"If all this TSA crap is just to "make people feel safe flying", I am even MORE PO'd than before I read that."

Immediately after 9-11-2001 the airlines were hemmoraging money. Like it or not air travel drives a huge chunk of our economy. The prohibitions on blades and tools were implemented to give the impression that the government was responding to the continued threat of takeover--a threat which no longer existed. What that did was reduce some of the fear that people had and thus get them flying again. What it did not do was prevent any attacks. That's why the ridiculous rules are being relaxed.

"A.The chances that the FBI even knows who a fraction of the terrorists in the U.S. are is extremely remote, &
B. I doubt they would know where to find them if they were living next door to them."

Then I would invite you to speculate on why we have not been attacked here in the last 4-1/2 years. I can think of three possible reasons:

1. Our enemies have forgiven us and have decided to leave us be.
2. Our enemies have decided that the TSA is so formidable that they would surely be caught trying to get anything past them.
3. Our enemies are at Guantanamo, or in other jails, and the ones who are not have the FBI crawling up their backs, tapping their phones, infiltrating their places of worship, and reading their emails.

I'll take door # 3 Monty. <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />