Just so everyone knows, the principles mentioned in the article are what disturb me, the facts couldn't possibly be more anecdotal, the article's very structure is designed to elicit fear, and the author's own credibility is brought into question simply by using Ann Coulter as a source.
That said, I pray that the "build a bomb in mid-flight" plan doesn't ever, ever get carried out. I believe all passengers, white, brown, black, green, blue, male, female, and in-between thanks to ongoing surgery should be watched like hawks. The new face of the common terrorist is your next door neighbor, nothing on the outside can infer a person's ideology.
If I can go off-track here for a minute: A few days ago, I heard that an old friend from high school was flying home to see his family and a mutual friend we share. He's Indian, flying from one major city to another. I trust the poorly trained TSA agents either gave him hell for being brown, or just let him pass on through. There doesn't seem to be a lot of middle ground with these people, but in the end, I'd just feel comfortable if they were equally suspicious of everyone. About a year after 9/11, I was flying out of O'Hare. Security basically waved me through. This has also happened at least once at Newark International. This didn't sit well with me, I almost wanted to storm back and ask them why.
Anyone remember that scene in "Airplane!," which seems surprisingly appropriate for the time, 23 years later? Some guy walks through the metal detector with a bazooka, and some smaller armaments strapped to his person. He walks right through, Grandma, right behind him, is tackled like a monday night quarterback.