Overreacting

Okay, another incompetent moron decided to try blowing up an airplane. Somehow, I fail to see how this response by the US has any effect at all:

Frustrated passengers were searched not just at the usual security checkpoints, but also at the gates before boarding their flights.

Passengers said they were also barred from using any electronic devices and weren’t allowed to get out of their seat, even to go to the washroom, for the last hour of their flights.

Okay - more thorough searches I can understand. But restrictions on using electronics? Really? Just what does that have to do with the price of tea in China?

Or, come to that, banning people from using the washroom during the last hour of flight. That isn't just ridiculous, it's unsanitary. This guarantees that accidents will happen, and they'll happen in the cabin. (young children in particular, but also adults who are prone to air sickness come to mind) I fail to see what restricting washroom access has to do with anything security related. The only thing it does is get passengers on edge, uncomfortable and cranky.

This kind of response is a fear reaction with roots in any reality that I can think of. It doesn't make anyone safer than they already are. It isn't about security.