A Flintstone Moment

The recent showdown over the debt ceiling and its most unfortunate outcome is neatly summed up for me by a scene in an old episode of "The Flintstones." In this particular episode, Fred and Barney plan to watch the fights on television. At the appointed time, they sit down at Fred's television set, all ready for the big bout . . . only to have an announcer come on and report that the station is being blacked out for a 25-mile radius, with only the promise of updates on the fight in the form of round-to-round reports. To entertain the viewers in the blacked-out area, the station offers a musical act . . . Alice Blue Jean and her Magic Banjo.

Fred, furious, yells, "Oh no, you don't!" He responds to being cheated out of the fight by throwing a vase at the TV set. "That's for Alice Blue Jean and her Magic Banjo!" he exclaims.

Which pretty much explains my attitude toward a debt ceiling agreement that gave the rich and powerful even more breaks at everyone else's expense. I was expecting to see President Obama go to the mat and fight it out to preserve tax increases on the wealthy and spending on various social programs, but instead there was no fight (although Obama insists that he's going to fight for us and keep us posted about it!) . . . and all the middle class got was more song and dance. When House Speaker John Boehner crowed about getting nearly everything he wanted, I wanted to throw something at the TV set.

Just like Fred Flintstone.

The Tea Party is ascendant, and the progressive movement is in a shambles. And all the middle class can do is get angry and throw a fit. If this crap keeps up, Americans are going to do more than just throw things at their TV sets.