The sudden ouster of celebrity Alec Baldwin from an American Airlines flight points up what most non-celebrities already know: since 9/11, every flight is now its own little principality, and every flight attendant a potential mini-dictator. If they don't care for the way you speak, the way you dress, or even the look on your face, you will find yourself standing in the terminal as your plane and your luggage back away from the gate. And that's' if your lucky, 'cause you may find yourself in a holding room with no lawyer, no rights and no time-line for getting out.

It's tough to know whether or not Baldwin deserved the boot. He has a reputation for a big temper and a big ego. So what? If I had his looks and his fame I would too. But how does that give flight attendants some universal authority? With the flick of a wrist they can ruin a family vacation, disrupt a vital business schedule, and cost you thousands in altered flight bookings and hotel fees. Maybe he should have put his ipad away when he was told to, but that hardly justifies using the boogieman of security to throw him off the plane.