Free and restricted don't often go together, but that's just what you get if you happen to log on to the Denver airport's free Internet access. The Denver International Airport first made its Wi-Fi Internet access free back in November, and saw its use rise tenfold from when it charged $7.95 for 24 hours of access. (We feel sorry for those folks who were actually there to make full use of those 24 hours. That's one long flight delay.) When the airport first began testing the free access, the traveling public responded with enthusiasm, logging on to the wireless Internet service to check e-mail, read news and check their favorite Web sites, just as they would from home. But many discovered that they weren't able to access some of their favorite Web sites, including popular online destinations like the gossip blog perezhilton.com and tech news aggreggator BoingBoing. Even magazine Web sites such as Vanity Fair were blocked. The reason? The airport's Web administrators have determined that much of the content on those sites could be perceived as offensive, especially since they are trying to promote a "family-friendly environment," as an airport spokesperson states. What's troubling is the inconsistency of their effort, since Vanity Fair's print edition is easily found on airport newsstands along with much more racy fare like Penthouse and Hustler. Still, the airport seems committed to limiting access to certain sites, and some users are comparing the restrictions to the kinds you'd find in place in regions that are much less tolerant of free expression and speech. In fact, some Web site operators, like the producer of BoingBoing, say the same Web filters in use at the Denver airport are employed by those responsible for limited access to content in places like Sudan and Kuwait. BoingBoing is typically not a host for off-color content but does sometimes display artwork or text that shows and describes nudity. The filter system, Webwasher, is provided by Secure Computing, a San Jose, Calif.-based Internet security company. According to the company site, Webwasher "significantly reduces...access to inappropriate, malicious or distracting Web content." Among the Web sites that Webwasher can be used to block are blogs, chats, dating sites, those that sell alcohol, digital postcards, gambling, historical revisionism, and, yes, partial nudity. Not every Webwasher client needs to use all of these

DOBSON OUTRAGED State appeals court has decided California parents without teaching credentials do not have a right to home-school their children. The 2nd District Court of Appeals ruling could affect up to 200,000 home-schooled students in the state. “The court is guilty of an imperious assault on the rights of parents,” said Dr. James Dobson, founder and chairman of Focus on the Family. “How dare these judges have the audacity to label tens of thousands of parents criminals — the equivalent to drug dealers or pickpockets — because they want to raise and educate their children according to their deeply held values? "The case before them involved one couple — the ruling should have been confined to that one couple, not used to punish an entire class of people, the vast majority of them religious conservatives.” According to the Home School Legal Defense Association, California is set to become the only state to deny the vast majority of home schooling parents their fundamental right to teach their children at home. The group will file an amicus brief in the case. Dr. Dobson said Focus on the Family will do whatever it can to get the ruling overturned and to restore the basic rights of parents in California to determine how their children are educated. “This is an all-out assault on the family, and it must be met with a concerted effort to defend parents and their children,” he said. “We will team with key allies and use every means at our disposal to make sure that not just every Californian, but every American, is aware of this miscarriage of justice. We will encourage them, by the hundreds of thousands, to make their voices heard on this matter. "And we’re hopeful that, in the end,