An interesting article posted on RedState.com (so you can't say it's liberal BS) about a soldier with a weapon who was asked to surrender his nail clippers, but he was allowed to keep the weapon.
TSA Guy: You can’t take those on the plane.
Soldier: What? I’ve had them since we left country.
TSA Guy: You’re not suppose to have them.
Soldier: Why?
TSA Guy: They can be used as a weapon.
Soldier: [touches butt stock of the rifle] But this actually is a weapon. And I’m allowed to take it on.
TSA Guy: Yeah but you can’t use it to take over the plane. You don’t have bullets.
Soldier: And I can take over the plane with nail clippers?
Yeah, I can carry on my crochet hook that will nicely embed in a person's eye socket or kill them if shoved deep in the ear canal. But then what?
Security is only going to actually mean something if it's done rationally.
"Now, more than ever, the illusions of division threaten our very existence. We all know the truth: more connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another as if we were one single tribe.” -King T'Challa, Black Panther
The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it. ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is. ~Winston Churchill
In spite of all the precautions TSA has put into place, I don't feel any safer flying than I did before they put them in place. For every precaution, there is a way around it. I really like driving now, and would rather drive for 2 days than spend hours in an airport, put up with the hassle of parking, security, the masses of people, then spend hours cramped into a tiny seat, with limited food service (if any) and not so happy flight attendents. And.....I am always the one who gets the kid who screams and kicks the seat right behind me.
Some of us have no choice but to fly. It seems the frequent fliers could have a profile that indicated their potential risk. Frankly, security varies from one country to the next and it is possible to get on a flight with low security (eg. Saudi where there is little critical search for potential weapons) and make it to the US without going through a subsequent search along the way (not if you go through Germany or England though). Procedures in place in the US and Germany have reached a point of paranoia. Everything you bring needs to be miniaturized from toothpaste to perfume or cologne. Everyone is viewed as a potential terrorist. I hardly think an 80 year old presents much of a threat. They are more interested in living each day they have left. Common sense, what ever happened to it?