Whew

Oh, thank goodness. I was really worried about the economy for a while there, but this morning CNN has this good news:

Exxon shatters profit records

Oil giant makes corporate history by booking $11.7 billion in quarterly profit; earns $1,300 a second in 2007.

What a relief. The uptick must be just around the corner for the rest of us, no? Or at least just as soon as the Iraqi government untangles its marionette strings and gets down to implementing the changes in law we've been pushing for--you know, the ones that set aside 80% of all oilfield exploration and production for foreign companies for the next 30 years? Yeah, those.

Tucson still has some of the lowest pump prices in the country, around $2.85 this morning. And someday not too far from now we'll be looking back on these days fondly. Meanwhile, StubHub is charging roughly the price of a Prius for scalped 45-yard-line club box seat Super Bowl tickets. Most of us--the ones who have to work pretty hard for a lot longer than one second to earn 1300 clams--can't afford either.