Homeland security: getting smarter or staying stupid?

Getting smarter:

Chertoff is a good guy. When I heard this NPR interview I remember thinking, holy crap, someone who gets it. Security is about tradeoffs and with limited resources, making the most cost effective and rational decisions based on risk and threat analysis.

TSA may move to reallow knives, etc. back on aircraft.
Threats Reassessed To Make Travel Easier for Public

The stay-seated the first and last 30-minutes of a flight rule is also going away, due to reasoned analysis:
http://www.mail-archive.com/infowarrior@g2-forward.org/msg01084.html

Staying stupid:

(proposing requiring passports to enter the US from Canada)

http://www.mail-archive.com/infowarrior@g2-forward.org/msg01280.html

Looks like getting smarter may finally win out.