Things you lose at the airport

This is getting comical. Some of the things that security personnel confiscate while performing the mind-numbing task of checking the luggage and persons of thousands of airline passengers every day are quite befuddling.

Bill Wingett is a WWII veteran, and a member of the original troop of marines designated the "Band of Brothers." He was presented a replica Zippo Lighter with his name on it, in honor of his fight to protect Holland from the Nazis. The lighter has no flint or any fluid.
On his way home, the lighter was confiscated.

Wingett had it in his luggage when he flew home. When it showed up on the screening machines at Washington Dulles International Airport -- after the flight across the Atlantic -- an airport security screener told him he had a lighter in his bag, and he'd have to surrender it.

Apparently, the security personnel would not give in on this one, and after arguing with the supervisor for a while, Wingett had to contact the TSA when he got back and try to retrieve his lighter.

I remember one trip I took where I had my backpack and a carry-on piece of luggage. I had forgotten the wine opener that I had in my backpack's middle pocket, as my wife and I had just had a picnic complete with a bottle of wine. After going through my bag a couple of times before finding it, the wine opener was taken from me. It was not without a bit of whining on my part, as I really liked that opener in particular. But when that happens you can either pay for a locker and pick it up on your return, or it's gone forever.
Remarkably, it wasn't the corkscrew that red-flagged the opener, but the tiny retractable knife on the side. It seems that if it didn't have that knife, the opener would have been OK to fly.
Now, tell me this: what would you think would be a better weapon, the blade (and if you've seen a waiter's wine opener, you know what I'm talking about) or the corkscrew itself?

Some of the rules for confiscation they have at TSA are pretty ridiculous, and I for one would like to see a review of the list of items you can't bring on board. I would also like to see some ability for the security personnel to make decisions regarding what they allow on the spot, instead of being completely constrained by some "list" created by bureaucrats.