"Exploring The Abandoned Coal Towns of West Virginia The Southeastern Region" by Christina Paster--Book Review

This is a little book published by an entity called "America Through Time" which is an imprint of Arcadia Publishing. On their website, they described "America Through Time" as "a local and regional interest series that showcases the history and heritage of communities around the country. Using modern color photographs juxtaposed with old images, these titles capture a strong sense of the past while demonstrating the force of change through the passage of years". 

Arcadia Publishing is a company which publishes books primarily about communities across the country which are primarily collections of photographs assembled by individuals or groups in those communities who feel the need to preserve some of their local history.  I have read and written about one other book on this blog which that company published, "Images of America Floyd County" by Lisa Perry and the Wheelwright Historical Society.  It is a much better book than this one by Christina Paster.  It is my impression that Arcadia Publishing is essentially a vanity press which specializes in books about specific geographical settings, does little or no editorial work with the individuals and groups producing the books, and is simply in the business of making money from individuals and groups who are incapable of producing high quality work.  But let us get back to the book in question about the abandoned coal towns of West Virginia.  

 

The photographs compose probably 75% to 90% of the content of this book.  The book is broken into brief chapters about each of the eleven towns the author visited and photographed for the book.  There is a generally brief introduction to each chapter which is usually less than a full page with two exceptions, the discussion of Wheeling and Moundsville which I suspect are either the towns closest to the author's home or the towns she knows best.  The text is of very poor quality and shows absolutely no editorial supervision.  It is rife with grammatical errors of every type: incomplete sentences; sentence fragments; run on sentences; misspellings; errors in grammar, syntax, and tense.  It is very poor quality writing.  The photographs are marginally well done, bordering on the low end of professional level.  None of the photographs are particularly striking and a reasonably talented photographer could duplicate or better them with a low cost, hand held digital camera.  There are less than a half dozen mildly historical photographs included in the book with appropriate source crediting.  The author has also appended a brief section of end notes to support the few statements she has used from the work of others.  For those of you who have ties to or interest in one or more of the abandoned coal towns of West Virginia, I am adding a list of the eleven towns portrayed in the book so you can decide if you are interested enough to seek a copy for your inspection and, hopefully, your pleasure.  The town are Pocahontas, Whitesville, Itmann, Thurman, McDowell, Mullens, Alderson, Wheeling, Moundsville, Matoaka, and Nuttallburg.  If you have an interest, I would suggest that you attempt to locate a copy of the book in a library near you, inspect it, and then decide if you want to spend the money to buy a personal copy.  I do not want to induce you to feel you wasted your money on this particular book.  For my own personal and academic interests, the best book I have found about abandoned coal towns in general is "A Guide To Historic Coal Towns of the Big Sandy River Valley" by George D. Torok, which also covers a few of the coal towns of West Virginia despite its primary Eastern Kentucky focus.  It is well worth the money.  I can also recommend "Coal Camp Kids Coming Up Hard And Making It" by Barbara Ford Ritchie and published by Father and Son Publishing which has since been bought up by a larger company which continues to sell some of their titles.  But that book can be difficult to locate except a rare copy on used book websites.  On the Father and Son website it is listed at $75.00 which is a bit much for most people. 

A Fable Of Murakee And The Plague

I hope you enjoy this little piece of satire!  If you do enjoy it and want someone else to see it, please do not share the text of the piece.  Just copy the link to this blog post and e-mail it to anyone you want to read this!  Please help me protect my copyright!  

A Fable Of Murakee And The Plague

Once upon a time in the recent past in a not too distant land known as Murakee, a great national crisis arose.  Murakee had, for more than two hundred years, been recognized by nearly all the other countries on the little planet they occupied as the greatest nation on that little planet which circled a small star along with eight other planets,  although one of those planets was sometimes derided and belittled  by the occupants of the others, if there were occupants on any besides the one which Murakee occupied.  Murakee had always been led by a leader who was chosen by the people in what they called a referendum every time the little planet had revolved around the little star four times.  Sometimes, the referendum in Murakee would allow a particularly good leader to choose their ways for four more revolutions around the little star.

It was a very good and efficient system until a time came when the referendum chose a wonderful leader and allowed him to direct their choices for eight complete revolutions around the star.  In a manner particularly peculiar to Murakee, this leader was not liked by a portion of the citizens because he was a decidedly dark skinned man.  To these citizens of Murakee, there could be nothing they thought less of than a dark skinned man even though this dark skinned man was a great leader, wise, benevolent, rational in his thoughts and deeds, and always working for the good of both Murakee and the little planet which revolved around the little star.

The end of this dark skinned man’s eight revolutions around the planet came at a time when the worst enemy of Murakee was working diligently to gain control of the entire planet.  This enemy of the people and the nation of Murakee was known as “Renowned Prince” or “Most Fearful Oligarch” in his own land and by many less pleasant names in Murakee and several other nations on the little planet.  The “Most Fearful Oligarch” had risen to his position in his nation by working in a company of men and women who kept the citizens of their nation in fear and obedience and it was his desire to do the same with all the nations of the world. His means of gaining footholds in other nations such as Murakee was to find a citizen of such a country and to exploit that citizens weaknesses such as dishonesty, calumny, deception, vanity, and ignorance by giving them little favors which would play upon their vanity and ignorance especially well.  Long before the crisis which we speak of arose in Murakee, the “Most Fearful Oligarch” and his country had provided little favors to a particular man in Murakee who skin was white to please that portion of the people who disliked a dark skinned man and his heart was black enough to please the “Most Fearful Oligarch”.  The “Most Fearful Oligarch” plied this weak, ignorant, and black hearted man with gifts of money to save him from his own failures in life, and gifts of illicit women to feed upon his licentious desires, and gifts of flattery to feed both his vanity and his ignorance. 

A time came, in the recent past, when the “Most Fearful Oligarch” knew that he owned and controlled the white skinned man with the coal black heart.  It became the plan of the “Most Fearful Oligarch” to also own and control Murakee and its people.  He convinced the man with the coal black heart, the small brain, and the overly large ego that he was qualified to be chosen in the next referendum to decide the course of Murakee and its people.  The “Most Fearful Oligarch” created a team of his minions who would spread wonderful lies about the dark hearted man which told the citizens of Murakee that he was “the only one who could make Murakee great again,”  and that he was a brilliant leader, and should be chosen in the referendum.  When the referendum was completed, the “Most Fearful Oligarch” had managed to convince a small portion of the citizens of Murakee in three small principalities of the nation that the man with the black heart was a suitable leader.  These people in the three deceived principalities of Murakee joined with those across the country who hated the dark skinned man and his female vizier that the referendum should choose the black hearted man as their leader instead of the particularly wise female vizier who would have been the first female to ever lead Murakee. 

Soon after the referendum, troubles began to arise and all of those troubles were rooted in the weakness of the black hearted man and the evil desires of the “Most Fearful Oligarch” who directed the actions of the black hearted man from afar since his many gifts over the years had given him a total power over the black hearted man who had benefitted from the stolen referendum.  The black hearted man and the people who hated the dark skinned man joined together in what came to be called a cult and attempted to lead Murakee into positions and places as black as their illegitimate leader’s heart.  Soon the black hearted man allowed the “Most Fearful Oligarch” to steal a secret listening post in the heartland of an area sometimes referred to as the Eastern Abdomen where many allied countries of Murakee were situated.  The black hearted man had come to believe that he was the real leader of Murakee and that he could do anything he wished. 

Then, without warning, the gods of the little planet sent a plague upon Murakee and other countries on the planet.  The black hearted man told the people that the plague was just a hoax and the work of his enemies who wanted to stop him from “making Murakee great again”.  The plague spread over the little planet and the black hearted man did nothing, a task at which he was very accomplished.  The plague spread and old men, old women, young men, young women, children, and citizens of all ages began to sicken and die all across Murakee.  The black hearted man denied the truths of the men and women in charge of the various principalities in Murakee when they told him and the people that this plague, like the plagues of Egypt, would sweep across the land unless the people went into their houses and protected themselves in secret.  Great shamans all across Murakee told the people the truth about the plague and the black hearted man continued to deny the plague was real and claimed it was still intended to deprive the people of Murakee of the great joy of seeing him “make Murakee great again”.  The people died from the plague and their shamans who treated them died with them.  The plague spread from one principality to another until it swept the entire little planet.  It found its way into the large cities and the country towns.  It found its way into the safe houses where the elderly and the aged heroes of Murakee were cared for by their attendants.  They and their attendants died from the plague.  They sat in their dwellings of all kinds and watched the black hearted man do the bidding of the “Most Fearful Oligarch” until the plague had won.  This fable of the plague upon Murakee has no moral.  It has only an ending which will  not be written because the writers will  have been victims of the plague also.  There will be no bards to sing the chantey of the plague since they will have also died.  The historians will not write wise words on parchment scrolls about the plague since they, their ink makers, their quill sellers, and their butchers who sold parchment for scrolls will also be victims of the plague.  Murakee will be no more and the “Most Fearful Oligarch” will have won and the black hearted man will learn that he is also a victim of the plague but he will say it is all just a hoax. 

Copyright 2020 by Roger D. Hicks

John Prine, The Corona Virus, and The Great Compromise

John Prine, Photo by t2.gstatic.com

"I used to sleep at the foot of old glory
And awake in the dawn's early light
But much to my surprise when I opened my eyes
I was a victim of the great compromise"
"The Great Compromise" by John Prine

When John Prine (October 10, 1946-March 7, 2020) wrote, recorded, and released "The Great Compromise" in 1972, I don't think he had any idea he was a prophet.  Based on everything he has said, written, and sung, I believe he thought he was just another dissenting American speaking out against an unjust war in Viet Nam and a government which was ignoring the best interests of the nation and the world just as Thomas Paine did when he spoke out against England and King George.  But today, 48 or so years after the song "The Great Compromise" was recorded and released, John Prine  lay in an intensive care unit in a hospital in Nashville fighting for his life for more than a week and died yesterday, March 7, 2020, just as have more than 13,000 other Americans, as of today, March 8, 2020, because once again, America is suffering from a "Great Compromise".  Actually, Prine  fought for his life died due to the Corona Virus because nearly four years ago, Vladimir Putin and Russia were able to steal an American election and illegally install the worst traitor in the history of the world  in the White House.  Now, a little over three years after the agents of the US government stood silently and allowed that treason to take place, the United States is suffering from the worst disease pandemic since the 1918 flu epidemic and the polio epidemic of the early twentieth century.  The current Corona Virus pandemic would not be devastating the United States if we had a legally, duly elected president in the White House instead of the Russian agent who, on January 29, 2020, ignored the information provided by the US intelligence community and his economic adviser Peter Navarro which informed him that a Corona Virus pandemic was beginning in China and would be likely to spread across the entire world and into the United States.

TRAITOR Trump did nothing in January after being warned and has done as little as possible with his illegally obtained power to this very day.  He lies, obfuscates, prevaricates, distorts, misrepresents the truth, and denies  all responsibility for his malignant inaction and his deliberate destructive actions to avoid doing anything about the pandemic.  And today, Joe Diffie, Ken Shimura, CBS News reporter and producer Maria Mercader, Alan Merril, Mark Blum, chef Floyd Cardoz, playwright Terrence McNally and 13,000 other Americans have died because a TRAITOR lives in the White House after having committed TREASON with Vladimir Putin and Russia.  And now John Prine's name has been added to that list of the dead for the very same reason.  

When John Prine wrote "The Great Compromise" he was protesting the Viet Nam war in song.  But the words from that song above were highly prophetic about the pandemic we are facing today.  John Prine served the United States honorably in the US Army and as a mail carrier.  He literally slept at the foot of Old Glory during those years.  Today, John Prine's eyes eyes have been closed forever, his pen and his guitar have been silenced and, truly, irrevocably, he is a victim of "The Great Compromise" just as are all of us Americans who are forced to hide in our homes from a virus which could have been stopped with appropriate government actions at the onset if we had a legally, duly elected president who had the honor, intelligence, and moral character sufficient to take appropriate actions in the best interest of the country. 

But, as I said in the beginning of this requiem, John Prine was a prophet.  The words he wrote 48 years ago foretold his death due to the Corona Virus.  John Prine will continue to speak until the day America finally hold the TRAITOR Trump responsible for his TREASON.  

"I Bought Me A Dog A Dozen Authentic Folktales From The Southern Mountains" Collected by Leonard Roberts--Book Review

Dr. Leonard Roberts--Photo by Lynneda Stansbury

Dr. Leonard Ward Roberts, Ph. D., was the premier folklorist and collector of both folk tales and folk songs during his tragically abbreviated career which ended on April 26, 1988, at the age of 71 when he was involved in a fatal wreck with a coal truck as he was pulling onto US 23 at the mouth of Mare Creek near Betsy Layne in Floyd County Kentucky where he had lived most of his life. He published a total of 8 books during his career, all of which were collections of folktales or folksongs from Central and Southern Appalachia except for "The McCoys: Their Story" which was about the famous McCoy family of the notorious feud along the Kentucky/West Virginia border.  This little book we are discussing was the first of his published books and is actually more a pamphlet than a full fledged book; but, it is well worth reading if you can locate a copy.  It was published in 1954 by the Council of The Southern Mountains in Berea, Kentucky, and was reprinted in at least 20 printings until at least 1982.  But, I suspect that most of those printings were small and the book is difficult to find.  At the time of its publication, this book was apparently popular enough with lovers of folklore and Appalachian Studies that it did sell several hundred to a few thousand copies.  Good luck if you try to find a copy! 

The book is a pamphlet of 48 unnumbered pages and contains 12 Appalachian folktales and 13 Appalachian riddles.  It is a fun read whether or not you have ever been exposed to the folktale format which traveled with the early settlers from the British Isles to the colonies in America, and thence across the Cumberland Gap into the heart of Appalachia where the social isolation of the mountains can be credited with at least part of their ability to survive into the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. These kinds of oral folktales exist in many forms in nearly all areas and cultures of the world.  In a way, what it boils down to is that after a long day as a hunter gatherer, it was comforting and pleasurable around the family fire to tell or listen to fantastic stories being told by anyone who was willing to stand up and speak out in the folktale form.  Thousands, if not millions, of these folktales arose and were preserved by both tellers and listeners, some of whom went on to either become or rear future court jesters, bards, balladeers, and strolling minstrels. Roberts devoted his life to teaching in several Kentucky colleges, (Berea College, Morehead State University, Union College, and Pikeville College) collecting folktales and folk songs, and to publishing as the driving force of what became the Pikeville College Press.  The tales in this little book represent several types of the genre and include one, "The Candy Doll", which Roberts says, in the brief introduction, is the only version he has ever seen of it in America.  It is a witch story which Roberts says he collected from a 12 year old girl in Leslie County Kentucky. Actually, another of the stories was also provided to Roberts by a different young girl in Eastern Kentucky. The "Candy Doll" contains what Roberts calls the element of "Murder by Sympathetic Magic".  There are also folktales in the collection which represent giant tales; hunting tales; wise fox tales; and another which is sometimes referred to as his most well known, "Raglif, Jaglif, Tetarlif, Pole", which is about a man attempting to escape from the clutches of a giant.  

This is a fine little book to utilize to introduce yourself both to the work of Leonard Roberts and to the field of Appalachian Folklore.  If you cannot locate a copy of this book, you can generally always find copies of "Up Cutshin & Down Greasy" or "South From Hell-Fer-Sartin".  Reading any of Leonard Roberts' books will also serve as a wonderful introduction to that ever growing group of Big Sandy River Valley natives such as Dr. Roberts, The Judds, Crystal Gayle, Chris Stapleton, Molly O'Day, Loretta Lynn, Cratis Williams, and US Supreme Court Chief Justice Fred Vinson who have, over the last century plus, wielded such a powerful cultural influence on the entire nation in roles as varied as academic scholar, supreme court justice, Bluegrass singer, country singer college basketball coach, and ballet dancer. 

A Tale Of Two Press Conferences And The Corona Virus!

Every day between 5pm and 7pm, two press conferences are televised in Kentucky.  One of those press conferences is also televised nationwide and that is a damn shame!  In Kentucky, at 5pm on every major television station in the state we see press conference by our Governor Andy Beshear.  It usually lasts for about an hour and is a shining example of what a press conference by an elected official working in a crisis should be.

Governor Andy Beshear of Kentucky

Governor Beshear is professional, strong, well informed, honest, accurate, compassionate, and everything a people in crisis should expect and receive from a leader at one of the worst times in the history of the state and nation.  This press conference has been taking place on a daily basis for about two weeks since Kentucky developed its first cases of Corona Virus in Jefferson and Fayette counties, the two truly urban counties in the state.  At the time these press conferences began, we had two cases in the state as I recall.  Today, March 28, 2020, we have roughly 300 cases statewide in at least 45 of the 120 counties.  The virus is spreading rapidly and randomly across the state just as it is across the nation.  Citizens are hoarding food, avoiding social contact, living in irrational fear, and doing both many good things and an equal number of ignorant, misinformed, and irrational things.   But Andy Beshear and his team of staff walk into the capitol press room each day cool, calm, collected, prepared with facts and information which is needed by every citizen of the state.  He begins the conferences these days with an affirmation and actually asks the audience to repeat it with him: "We Will Get Through This!  We Will Get Through This Together!"  Andy Beshear is everything a leader should be.  He has assembled the best team of the most talented people that the state can offer.  They deliver facts in a calm, supportive, professional, ethical manner and every citizen of Kentucky is better because of it.  

At about the time Andy Beshear's press conference is ending, the TRAITOR who illegally occupies the White House based on his TREASON with Russia also begins a daily press conference which is everything the press conferences of Governor Beshear's are not.  This TRAITOR is ignorant, uninformed, divisive, abrasive, uneducated, unintelligent, dishonest, amoral, and without one iota of compassion as he has always been.  He spits, sputters, foments greater fears among the populace because of his thousands of flaws, lies, and deceptions.  He does anything he can to avoid taking the appropriate blame for having, on a daily basis, increased the danger to every citizen of this country.  He blames others.  He lies repeatedly.  He attacks the press, the governors of many states, and at times even the victims of the Corona Virus.  He is an idiot, a pathological liar, an international and a domestic terrorist, and the personification of evil in the world.  He refuses to heed the advice of communicable disease, national security, health care, and government experts.  He uses the one actual professional on his team, Dr. Anthony Fauci, as a shield and a scapegoat.  He is a waste of time to every American who watches him and further endangers the lives of every resident of the United States and the world.  His rants have progressed to the point that the three major television networks usually cut away from his "press conferences" at or near 6:30pm and go on the air with the national news just as they did in the days when the Corona Virus was unknown in the world.  The television networks and their reporters recognize this TRAITOR for exactly what he is and this is as close to nothing as a living, breathing human can sink.  America is in the worst health care disaster since the polio epidemic of the early twentieth century and we have no leader at the top.  Instead we are saddled with a TRAITOR who does not care one iota bout the country or its citizens.  What do you as a citizen in what used to be the greatest democracy in the world going to do about this?  

"The Townsman" by Pearl S. Buck--Book Review

Pearl S. Buck wrote and published five novels under the psudonym "John Sedges" during her lifetime after she had returned to America from China.  At the time, her publishers thought that she was being viewed primarily as a Chinese or Asian centered 

writer and that the reading public would be reluctant to buy American centered books by Buck. "The Townsman", "The Long Love" and "Voices In The House" were all published in 1944 and were well received despite the wartime environment which was naturally depressing book sales nationwide. The sales of those two novels under the pseudonym eventually led to the publication of "The Long Love (1944)", "Bright Possession (1952)", and "The Angry Wife (1947)" under the John Sedges pseudonym.  But as Buck is quoted in the foreword  to "American Triptych" a collection of three of the John Sedges novels, eventually someone who knows will talk in such situations and the pseudonym was common public knowledge and no longer used.  

In an earlier blog post, I wrote about a single quotation from "The Townsman" about the American presidency which is suffering from its worst crisis today because of the current Russian Owned occupant of the White House and his inherent incompetence and willingness to destroy the country he betrayed in cooperation with Vladimir Putin and Russia.  You can bet that a book which is good enough to merit a full article

about a single quotation it contains is well worth reading.  "The Townsman" is one novel in "American Triptych: Three John Sedges Novels" and that is the best way to buy it since I do not know of a recent publication of the book.  But it can be found on the customary used book sites such as Alibris and others. Buying it in that format will allow you to enjoy three Pearl S. Buck books for the price of one.  I have to admit I have not yet read the other four John Sedges novels but I fully intend to based on my highly favorable impression of "The Townsman".  This is a long novel of more than four hundred pages but it is well worth the time to read.  The protagonist is Jonathan Goodliffe who, at the beginning of the book, is a teenaged English boy in a large poor family with a hardworking, overburdened mother and a somewhat shiftless father who has big dreams but never fulfills them.  Eventually, the father, Clyde Goodliffe, decides to emigrate to America and the family takes up residence in a brand new, tiny hamlet in the plains of Kansas.  Clyde Goodliffe accomplishes just as little in Kansas as he had in England and as he matures Jonathan becomes the head of the family by default since Clyde leaves all except his favorite son to traipse across Kansas to homestead land.  

As the novel progresses, Jonathan meets and falls in love with the daughter of an itinerant preacher who jilts him to run away with his best friend.  This is a novel of unrequited love; good, solid working class people; and fulfillment of personal commitments by numerous characters including Katie, the woman Jonathan eventually marries and spend his life with.  Jonathan becomes the central figure in the little Kansas town which he nurtures, grows, and keeps in accordance with his beliefs about right and wrong.  The novel serves to espouse many of Pearl S. Buck's own personal beliefs as in the aforementioned quotation about the American presidency, her personal opinions about the equality of the races, and right and wrong.  A set of important figures in the book are a family of former slaves, the Parry's, who have a brilliant eldest son whom Jonathan assists in achieving his dreams.  The Parry parents also play diminished but important roles in the life of the town as a carpenter and a midwife, herb doctor.  

The book is well worth reading as is everything I have ever read by Pearl S. Buck.  I would repeat that it is best bought in the "American  Triptych.." form since you can also enjoy two other John Sedges novels in that format.  Enjoy the book!  It will keep you busy at home for a while as we fight to win against the Corona Virus. 

Right Wing Radical Repugnican Vote Buying With Federal Money

While it still has to be approved by the House of Representatives and signed by the TRAITOR Trump, the US Senate approved a $2trillion dollar Corona Virus assistance bill last night, March 24, 2020, and sent it to the House. TRAITOR Trump and his Right Wing Radical Repugnican co-conspirators must be held responsible for their disastrous handling of the entire response to the Corona Virus pandemic.  It is now being reported that most of the Repugnican governors in the nation are also speaking out against the asinine and ignorant idea being espoused by TRAITOR Trump that we can send the work force back to work by Easter which is less than three weeks away.  Also, Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York has stated that the payment in the bill of $3.8billion to his state cannot begin to cover the anticipated cost of at least $15billion which the virus eradication and treatment effort will cost. 

House Speaker Pelosi has stated to the press that the House will consider the bill.  Her official statement said: “House Democrats will now review the final provisions and legislative text of the agreement to determine a course of action.”  Based on what I have seen in the news media, the bill appears to be in many ways both a giveaway to several segments of business and a blatant attempt by #MoscowMitch McConnell, TRAITOR Trump, and the Repugnican party to buy votes with federal money.  It also includes a provision for most lower and middle class citizens to receive a payment of $1,200 for each adult and an additional $500 for each child in a household. But the publicized economic thresholds for eligibility to receive this cash subsidy actually extend all the way to $99,000 per individual and $198,000 per couple with an additional $500 per child per household thrown into the deal.  Those numbers are far too high to be realistic.  Any single person making $99,000 per year or any couple making $198,000 per year who are in financial trouble now are simply in that condition based on prior bad management of their money and not primarily due to the Corona Virus. It would have been far more rational and effective if the income limits had bene lowered to something near $50,000 per individual and $100,000 per couple and then added the money saved to the payments to those lower income families up to about $4,000 or $5,000 per family and $700 per child in each household.  This issuance of federal financial assistance to suffering famiies is a good thing on the face of it; but, it is still an attempt to mitigate anger toward TRAITOR Trump, #MoscowMitch McConnell, and the Repugnican party due to their having so horribly screwed up the response to the Corona Virus pandemic.  It is simply an attempt to apply a Bandaid to family suffering which is greater and to buy votes with federal money from those recipients who are gullible enough to fall for the lie and the bribe. Ever since this issue of possible federal financial assistance has been discussed, I have suggested that all of us who are financially stable and receive a check immediately donate the amount of that check to one of the following entities: the campaign office of the Democratic presidential nominee, the Senate Democratic Campaign Committee, the House Democratic Campaign Committee, or the national Democratic party in order to help regain control of all three branches of government.

As I understand what I have read so far about this bill, it does contain one key provision which I am certain the Democratic senators and congress people probably had to fight tooth and nail in order to win. That provision states that TRAITOR Trump, his businesses, and his family members and their businesses, along with members of the house and senate cannot receive any of the loans which it makes available to both large and small businesses.  This provision is also an aspect of the bill which I sure the Democratic senators and congress members had to fight tooth and nail to get. If this bill had been passed by both houses of congress and signed into law without that provision, it would have served to further reward TRAITOR Trump for his TREASON and his disastrous responses to this pandemic.  Every American voter needs to make sure to drag themselves to the polls whenever the November 2020 presidential election takes place and vote to send a rational human being to the White House to protect this country for further disasters being perpetrated by TRAITOR Trump, his Russian Master Vladimir Putin, his family, and his Right Wing Radical Repugnican co-conspirators.