The Kandutsch Law Office has been selected by Broadband Communities magazine for the second straight year as one of the Top 100 Technology Providers.

Published in Counterpunch, Nov. 1, 2013: http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/11/01/the-state-of-american-broadband/

It's no secret that the state of broadband deployment in the United States is inadequate by any measure applicable to the world's wealthiest nation. According to backbone provider Akamai's most recent assessment of web traffic, the number of people who have adopted broadband (measured at anything above 4 Mbps) was 62 percent, which puts the U.S. at number twelve in the worldwide rankings when it comes to adoption, and number nine when it comes to average speeds. These are not impressive rankings for the world's largest economy, and current trends do not bode well for America's future.

Recently in conversation I remarked to a friend that the United States government lacks moral standing to judge another government in violation of generally accepted moral norms of behavior (such as the use of chemical weapons) because the United States government routinely and habitually violates those same and similar generally accepted norms of behavior, including international law.

The comments below were written by my brother Mark, who is a physician in Bar Harbor, Maine

Comments on the Affordable Care Act 
By: Mark A. Kandutsch, M.D.

The American Association of Orthopedic Medicine is not a typical conservative bunch; as I write this, I am returning to Maine from their annual meeting. The conference hall had a high ratio of (mostly graying) pony-tails and Birkenstocks vs. suits and ties... So why the cheers when one of the speakers announced a lawsuit against the FDA and President Obama's administration? After all, the President's health care reform program is often hailed as a triumph of progressive principles. I would like to explore some of the contradictions and sources of discomfort that I think led this free-thinking liberal audience to object to some concepts that are central to the President's version of health care reform.

On May 3, 2013, The New Yorker published a short article by Tim Wu called "The Coming War over Net Neutrality," available at http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/elements/2013/05/why-cable-companies-should-love-a-free-internet.html.

The article argues that cable operators ought to support the FCC's so-called "net neutrality" rules, issued in 2010's In the Matter of Preserving the Open Internet Broadband Indus. Practices, 25 F.C.C.R. 17905, in order to preserve the Internet's "zero-prices rule." Under the zero-prices rule, a consumer's price for joining a network is zero; the price that users and websites pay to reach each other is zero; and the price that big websites charge ISPs to carry their content is also zero.

It's only been a little over six weeks since the Second Circuit Court of Appeals issued its decision in the Aereo TV litigation, which is summarized here: http://www.kandutsch.com/articles/aereo-2-broadcast-networks-zip. We've just begun to see the ripple effects of the court's decision, including News Corporation (Fox) announcing that it will consider re-packaging its free off-air TV channels as pay-TV cable channels, Senator John McCain's amendment of his cable a la carte bill in Congress to require the FCC to auction the spectrum of any broadcaster that moves its must-see programming to cable, Time Warner Cable's statement that if Aereo emerges victorious, the company might invest in similar antenna technology to avoid retransmission consent fees. See http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/2013/05/02/f6b43b84-b27b-11e2-baf7-5bc2a9dc6f44_story.html.

The association of poetry with magic goes back a long way in our culture, at least since Plato expelled poets from his Republic if not earlier. Less dramatically, let us say that the writing and reading of literature has always implied a transformative power – the power to transform the self and redeem the fallen world. But at the same time, at the end of the day, the poet needs to earn a living just like the plumber, and the weight of words adds nothing to nor subtracts from the weight of the world on one's shoulders.

I wrote in a previous entry that I have been re-reading several novels first read in my youth. Recently, I have read several novels by Russian émigré writer Vladimir Nabokov, including Laughter in the Dark, Pnin, and now Lolita.

Cord-cutting is proceeding apace at the beginning of 2013.

According to a new survey from Nielsen Wire, homes with broadband Internet and free, broadcast TV are becoming a growing trend, increasing by 22.8 percent during the last year.

The number of homes subscribing to wired cable has decreased 4.1 percent in the last year, while telephone company-provided and satellite TV subscriptions have seen increases of 21.1 percent and 2.1 percent, respectively.

Not long ago, I watched a cable show about "the 10 most hated celebrities in America."

Vindicated baby-killer Casey Anthony checked in at number one.

Curiosity moved me to Google the most hated celebrity in Brazil and the result was somewhat surprising. Hated celebrities 10 through 2 are the Brazilian versions of Paris Hilton, Spenser Pratt, and Kim Kardashian – obnoxious, extremely wealthy airheads who are famous for being famous.