Opinion in brief

The U.S. Secret Service is currently investigating a seventh-grade student in Rhode Island who wrote an essay “advocating violence against” President Bush, according to a Reuters news report.

The boy who wrote the threatening essay was doing a homework assignment that asked students to describe their perfect day. Apparently his idea of a perfect day is one where violent things happen not just to Bush but also to Coca-Cola , Wal-Mart executives and Oprah Winfrey. Oprah Winfrey, for God’s sake.

Upon reading his essay, the student’s teacher brought it to the attention of school officials. The matter seems to have snowballed from there.

Obviously this kid is not your typical adolescent (wishing harm to Bush is more of an adult activity), but that doesn’t warrant a Secret Service investigation. Threatening the president may be a felony, but overreacting to a schoolboy’s homework is stupid.

It is hard to say who is the dumbest party in this situation. Is it the teacher for taking this to school officials, the school officials for taking it to the cops or the Secret Service agents for taking it seriously? Or maybe it’s Oprah Winfrey, who has not launched her own investigation into the matter.