The Octogenarian Menace

I don't know about you, but I'm going to sleep far easier tonight knowing the men and woman of the Secret Service are on the job. News has come out that they've foiled another potential threat and saved America from the Octogenarian Menace.

According to Pennlive.com,

Some might say Dan Tilli's opinion letters threaten conservative values.

But the U.S. Secret Service briefly worried the 81-year-old Bethlehem man's words threatened President Bush this week.

Tilli received a phone call from a Secret Service agent Thursday morning. The call surprised Tilli, but he was even more startled when he learned the caller and another dark-suited agent were sitting outside Tilli's Bethlehem apartment building at that very moment.

"They said, 'We're coming up,'" Tilli recalled Friday. "They were in the parking lot and they came up in two seconds."

The agents, who confirmed the call and visit Friday, grilled Tilli for nearly an hour before deeming him safe. Their concern was Tilli's letter to the editor published in Monday's Express-Times.

The letter referenced the execution of Saddam Hussein and ended with the line, "I still believe they hanged the wrong man."

The government apparently saw that as a potential threat toward the president.

In quick order, the G-men decided Tilli wasn't a threat. It makes me wonder if the quick assessment had anything to do with the man's age. Of course, if this is true, what might have been the result if Tilli was 50 or 30? Would he be sitting in lock-up today?