I'm not sure how I feel about the new TSA changes for what you can bring aboard a plane. I think security professionals are ok with the changes. Politicians, stewardesses, and air marshalls are against.
Bob Hesselbein, the pilot union's national security committee chairman, put it well. "A Swiss army knife in the briefcase of a frequent flyer we know very well is a tool. A ballpoint pen in the hands of a terrorist is a weapon." The absurdity comes out quickly. The only items banned by law (so this is Congress's doing) are lighters, out of fear of lighting a bomb. But matches are ok to bring aboard and are not detectable by electronic means.
Sure you can ban many seemingly reasonable things but weapons can be made out of many items, knitting needles, guitar strings, pens, etc. My favorite story was from someone flying business class shortly after 9/11. They normally get metal silverware, but the knives had been replaced by plastic. But there was still a metal fork.
At issue is that cargo is still not screened, that needs to be fixed. Cockpit doors have been secured, many pilots are armed, and there are air marshalls on many flights. It seems that planes won't be used as weapons as they were on 9/11. Now it's a matter of how much inconvenience we want.
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