Supreme Court rules, 6-3, that Federally funded public libraries

[Theophylact]

may be required to use Internet filters: in other words, they upheld the constitutionality of the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA). (Rehnquist, Scalia, Thomas, O'Connor majority opinion; Breyer and Kennedy concurring in two separate opinions.) Here's the majority opinion; the others can be found at the same Associated press site for Case Number 02-361.

[wallie_x]

I believe the problem lies in our schools teaching black and white linear thinking. Many people believe such things as 'Separation of Church and State." are absolutes. They have a tendency to view reality as a dichotomy of sharp opposites. 'Freedom of Speech' is thus another absolute sacred cow, and thus inviolable. If you tell them that, freedom of speech is not an absolute right, and that you can't, for example, yell "FIRE!" in a crowded theater, you will get a look of, "Yeah, but..." as they try to think of a rejoinder. If you go on to explain that the original intent of the founding fathers was that free speech was mostly the right to voice political descent, particularly without fear of reprisal, they look even more perplexed.
This should have been a no brainer: protecting our children far out weighs the rights of some person wishing to view porn in a public library, where such things should be publicly ostracized anyway.