A columnist at the Washington Times gives10 reasons why Rick and the rest of the Pawn Stars should moderate the political debate.
Reason Number 6: The “old man” would let the participants know they are boring by nodding off.
From the Dept. of Always Deal with People You Know and Trust (Especially if You are Going to Give Them Gold), a warning tale from Lubbock, Texas, in the Avalanche-Journal:
The business was the target of several lawsuits and a criminal investigation last year over allegations that owner Edwin Chauncey accepted payments in advance for orders to buy rare coins and precious metals and failed to make those purchases.
It looks like rare coin dealer Chauncey’s marks gave him close to $2.5 million and are going to lose about $2 million of that. His coins were certainly rare. Nobody can find them.
Kamaaina Loan has been buying and selling gold for 36 years. ‘Nuff said.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (according to a http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-09-25/consumers-given-different-credit-scores-than-lenders-cfpb-says.html 
report by Bloomberg News) has found that in about one case out of 5, your credit score that one of the credit rating agencies tells you is not the same as the score they tell a lender you have.
The story does not say whether the scores given to creditors are usually lower than the same person’s score given to a lender, but the implication is that that is the case:
Specifically, the bureau found that one in five consumers would likely receive a ‘meaningfully different’ score than their lender, potentially resulting in harm to those consumers. At the same time, consumers are unlikely to know about the discrepancy
The story continues:
‘Consumers who have reviewed their own score may expect a certain price from a lender, may waste time and effort applying for loans they are not qualified for, or may accept offers that are worse than they could get,’ according to the study.
Of course, if you come to Kamaaina Loan, we won’t ask your credit score, and you’ll qualify for a pawn loan on exactly the same basis as everybody else, whether you are a zillionaire hocking a gold Rolex or a construction worker between jobs raising gas money on his (temporarily unneeded) air compressor.
One shade of gray
Last week we mentioned that we have weird stuff for sale, for example, an irradiated dime. But we also have good regular stuff. More regular stuff than weird stuff, really.
For example, for just $24.99, you can get a nice pre-owned pair of Oakley Flak shades, gray lenses on gloss black frames, in a case.
We will buy it for top price.
Don’t have any gold? This is the time of year when Maui produces its own gold.
Maui’s gold
While we were busy getting ready for, shooting and then following up on the Kamaaina Loan reality TV show, a different real-life drama was working itself out around the corner:
http://www.mauitime.com/Articles-Cover-Story-i-2012-09-13-76963.113117-Mismanagement-Allegations-May-Doom-The-Wailuku-Main-Street-Association-And-Change-Our-Small-Towns-But-That-Might-Be-A-Good-Thing.html
Secrets of reality TV
Most reality TV shows are staged. You knew that, right? I mean, all those coincidences in “The Amazing Race” didn’t just happen.
There’s an exception, though, and it’s right here. Only we need you to make it happen, fo’ real.
On Thursday and Friday (and maybe Saturday, too), Pawn Stories will be filming at Kamaaina Loan. No script, no fakery.
What we are trying to do, however, is to compress the interesting things that really do happen in the pawnshop over a month, or six months into two days – in the interest of efficiency with the production crews.
Thus, we want you to bring your most curious item in and let us give you a reading. Did tutu tell you the diamond in her wedding ring was “perfect”? You always wondered if it really was. Find out.
In reality, Kamaaina Loan does get a lot of curious stuff. Not every day. Jimi likes to talk about atmospheric clocks, “the closest thing to perpetual energy.”
We really do get atmospheric clocks in. We have one on pawn right now, and we purchased another about three years ago.
They’re real but rare.
So what we’d like you to do for us is help us concentrate all that reality into two days. Should be fun.
We’re open 9 a.m.-6 p.m., and the early bird will get the worms.
Call 242-5555 if you have questions.
And, yes, if you have regular business and don’t want to be filmed, we’re setting up a no-camera area.
The sign at Treats and Sweets in Kahului warns about the mangoes, doesn’t mention the wild chickens underfoot.
Eat dessert first. The Coconut Isle sundae is a good choice: soft serve vanilla, chocolate syrup, pecans and coconut.
If you haven’t been to Treats and Sweets, it’s just about the last place on Maui that serves french fries old local style, with ketchup and mustard.
When it opened nearly 50 years ago, as a Dairy Queen, it was mobbed by thousands of people. Fast food was new here then,
It’s a step back in time.
Monday – Friday 9 am – 6 pm
Saturday – Sunday 10 am – 4 pm