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My DH is an international airline pilot and I'm a very frequent flyer. The FAA is not going to respond to a citizen petition. Its FAR is said to be "written in blood," meaning most flight rules are the product of past accidents. While I agree that eReaders with wireless radios off are no more a threat in terms of distraction or projectile injury than most magazines or "dead tree books," (and certainly much less of a risk to other passengers than a 20-30 pound lap child), I think the FAA's concern is that it's very hard to make a rule that discriminates between various electronic devices.
Devices allowed in the cockpit for use by pilots went through rigorous EMF tests. But FAs do not police the flight deck crew. It would be very difficult for the FAA to set a standard for cabin devices that a FA could actually enforce -- just imagine how hard it is to tell at a glance which device a passenger is using (especially when skins and covers obscure features) or whether its radio is on or off.
I take my Kindle on all trips, set in airplane mode once I'm in my seat. During deicing, taxi, take-off and landing, it sits in the seat back pocket, in sleep mode (not completely turned off). I actually look forward to trips as an opportunity to catch up on my dead tree reading backlog, e.g. Sun magazine which is not yet available electronically.
While agree that some FA decisions regarding knitting etc. are irrational, nonetheless, as we all know, FA instructions must be obeyed unless you want to risk no-fly list status -- a disaster for those of us who live on the far fringes of the continent, thousands of miles from friends, family, and work-related meetings.
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