Courtney and a small group of friends treated me to dinner last night for my birthday. We ate at a fairly new place on the downtown mall in Winchester called Union Jacks Pub. Nice place. Good food. Huge beer and wine selection. I had the fish and chips plus two Union Jack house beers. Very good. I’d give 3.5/5 stars.
Posted with my iPhone
Filed under: Politics, US News | Tags: Byron York, Charles Town WV, Martinsburg WV, Tea Parties, Winchester VA
Update: More about WV tea parties at Lincoln Walks at Midnight
Tea parties were held across the country last week, as we know, to tell our elected leaders we expect better of them. Who knew, though, that a small town rally would, accroding to Byron York, set the example:
If you listened to the speeches at the Tax Day tea party held in the courthouse square of this northern Virginia town, population 25,733, you might not have caught the name of the man in the White House. Among many denunciations of high taxes and out-of-control government spending, there were just a couple of mentions of Barack Obama — one when a local activist criticized the administration’s cap-and-trade energy plan, and the other when a city businessman said he prays for the president.
Actually its not too surprising that small town, common sense values would lead the way. It is, afterall, a grassroots effort, is it not? Sometimes small town common sense is all it really takes.
Of course, that’s not to say everything was wine and roses. The protestors were voicing their discontent with spending, an out of control and unrepresentative Congress, and a tax increase that we all know must be coming (how else can we pay for the deficit spending of which began with Bush but has grown exponentially under Obama?)
More from York about the small town, which for the past 9 months or so I have called home:
And thus the tea parties. This rally, which about 300 people braved the rain, wind, and 45-degree temperatures to attend, was a small-town, homemade affair. There were no Washington activists, no Fox News stars, nobody from outside the local area. It began with the Pledge of Allegiance and a capella renditions of “My Country ‘Tis of Thee” and “America the Beautiful.” It ended with “God Bless America.” There were lots flags and patriotism and quotations from the Founding Fathers.
This is not a rich place. According to the census, the median household income in Winchester is $44,808, significantly less than the statewide Virginia median of $59,575, a number that includes the affluent suburbs of Washington. Less than one in four adults here has a bachelor’s degree or higher. And with the economic downturn, particularly in the housing business, many are in rough situations.
More coverage from the local paper:
Many said they wouldn’t be directly affected by President Barack Obama’s proposed tax hikes, which are applicable only to businesses and households with income greater than $250,000 a year.
Instead, the protesters were more concerned that increased federal spending will raise the national debt and cause inflation, and that the tax dollars aren’t being spent effectively.
“America is wounded and the government has its finger in the sore!” said city resident Greg Rinard, who took the stage with his family to denounce excessive spending and what he described as a departure from the nation’s Christian roots.
Students from my place of employment also chimed in:
Handley High School senior Stuart Caudill told the crowd that excessive federal deficit spending would be a burden to his generation.
“It’s wrong to steal our future before we have a chance to succeed,” he said
Unfortunately I was unable to attend; I had a job interview in the morning and no substitute to cover my classes during the time of the rally. Still it’s interesting that a rally that happened not three blocks from my front doorstep was covered by a nationally known analyst.
Similar parties were held nearby in Charles Town and Martinsburg, WV.
