I've said before and I'll say again, the folks in ATC (air traffic control) are, on the whole, the greatest public servants in the history of the human race. However, the Flight Standards division of the FAA is an entirely different story. The vast majority of people in Flight Standards are typical bureaucrats, shuffling paper and doing as little actual work as possible while putting in time waiting until they can retire and draw their pensions. Then there is a fairly large minority who, like some law-enforcement officers who abuse their authority, mercilessly harass the airmen (and women) they are supposed to help. These power-mad individuals are the real problem, and unfortunately they are reinforced and backed up by the management of the system in which they work.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.avweb.com/features/eye-of-experience-45those-nitpicking-feds