast as the Goblin, however, and it's evident that the role was written for him - which makes it sadder that he isn't actually there. But ultimately, there wouldn't have been much for him to work with after a while.

While most will regard Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark as a complete bomb, it is actually more of a 50/50 split. Yet since it is not good for an extended period of time, and not bad for an extended period of time either, it neither succeeds as a quality musical or a "so bad it's good" spectacle. Taymor and Bono fans will find a few pieces to embrace, but they have to wade through the worst of both styles, and of a few others, in the meantime.

I don't see the theater as often as others, and have only seen Wicked, Billy Elliot, Spamalot and Al Pacino's Merchant of Venice in the last few years. So given the quality of those productions, the failings of Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark are a bit more glaring to me.

Hull Barrett, PC Welcomes Brooks K. Hudson

Brooks K. Hudson Joins Hull Barrett, PC as an Associate of the Firm

Augusta, GA (Vocus/PRWEB) February 02, 2011

Hull Barrett, PC is pleased to announce thathas joined the firm as an associate in the Augusta, Georgia office. “We are delighted that Brooks has joined the firm” says , who chairs the Litigation Department at the firm. “Brooks’ first hand courtroom experience, case management skills and legal knowledge will enhance our already strong and growing litigation practice.”

As an associate in the litigation department, Brooks’ practice will focus on general civil litigation where he will handle a wide variety of complex litigation matters. Brooks will focus primarily on commercial litigation matters, including prosecuting and defending claims in complex business disputes, health care litigation, First Amendment litigation, construction litigation, class actions and criminal litigation. Brooks received his J.D. from the Walter F. George School of Law at Mercer University in 2004. Prior to joining Hull Barrett, Brooks served as the Assistant District Attorney for the District Attorney’s Office where he conducted prosecutions and court proceedings on behalf of the State of Georgia and was appointed Special Drug Prosecutor. He also worked in the Public Defender’s Office in the Augusta Judicial Circuit where he represented defendants in numerous court proceedings.

is a full service law firm withfirm wide. The firm is engaged in a general civil practice providing a broad range of legal services with an emphasis on general litigation, trials and appeals; securities and corporate law; mergers, acquisitions and public offerings; local government law and eminent domain actions; health care; computer and technology law; internet ventures; trademark and copyright law; taxation; public finance; commercial real estate; construction law and disputes; employment law; banking law; insurance law; trusts, estate planning and probate; First Amendment and media law and environmental matters. Hull Barrett represents a broad client base of major corporations, small businesses, professional entities, financial and lending institutions, local governments, public authorities, public utilities, railroad companies, insurance companies, health care institutions and individuals.

is also a member of the International Society of Primerus Law Firms (Primerus).is a society of top-rated, independent, boutique law firms that have earned the right to display the Primerus seal of quality. As one of the most respected law firm societies, Primerus has over 170 member firms in 125 cities located in 23 countries throughout the world. Primerus has become the size of some of the world's largest law firms. However, unlike most large firms, Primerus is growing at an unprecedented pace, and is expanding throughout Europe, Asia, and elsewhere around the globe. Primerus firms provide clients with responsive, partner-level service at reasonable fees. Law firms in the U.S. and Canada must be AV-rated using the Martindale-Hubbell peer review service. For firms outside of North America, consideration is given to respected resources such as Chambers Global Guide, Legal 500 EMEA, and IFLR 1000. Additionally, once approved for membership, every Primerus firm is audited, annually, to ensure that the legal services they continue to provide to clients are of a consistent, high quality, year after year. Each member is committed to the following standards: Integrity, Excellent Work Product, Reasonable Fees, Continuing Legal Education, Civility and Community Service.

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Erica M. KusmierzInternational Society of Primerus Law Firms800-968-2211Email Information