I could not agree more. Unfortunately, commercial aviation has lent itself to the notion that, with enough time and money, any rating can be obtained by anyone. I'm not for creating some sort of club of elitists, but rather a corps of professionals who have met demanding, uncompromising standards that not everyone can meet. The Air Force has probably washed out thousands of pilots over the years for landing a T-38 10 knots fast or a couple hundred feet long - and God Bless that. There is no do over, no re-test, and no amount of money can get a guy his wings. I would love to see the FAA take a similar approach to standards. Instead of flooding the market with cheap goods, ala Wal-Mart, our government would be wise to see the return of the American pilot as the gold standard of aviation. Our licenses are a joke to the European and Middle Eastern carriers.