TEA PARTY OLD AND NEW. In 1773, the British Parliament passed the Tea Act to bail out the British East India Company from bankruptcy. Under the statute, the company could ship its tea to the colonies without tariff [familiar echo?] so as to undercut the price of illegal tea being smuggled into the colonies. A number of protesters from the ranks of artisans and smugglers [colonial riff raff] disguised as Native Americans boarded ships anchored in Boston Harbor and unloaded tea into the water. Inspired by this bold action, in 2009, with support from David Koch, the Tea Party movement arose in protest against the U.S. debt (deficit). Northern Virginia has a branch of the Tea Party called “2.0”, emblematic of a new version and, presumably, a new vision.

WEST VIRGINIA IS BORN. In 1861, prior to a popular referendum on secession, Virginia offered to join the Confederate States of America and make Richmond its capital. That decision effectively isolated the largely Unionist western Virginia counties opposing secession and initiated several events leading to the creation of the state of West Virginia by popular vote on October 24, 1861.

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