I continue to wonder if the main reasons the TSA went to "all shoes off" after 8/10, even though shoes had nothing whatsoever to do with the supposed liquid threat, was to create a tangible "benefit" for registered travelers to coerce people into using this anti-privacy program.

Think about it: prior to 8/10 many of us posted that there were no real benefits to registered traveler because you still went through the same screening as everyone else, avoided SSSS which as elites most of us rarely get anyway, and went to a supposedly shorter line which as elites most of us already get at big airports anyway.

Now post war-on-water, they could allow registered travelers to leave their shoes on and carry liquids through the checkpoint (since liquids are no longer banned in the sterile area and aircraft, their presence would not freak out the sheeple and cause evacuations and diversions). I suspect tens of thousands of frequent travelers would instantaneously sign up for such a program. Result: a huge hit for privacy and creation of a true two-class traveler system where the procedures and even prohibited items list are completely different. (And there would be no reduction in security, not because of the so-called background checks, but because normal shoes and liquids aren't viable threats anyway.)