I talk with Byron York about Tiger Woods, Dr. Laura, Michelle Obama, Steven Slater, Al Franken, the Prop 8 same-sex marriage decision, and the Ground Zero mosque..

This one's called "The Luckiest Diavlog on the Face of the Earth" for reasons that become apparent near then end. Also, somewhere in there the tornado sirens (in my town) go off.



ADDED: If you need a non-Flash format, go here and pick MP3/MP4.

"The airlines have created a monster" — carry-on luggage.

Steven Slater — the mad-as-hell flight attendant — explains:

... the trouble began with the advent of the rolling bag. The worst year I recall was 1997, before the 1+1 limits came on, and before the airlines increased the overhead bin size. The 727. MD-80, and 757 were ridiculous...
 

We got a break after 9/11, in fact despite the challenges of those events, it became SO much easier to fly, for those of us who still HAD jobs, with the more stringent enforcement of policies. Now it is again a free for all.

Air travel is horrible, but if it was 9/11 that made us more docile and obedient, it's nice that we've got our old edge back. Not that I want to be crammed into a metal tube with you selfish bastards.

"JetBlue flight attendant Steven Slater emerges from jail, basks in new status as celebrity."

Americans, embrace the Celebrity of the Summer — the man who just couldn't take it anymore and got mad as hell. But please, do not attempt this path to celebrity. Everybody wants to be famous — except you, I know you, the reader who is about to post the indignant assertion that you don't want to be famous — and we can't have everybody freaking out all at once. That could get ugly. But Steven Slater, you have passed through the portal that separates ordinary life from the life of a celebrity. Dramatically, with the release of that jet plane escape slide, Slater has slid into our hearts.

JetBlue suspended Slater even as Facebook fans began raising money for his legal defense and demanding he get his job back.

He has quickly become a global sensation. MySpace photos of him posing on planes - one with a Bud Light in his hand - hit the Internet.

The linked Daily News article includes a poll, which is running strongly in Slater's favor, with only 17% of respondents picking the negative option. 9% would even like to see him on a TV reality show. And if you cast your eyes to the right-hand margin to the top-10 "Most Read" list, you'll find stories about Slater ranking at #1 ("Carry-ons were JetBlue flight attendant's biggest turnoffs"), #2 ("JetBlue flight attendant basks in celebrity status"), #3 ("JetBlue flight attendant Steven Slater is the toast of the online community"), #6 ("Molloy: Flight attendant does what we dream of doing"), #7 ("Molloy: Slater isn't first to pull one-finger salute"), and #8 ("Move over Sully! Workers unite around Steven Slater").

So what does this say about us, that Slater is the man of the moment?

What's the main reason we Americans are so captivated by Slater?
	We're angry too and we would love to find a vivid way to express it.
	We too seek escape but lack the fascinating detail that is the escape slide.
	We too are sick of elitist, entitled people like the passenger and love the working class hero.
	We too have felt dehumanized on airplanes and he cried out for all of us.
	We're bored and this is something different.
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