What about seat belt buckles? They are even installed...
Joke aside, there might be some agreably enforced attention to maybe unnecessary details, but what I don't like most of it is that on one security checkpoint something like a very tiny small (3mm long) scisor is allowed, and on the next not. At least to my experience the US based security enforcement agents have started to leard that it is not by being rude you get to what you want and start to copy their European and South American colleagues. And in Miami they even give you the chance to mail any confisctaed item to yourself if you like.
And, contrary to before 911 I have not seen any of the persons looking at that screen not paying attention, so I guess the 'nit-picking' over 'small details' is the price to pay for them actually being much more alert than before.