Trial lawyers, oil companies, used-car salesmen and health-insurance companies are grateful for the current economic crisis. They are no longer at the bottom of respectability; Wall Street financial whizzes now occupy the cellar.

Utah schoolteachers and public employees are thankful for safe, secure jobs, while many in the private sector are losing theirs.

Pignanelli and Webb are grateful that the Deseret News continues to publish their mostly useless prattle, and that Frank's mother, LaVarr's wife, and perhaps a few others, keep reading.

Republican LaVarr Webb is a political consultant and lobbyist. Previously he was policy deputy to Gov. Mike Leavitt and Deseret News managing editor. E-mail: lwebb@exoro.com. Democrat Frank Pignanelli is a Salt Lake attorney, lobbyist and political adviser. Pignanelli served 10 years in the Utah House of Representatives, six years as minority leader. His spouse, D'Arcy Dixon Pignanelli, is a state tax commissioner. E-mail: frankp@xmission.com.