nwasianweekly.com
Jan. 27, 2007

Don’t the feds have better things to do?

Talk about making a mountain out of a molehill.

In an egregious use of authority, the Secret Service searched the home of an 81-year-old man in Bethlehem, Pa., after feds saw what he had written in a letter printed in a local newspaper.

Dan Tilli’s letter, about the execution of Saddam Hussein, concluded with the line, “I still believe they hanged the wrong man.”

Secret Service agents, considering it a threat against President Bush, last Thursday went to Tilli’s home, grilled him and searched his belongings. But the elderly man wasn’t hiding anything, and he certainly wasn’t making any threats against the president via The Express-Times of Easton, Pa.

“I didn’t say who — I could’ve meant (Osama) bin Laden,” he told The Associated Press last Friday.

Whatever happened to free speech? Crackdowns like the kind Tilli experienced are expected in countries like China and Iran, but not here in the U.S. This country is supposed to be about freedom of expression and thought. One of our most fundamental rights is the freedom to say what we want, how we want, whenever we want.

This newspaper has been preaching this to immigrants for years. We encourage people to speak their minds, continually explaining to them that they are free to do so without retribution from the U.S. government. Tilli’s case scares immigrants into keeping their heads down and mouths shut. What kind of democracy is that? Not one that we would be proud to call our own.

It was a misuse of taxpayer money to send agents to search the home of this elderly man. The government has better things to do with its time and money than monitor letters to the editor. If it wants to crack down on crime, focus on the criminal activity in New Orleans that is hindering the city’s recovery efforts. Without homes and a stable economy, people there are still struggling to survive. The U.S. government must step up its efforts to assist the survivors; don’t leave them out in the cold and forget them. This is one of America’s most important issues on the domestic front.

Perhaps the administration thought Tilli’s case would distract people’s attention from the Middle East, New Orleans, plunging poll numbers or any of the other problems plaguing Bush right now. Mr. President, we’re smarter than that.

This isn’t about the safety of the president. It’s about squelching our freedom of speech.

An 81-year-old a threat to the head of state? C’mon. We would be laughing if we weren’t so mad.

Send correspondence to:
Northwest Asian Weekly • P.O. Box 3468 • Seattle • WA  98114
Tel: 206.223.5559 •  Fax: 206.223.0626 • Email: info@nwasianweekly.com
Please bookmark this site: www.nwasianweekly.com.