I am quite familiar with the "Reverend" of which you speak, having had him on numerous flights over the years. I too, have had the same experience of speaking directly to him only to hear the assistant answer, from beside him. He never spoke a word, being basically mute each and every time, no matter how I attempted to engage him...I did, however witness him on 2 occasions greeting other flight attendants with a kiss on the cheek upon boarding.. these coworkers just so happened to be the same race as the "Reverend".. Given his penchant for racial equality I found it to be very disheartening and eye opening.

Have the totally inept TSA agents check the size of each bag. What are you thinking?? It will make security take ten times as long.
Recently at O'Hare I saw a group with tags for each of their carry ons-- presumably given to them by a check-in agent who ensured that the bags were complient with her airline's standards. This would be a better way to go; TSA wouldn't have to memorize the information for each airline that comes through the airport.

Thanks for the non-rev tips, Heather. The one good thing about it is that you appreciate a paid ticket sooo much more.

Seriously, the very last thing we need is yet another law. The airlines have the right to limit the size and number of pieces of luggage their passengers can bring aboard a flight, either checked or carry-on. They can deny passage to anyone failing to comply, should they choose.

We are so overburdened with laws already. The idiot authoring this bill is creating busywork, and remember, your airline lobbyists are paying for it. With your money.

The TEMPLATE would decide the correct size of ALL BAGS at all airlines. How consistent is that as you go through security, you're "carry-on" bag MUST fit through the template. No cheating. It fits or it doesnt.
Try arguing with a TSA agent as compared to a flight attendant. I dont fly the Lead/senior/purser position because I refuse to deal with passengers who wont check their bags because the overheads are full. Last thing I want is to take that bag away, after a confrontation and end up spending the next SIX HOURS with that individual who's pissed off at me because the bins were full. I like how they blame me that everyone brought onboard bags and they couldnt. Keep the air rage on the ground and keep the oversized bags from getting past security.
Number of bags and the SIZE OF BAGS should be a federal law. It's a safety issue, not a competitive one where airline management decides what size of bag should be permitted.

"That certain reverend" is pretty "special" - never had him on one of my flights & hope I NEVER do - idiots & rude people come in all shapes, color & sizes. As an African American let me tell you he DOES NOT represent us as a people - the media likes him & vice versa - sad but true. You can always tell a person's personality based on how they treat service people...