So Confused

I have a question that, in answering, will hopefully clear up some confusion I have.

So on Christmas day, this Nigerian fellow boarded a plane bound for Detroit. How he got there is a mystery. In this post-September 11 world that we live in, when he arrived at the ticket counter, he had no passport and an older Indian fellow vouched for his identity. This is after one of the September 11 Terrorists also boarded a plane without any Identification at all. This is my question that will clear up some confusion: how is it that someone can board a plane without identification? ...Or at that, an international flight, without a passport? And then, on top of this, how can we expect that newer, tougher security measures will keep us any safer when we don't even check someone's identification when they board the plane? This Nigerian fellow who boarded this plane was on the 'watch' list, not yet deemed to be on the no-fly list, but still, how would the ticket counter people know this if he had no identification when he first checked in? So anyone, on the no-fly list or not, can fly as long as they don't bring Identification with them when they check in at the ticket counter.

So I fly to Boston on Sunday, to bring ID or not to bring ID? And to go one step farther, to renew my passport next year or not? Maybe I'll save the money and just not.