The line you wait in

In a recent trip to Honolulu, I personally experienced the different treatment based on class,

the fare class.

As a savvy traveler, I shop for the cheapest flight and buy non-refundable tickets. I therefore do not mind to be put in the last for standby. However, this class-differentiating treatment is done by no else, but the TSA, a US Federal government agency. They clearly state, at the entrance of the HNL, if you have a first class ticket, or belong to an elite frequent flyer program, you're entitled to cut in the long security line: enjoying the same previlige as the pilots and crew members.

I admit that the world is not equal and money talks. As someone put it, we've seen it in Disney World, what's wrong with that? The problem is, this is done by our government and I wasn't taxed any less for this "special treatment". On top of that, this is something no politian would dare to vote for but instead, leaves to the secretary of DHS to decide, which says something about the problem.

Enjoy the essay "The Waiting Game" from the Time magazine by Steve Rushin:

"Depending on whom you believe, the average American will, over a lifetime, wait in lines for two years (says National Public Radio) or five years (according to customer-loyalty expert Nick Wreden, whose post-office branch you might want to avoid).

The crucial word is average, as wealthy Americans routinely avoid lines altogether. Once the most democratic of institutions, lines are rapidly becoming the exclusive province of suckers. Poor suckers, mostly."

Sarah Palin on SNL

While Tina Fey was doing her, Governor Sarah Palin appeared at the beginning of tonight's SNL. I had to say, she's doing pretty well there. I had to admit that one of the best impressions John McCain has left for me is when he was hosting SNL a few years ago.

Warren Buffett: "Buy America, I am"

On Page A33 of Today's (Oct. 17) Times, the Warren Buffett wrote an op-ed piece explaining why his buying US stocks now while holding almost nothing before the financial crisis started a few weeks ago. In fact, he's $80 billion richer since this summer, while everybody else has lost a big pile of cash. This makes him surpassing Bill Gates to become the richest person in the world.

Should we follow him? You bet (if you still have cash left from the market and you don't need it till next decade).

In his article, he quoted Wayne Gretzky’s advice: “I skate to where the puck is going to be, not to where it has been.”

PBS: P.O.V. Soldiers of Conscientious

Soldiers of Conscientious

Camilo Mejia was a soldier who served in the (current) Iraq war and declared himself as a conscientious objector. He was later put in military jail for his actions. In this documentary, he said:"I Have never felt freer..."

When been challenged that a so called "conscientious objector" may give up the chance to stop evil, say Hilter, he answered that "what if we have enough conscientious objectors in the German army such that the atrocities committed by the Nazis would have never happened."

"In 2004,
150,000 Germans were called for mandatory national service.
70,000 of them served in military,
80,000 of them served as conscientious objectors to serve in non-military institutions."

Clearly, ther Germans got it.

May be this is what it takes for a nation to realize what is right, and what is wrong.

The second presidential debate

I'm very disappointing by the amount of personal attacks there in this round of debate. Particularly for McCain. He didn't provide any details of his own plan, if any, but attacking Obama as well as reiterate his "record".

This may be the last straw that breaks my long lasting support to McCain. If the election were held today, he won't get my vote.

Over all, neither side is doing well for my liking. As usual, when attacks been started, false facts will be cited to their advantages. Here are some examples found by the AP on "Obama, McCain Stretch facts in debate":

Examples include:

McCAIN: Said one way out of the financial crisis is to "stop sending $700 billion a year to countries that don't like us."

THE FACTS: Although he didn't spell it out, he was referring — as he has in the past — to purchases of oil from countries hostile to the U.S. The figure is inflated and misleading. The U.S. is not spending nearly that much on oil imports and roughly one-third of what it does spend goes to friendly countries such as Canada, Mexico and Britain.

OBAMA: "I believe this is a final verdict on the failed economic policies of the last eight years, strongly promoted by President Bush and supported by Senator McCain, that essentially said that we should strip away regulations, consumer protections, let the market run wild, and prosperity would rain down on all of us. It hasn't worked out that way. And so now we've got to take some decisive action."

THE FACTS: McCain has indeed favored less regulation over the years but supported tighter rules and accountability on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac two years before the start of a financial crisis prompted in part by those giant mortgage underwriters. Obama was not a leader in that unsuccessful effort. Some of the current problems can be traced to legislation passed in 1999 that lifted many regulations over the financial industry. That deregulation was championed by then-Sen. Phil Gramm, R-Texas, a McCain supporter, but also by President Clinton, who signed the legislation, and by former Clinton Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, now a top Obama economic adviser.

OBAMA: "Actually I'm cutting more than I'm spending so that it will be a net spending cut."

THE FACTS: Obama has many ambitious plans to spend more taxpayer dollars on a variety of federal programs, including clean energy technologies and job training. He's said he'll cut pork-barrel programs and the costs of the war in Iraq to pay for it — as well as raise taxes on the wealthy — but the specifics of his new spending plans greatly outweigh the few spending cuts he's identified.

Tina Fay as Sarah Palin on Saturday Night Live!

This is hilarious! Tina Fay is the one and Sarah Palin is indeed adorable.