No, not simple. It takes too long. I for one DO NOT have 3 hours to waste before I fly. I took about 30 trips last year. That's 30 x 2 (I usually show up 1 hour early) = 60 hours or 2.5 days of wasted time. "Stay overnight and leave the next morning??" Now the time wasted has shot up by a factor of about 7 and adds thousands of extra dollars in hotel expenses. No thanks!
Newsflash for you: the ability to kill thousands is not limited to air travel. Additionally, it's very very unlikely anyone will ever again be able to do what the hijackers of 11 Sep did. You're much more likely to die hundreds of other ways than by airplane and that's NOT because of any new "secuity" measures.
Resist the "Chicken Little" mentality that the FAA wants you to have. Cling to your civil liberties.
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by rxziebel:
Why is this so hard to do? Just make everyone open their baggage before checking it in. Simple! If it casues some travelers problems (overstuffed bags, complex locks) then tough! Take the train or drive. I for one have no problem arriving 3 hours early for security. If business needs make it impossible to do this on a given day, then stay overnight and leave the next morning.
Air travel changed on Sept 11. We can no longer treat air travel the same as a bus or other public transportation vehicle. Air travel is special due to it's nature - namely the ability to kill hundreds with a single bomb, the ability to kill thousands with a single aircraft under terrorist control and the general perception that flying is more dangerous than other forms of transportation.
Stepping off rant box now... 
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"Those who would sacrifice liberty for safety deserve neither." - Ben Franklin