Flight attendant flips, but many sympathize

Call it a case of air, not road, rage — and fortunately, no one got hurt.

But JetBlue flight attendant Steven Slater, 38, pictured, caused quite a commotion on and off the tarmac Monday when an unruly passenger accidentally knocked him on the head with her overhead luggage, causing him to go off the deep end: He used the plane’s PA system to curse at her and to say to others, "Those of you who have shown dignity and respect these last 20 years, thanks for a great ride," before grabbing some beer from the galley and exiting down an emergency slide. He was later arrested at his New York home.

By the time bail was set at $2,500 yesterday, more than 13,000 people had already reacted favorably to a Facebook page set up in Slater’s honor. No doubt that sympathy was forthcoming from rule-abiding, cool-flying passengers — plus others who routinely must deal with the huge gamut of human behaviors, not all of them pleasant. It’s not always easy to provide safety and service with a smile.

Goodbye to birthers?

The state Department of Health reports that it has never used the law permitting it to refuse multiple requests for Barack Obama’s birth certificate, partly because the number of requests has fallen off. Also, the regulars know to get friends and relatives to call in their place.

Could this be the end of the birthers? Probably not, but perhaps some of them are getting a life.