After a pilot reports that there are "security" concerns about some passenger(s), it is anything but unheard of for the TSA to get involved and request that the plane be held or return for (some or all) passengers to be checked out/re-screened.

While the TSA is responsible for a lot of nonsense and gets the criticism it deserves, I have doubts that the TSA is the cause of this messed up situation.

The 6 religious representatives were not removed for disruptive behavior. Disruptive behavior got those US Airways passengers -- including a person with a history of being a US intelligence and law enforcement asset -- removed and denied travel on US Airways.

Perhaps, but not necessarily. I know I was speculating about the number of muslims on the plane, so it's possible that I have less posts per each thread than there were muslims on the plane. [Contrary to some perception, hundreds of millions of muslims aren't "brown" or "black", and many millions have names that wouldn't be recognized as "muslim" even by most other muslims.]

Technically, that is false. The pilots are flying for a common carrier subject to federal government regulation and using federal government resources to do so.

A lot of bigots don't act out on their bigotry every day on the job, but sometimes they do. What causes a bigot to act out on their ignorance and/or paranoia one day but not on all other days could be anything or nothing at all.

Even as mis-identification of religion of persons is possible, it doesn't mean that perceived identity of "the other" can't be the basis of the bigotry. Bigots often hit targets whom they mis-identify. How many sikh men get hassled, assaulted or killed because an anti-muslim bigot thought the turban-wearing sikhs were muslim? Way too many.