Time For ‘Toons!

Posted on November 19, 2019 by jilldennison under Bits 'n Pieces, cartoons, Humour, Law and justice, Political commentary, Social commentary

I thought it was about time for a ‘toon post … a bit of humour to dull the pain of the 24/7 news cycle where we are always being bombarded with some new abomination.

There was one bright spot last Friday, when Roger Stone was convicted on all seven felony counts with which he was charged. Now, if ol’ Roger had been charged and convicted for every crime he’s ever committed, according to my calculations, he would be serving a 2,347 year sentence. The truth of the matter is I won’t be surprised if Trump pardons him, but let’s enjoy his downfall while we can.

Only trouble with this one is they made Trump look slim …

The thing that is on everybody’s mind, of course, are the ongoing impeachment hearings, and the cartoonists on both sides are having a field day.

Rather than either shutting up, or having some logical rebuttal to the witness testimonies, the republicans, most notably Jim Jordan, Devin Nunes, and Trump himself, are engaging in a smear campaign. Why, Trump even tried to blame former Ambassador Marie Yovanovich for the Civil War in Somalia!

And speaking of Jim Jordan …

Some in the GOP seem to be having a hard time these days. It must be difficult to have to give full support to a ‘man’ who has no values, no integrity, lies, cheats and steals. Surely some of them are considering whether Trump is worth them throwing away their own careers.

The foundation for our government is the U.S. Constitution. Presidents take an oath to protect and uphold the Constitution. The document has withstood many challenges over the past 232 years, but I have to question whether it can stand up to the constant shredding and burning it is being put through under Donald Trump and his cadre of oafs.

And just a few miscellaneous ‘toons …

Remember when the worst thing the opposition could find to criticize the president for was wearing a tan-coloured suit? I long for the good ol’ days.

What’s New? Just Another Mass Shooting

Posted on November 18, 2019 by jilldennison under Election 2020, Law and justice, Political commentary, Rants, Social commentary

Friends and family members were gathered in the backyard to spend time together, share a meal, and watch a football game last night in a neighborhood in Fresno, California. Today, four of those people are dead and at least six others in the hospital in critical condition. Why? How?

Guns.

Not much is known yet, but police surmise there were multiple suspects who sneaked into the backyard and opened fire. Police are hoping to gain information from neighbor’s security cameras. No victims’ names have been released as yet, and few details have been reported at this time. Naturally, the usual and increasingly meaningless thoughts and prayers have been sent. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has expressed her outrage that gun legislation the House passed more than 260 days ago is being held up in the Senate …

“Enough is enough. The daily tragedy of gun violence continues to inflict terror and violence into communities across the country. Americans deserve real action to keep them safe, but Republicans continue to obstruct meaningful, bipartisan solutions to protect our children and communities. No one’s political survival is more important than the survival of our children.”

In my last post about a mass shooting, two short days ago, our friend Scottie provided the following information that I think is relevant here …

“The latest NBC News-Wall Street Journal survey finds that 89 percent of Americans favor expanded background checks for gun purchasers; 76 percent support “red flag” laws to identify dangerous persons and deny them guns, and 75 percent favor a voluntary buyback program in which the government would purchase firearms from current owners. Sixty-two percent of Americans favor a ban on the sale of semi-automatic weapons.”

89% … that figure includes a lot of gun owners. Only 11% of the people in this country are against gun regulations. It becomes obvious at this point that our elected representatives, particularly those of the republican party, do not represent the people of this country!!! How the hell many more people have to die before these jackasses get voted out of office???

Guns.

Only in the United States of America are guns more sacred than human life.

Snarky Snippets: Filosofa Growls

Posted on November 17, 2019 by jilldennison under Bits 'n Pieces, Law and justice, Political commentary, Rants, Social commentary

I awoke this morning to an odd noise that I couldn’t seem to pinpoint. At first I thought it was a car motor outside, but everywhere in the house I went, the noise stayed the same. I asked the girls if they could hear the noise (my hearing is strange … I don’t hear what is there, and I often hear that which doesn’t exist), and they said they heard it only when I was near. Hmmmm … a mystery. Well, we finally figured out that it was a low, growling sound emanating from somewhere deep in my throat. Well, you all know what that means, right? It means that it’s time for … Snarky Snippets!

Donald Trump, whose claim to fame is firing people, who even had a television show that was based solely, from what I’ve heard, on him screaming, “You’re Fired!” every week, is in firing mode this month. The latest in a series was Matthew Doherty, who until last week served as executive director of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness. What, you may ask, did Mr. Doherty do wrong? Nothing, as far as I can discern, but the timing is interesting.

The council was created in 1987 and is supposed to coordinate the government’s approach to tackling homelessness. It is unclear who will lead the organization now. Trump has recently promised to take action against California’s homelessness problem, arguing that homelessness hurts the quality of life and the “prestige” of some of its largest cities. One measure that has been discussed is razing the tent camps that house many homeless.

Did Trump fire Mr. Doherty because Doherty is a man of integrity and refused to go along with Trump’s inhumane ideas? And think about it … what does Trump plan to DO with the homeless people? Remember, we are talking about people here, not just some things that are lying about detracting from the “prestige” of the cities. Will he throw the children in cages? Since for the most part these people are citizens, not immigrants, he cannot send them “back where they came from”, so will he throw the adults into the Pacific Ocean and say, “Sink or swim”?

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Remember those tax cuts for the wealthy that Trump & Congress so generously approved in December 2017? One of the beneficiaries of those tax cuts came onto my radar just this morning. In 2017, the year prior to the implementation of the new tax cuts, FedEx paid $1.5 billion in taxes. Last year, however, was a different story … last year FedEx paid -0- in taxes. That’s right, folks … almost ever single person reading this post paid more taxes in 2018 than the corporation that saw a net income of $4.57 billion in fiscal 2018. Let that one sink in for a minute.

Now, the rationale for the tax cuts on corporations was that the companies would use the extra money they had on investments that would create more jobs … you know, that ‘trickle down’ theory that has never worked and never will work. Well, the company spent less in the 2018 fiscal year than it had projected in December 2017, before the tax law passed. It spent even less in 2019. Much of its savings have gone to reward shareholders: FedEx spent more than $2 billion on stock buybacks and dividend increases in the 2019 fiscal year, up from $1.6 billion in 2018, and more than double the amount the company spent on buybacks and dividends in fiscal year 2017.

In a nutshell, the country’s national debt is higher than ever before, the budget deficit (you remember, the one that republicans were so concerned about when Obama was president?) is in the tank, but a lot of rich people got even richer, thanks to their rich friends in the U.S. Congress and in the Oval Office.

Oh, and one last thing … this year, FedEx cut back on employee bonuses in an effort to reduce labour costs.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Just so you know, my friends, Attorney General William Barr says that We the People (those of us who still use our brains to think) are “undermining the rule of law”. Yes, that’s right. Trump can break the law, trample the Constitution, and even shoot someone on Fifth Avenue, but it is those of us who disagree with him that are undermining the rule of law!

“Immediately after President [sic] Trump won election, opponents inaugurated what they called ‘The Resistance’ and they rallied around an explicit strategy of using every tool and maneuver to sabotage the functioning of the executive branch and his administration. The fact of the matter is: that in waging a scorched-earth, no-holds-barred war of resistance against this administration, it is the left that is engaged in the systemic shredding of norms and undermining the rule of law.”

He forgets that after Barack Obama won the presidency in 2008, it was the right that formed the Tea Party movement, and republicans in Congress who conspired to oppose every effort put forward by the incoming administration. He forgets that the Koch brothers initiated the “Tea Party” movement immediately after Obama’s election, to shout down democratic lawmakers, protest in the streets and at state capitols across the nation, and even protest violently outside of the U.S. Capitol building. Some of them reportedly spit on lawmakers as they were walking into Congress to vote on healthcare legislation, and some called black lawmakers the N-word.

Yet it is those of us who want the madman out of the Oval Office, who wish to restore some integrity and intelligence to the position of president, who are “undermining the rule of law”???????

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Okay, folks, I think I’ve growled so much that my throat hurts, so I’ll stop here and leave you with a bit of humour.

America’s Failure to Support Troops…Economically

Posted on November 17, 2019 by jilldennison under Global Issues, Law and justice, Political commentary, Re-blogs, Social commentary

Yesterday, I was stunned by the statistics in this post by Brendan Birth … I think you will be too! The United States has the largest military budget in the world, in fact it is larger than the next seven nations combined!

And yet … we have homeless veterans, and military families who must rely on government assistance simply to put food on the table. There is something wrong with this picture, folks!

Thank you, Brendan, for this eye-opening post!

“Support our troops.” People in the United States frequently hear and see this phrase in a variety of settings: on cars, from politicians, and from friends posting on social media, to name a few. We hear it especially on days like Memorial Day and Veterans Day.

And I agree. We should support our troops. While my personal opinion is that we should avoid war except in the most extreme of circumstances (example: if our own nation is attacked, like with Pearl Harbor), people who risk their own lives on behalf of the entire country should be supported. Since people in the military serve our country, our country should in return serve our military veterans. It’s the least we can do in the United States.

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Two Children Died — They Shouldn’t Have

Posted on November 16, 2019 by jilldennison under Election 2020, Law and justice, Political commentary, Social commentary

Well, folks, there has been another school shooting. This time, the shooter, Nathaniel Tennosuke Berhow, was a sixteen-year-old student at Saugus High School in Santa Clarita, California. His mother dropped him off at school, he went into the school, pulled a gun from his backpack, fired all but one of the rounds in the gun, then turned it on himself and shot himself in the head.

Now, according to the New York Times, investigators are trying to understand why he took the gun out of his backpack and shot his fellow students. I think the more basic question becomes, “Why did this sixteen-year-old boy have access to a gun to begin with?” Police say there is no indication that his mother knew he had the gun in his backpack, but police also say they found six other guns, some not even registered, in his home. It seems to me that the mother (his father is dead) should be under investigation for a) having what qualifies as an illegal arsenal in her home, b) leaving guns unsecured and able to be accessed by children, and c) child neglect/endangerment.

Of the five students he shot, two died from their wounds, three others are hospitalized. The shooter did not immediately die but was rushed to the hospital where he died a day later, Friday afternoon. The two students who were killed are Gracie Anne Muehlberger, a 15-year-old girl, and Dominic Blackwell, a 14-year-old boy. One of the three injured students has been released from the hospital, the other two are expected to be released sometime this weekend. All three are expected to survive … thankfully.

Police say they have no motive … the shooter did not leave behind any manifesto or letter, though it was obviously a planned attack. The FBI are combing social media, looking for some clue as to what may have caused the boy to commit this horrendous crime.

Those are the facts, as they are known today. The story made the news, but it seemingly paled in comparison to the impeachment news, Donald Trump’s hate-filled tweets, Roger Stone’s trial, and Rudy Giuliani’s stupidity. Perhaps it was because this time, only 2 students died? Perhaps the people in this nation are becoming inured to gun violence? Perhaps there is a new feeling of hopelessness, in light of the fact that the National Rifle Association (NRA) appear to control enough of our legislators to keep any gun regulations from passing into law.

So, you are probably asking yourselves why I am even writing about this one, given that I have said it all before, time and time again, and that there is not much that can be added at this point. Well, I’ve asked myself that, as well. Why bother? I’ve said it all before, I’m preaching to the choir because my readers are 99% in agreement with me on this, my words won’t reach the ears of those who need to hear them, and even if they did, they wouldn’t heed my words.

But, it seems to me that if we allow ourselves to fall into that trap, if we throw our hands up in the air and say, “Why bother?”, then we have lost the battle … the good guys will have given up and turned the nation, the lives of our children and grandchildren, over to the thugs. At the very least … the very least … Gracie Anne Muehlberger and Dominic Blackwell deserve to be recognized, to be remembered, to be honoured. But, I believe we owe them more than that.

I believe we owe Gracie Anne and Dominic and the other 842^[1] children under age 18 killed by guns so far in 2019, and the other 2,447 children injured by guns thus far this year, to make our voices heard, to keep on shouting loud and clear, to work to bring about an end to the corruption of our politicians and the NRA. WE OWE IT TO THE CHILDREN!!!

Only in the United States is there free and unfettered access to guns by every man, woman and child, bar almost none. Only in the United States do we send our children to school, never knowing whether they will return at the end of the day. The people who could stop the madness, won’t. Their children haven’t been affected … yet.

Please, friends, vote out the bastards in Congress who take donations from the NRA. Let’s start using some good sense. Find out who in your state is taking NRA money^[2] and get them out! Surely the lives of our children matter more than our right to own a killing machine?

^[1] Gun Violence Archive 2019

^[2] Open Secrets database … searchable by state, party, election cycle, amount

Note to readers: Saturday Surprise is on hiatus for this week … I felt this was more important. Apologies, and Saturday Surprise will, hopefully, return next week.

Decency on Display at Hearing Today

Posted on November 15, 2019 by jilldennison under Law and justice, Political commentary, Re-blogs, Social commentary

Our friend Jeff reminds us of something … what true decency is. The difference between evil cruelty and common decency is as pronounced as the difference between night and day. Thank you, Jeff … have a great weekend!

On The Fence Voters

Hint: Not from the President of the United States

Soon out here in the Pacific Northwest, the weekend will officially begin. The wife will come home from work, we’ll crack open a cold IPA and discuss a bit about what happened in Trumpworld today.

I hadn’t planned on weighing in because I didn’t know if I’d have the time. But something occurred to me and I wanted to briefly share it with you.

As you’re hopefully ready to enjoy the upcoming weekend, I’d like to leave you with a word that kept coming into my head as I watched Ambassador Maria Yovanovitch testify today: D E C E N C Y.

Why that word? Simply put, the current President of the United States does not have a lick of it in his body. We see it every day through his tweets or press interactions. We’re nearly three years into his…

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Snarky Snippets, Volume #105

Posted on November 15, 2019 by jilldennison under Bits 'n Pieces, education, Law and justice, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, religion, Social commentary

That’s right, folks, this is the 105^thversion of Snarky Snippets!!! The concept started as just one post on a day that I didn’t have a major topic, but had several little things I wanted to write about. Several commentors suggested I should do this more often, so I began writing snarky snippets once a week or so. Nowadays, however, it is more like 3-4 times a week! This morning I wondered if I had done one hundred yet, so I did a quick keyword search and came up with 104, making this the 105^th! I start with some rather cheering news to kick off the weekend …

Roger goes down in flames!

Well, folks, you know how Trump has said that the Mueller investigation into the ways in which Russia interfered with our 2016 election and who may have been involved within Trump’s campaign, is naught but a ‘hoax’, a ‘witch hunt’, and that nobody has been convicted of anything? WRONG! Just this morning, Trump’s long-time friend, ally and former aide was convicted on all seven felony counts with which he had been charged! ALL SEVEN!

The friendship between Stone and Trump dates back more than 40 years. Does anybody really believe that Stone was involved, but that Trump knew nothing about it? I don’t. Trump did not testify in person in the Mueller investigation, but rather submitted answers in writing to the questions posed by Mueller and his team. In one such answer, he claimed that he could not recall the specifics of any of 21 conversations he had with Mr. Stone in the six months before the election.

Stone is the sixth individual to be convicted on charges stemming from the Mueller investigation. The others are:

Rick Gates, Trump’s former deputy campaign chairman
Michael Flynn, Trump’s former national security advisor
Michael Cohen, Trump’s former longtime attorney and “fixer”
George Papadopoulos, a former Trump campaign aide
Paul Manafort, Stone’s former partner

Remember how, after the Mueller report was released and Attorney General William Barr gave his misleading summation of the report, Trump kept screeching, “No obstruction, No collusion!” It was a lie then, we all knew it was a lie, and Stone’s conviction proves the lie. I wonder what ol’ Trumpie will have to say now?

Stone’s sentencing will be interesting. On one count alone, he could face up to 20 years, which at age 67 could amount to a life sentence. It is anticipated that he will receive a lighter sentence, but then again … remember when he posted a picture of Judge Amy Berman Jackson with the cross hairs of a gun near her head? Might not go so well for him after all.

Ohio wants to “Make America Stupid Again”

Most days, I am ashamed to say that I live in the state of Ohio. Like any other state, it has its ups and downs, but since the state’s electoral votes went for Trump in 2016, I would just as soon live in Bangladesh or somewhere. Today’s latest had me picking up my jaw from the floor where it had dropped.

A proposal in Ohio would allow students to be exempted from answering questions correctly in school if their wrong answers conform with their personal religious beliefs. In essence, a student wouldn’t be penalized if their answers were scientifically wrong, even if they’re in a science class or science-based school.

In part, the bill reads that no school “shall prohibit a student from engaging in religious expression in the completion of homework, artwork, or other written or oral assignments.” So, for example, if a young person answers on a test that the earth is flat, his/her answer cannot be counted wrong as long as he or she claims it is what is taught by their religion??? Science is factual, not subject to the whims of one religion or another. The U.S. Constitution calls for a separation of church and state. This bill is discriminatory, for if two children both get the answer to question #14 wrong, but one claims it was a result of her religious beliefs, then she will not have it counted against her, while the other will. Discrimination!

The proposal has already been passed as a bill in the Ohio state House of Representatives. It now goes to the Republican-led Senate, where, if passed, it would move onto Republican Governor Mike DeWine’s office for his signature. I swear if this one passes, I’m moving to a different state!

Only in Kentucky …

I have a number of friends who live in Kentucky, so I am not putting down the state per se, but let’s face it, this is the state that keeps sending Mitch McConnell back to the Senate time and time again … says something, don’t you think?

Well, this latest has nothing to do with politics, but it crossed my radar last night and I let out a WTF before I could catch myself. The headline reads …

Kentucky man wins 3-year court battle to put ‘IM GOD’ on license plate

Back in 2016, the man, one Ben Hart, ordered personalized plates, otherwise known as ‘vanity plates’ for obvious reasons. He requested the plates read “IM GOD”, but was turned down by the state Department of Transportation. Some things are just deemed to be inappropriate. Most people would have just picked something else, or given up on the personalized plates altogether, but not Ben Hart.

He took the state to court, aided by the American Civil Liberties Union in Kentucky and the Freedom From Religion Foundation. Three years this has been in process, until finally on Wednesday a U.S. District Court judge in Frankfort ruled in favor of Hart, saying personalized license plates are private speech, and protected under the 1st Amendment. 🙄

I wonder how much money was spent on this foolishness?

Well, folks, that’s a wrap for today’s episode of Snarky Snippets! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Day One of Inquiry-Media Already Drops the Ball

Posted on November 14, 2019 by jilldennison under Free Press Issues, Law and justice, Political commentary, Social commentary

Since I couldn’t bring myself to write about yesterday’s televised hearings, I will share with you Jeff’s take on the media’s response which was, to say the least, largely lackluster. Thanks, Jeff, for a great assessment … you are spot on!

On The Fence Voters

So day one of the impeachment inquiry of Donald Trump is now in the books. Ambassador William Taylor and Under Secretary of State George Kent gave testimony for over five hours. Day two is tomorrow, with former Ukrainian Ambassador Maria Yovanovitch set to take the stand. I thought day one went well for the Democrats, and I planned on giving my overall opinion on some of what I observed–until I saw the following tweets:

Consequential, but dull: Trump impeachment hearings begin without a bang https://t.co/ShiVlzppn1
— Jeff Mason (@jeffmason1) November 14, 2019

Analysis: The first two witnesses called Wednesday testified to President Trump's scheme, but lacked the pizzazz necessary to capture public attention. https://t.co/1UfkaeZ3I4
— NBC News (@NBCNews) November 14, 2019

Unfortunately, my mood changed quickly. Really NBC News and Jeff Mason of Reuters? Is this is the best you can do? A “lack of pizzazz,” “boring,” and “hearings begin…

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Filosofa Reflects …

Posted on November 14, 2019 by jilldennison under Bits 'n Pieces, Personal, Random, Social commentary

You all remember Snap, Crackle and Pop of Rice Krispies fame? Last night, after working for a few hours on emails, posts, comments, etc., I stood to refill my coffee cup, and I distinctly heard those three characters … in my knees. And hips. And feet. What the …??? It’s likely not the first time I had heard this cacophony of sounds, but … perhaps the first time it penetrated the fog that surround my brain and allowed me to realize that sound was coming, not from a box of cereal, but from ME! Yes, those were my body parts crackling, snapping, and popping! What can this possibly mean??? OH NO!!!

I’m OLD!!!

Seriously, though … there comes a point in our lives where we look in the mirror and ask ourselves, “who is that?” Or, “how did I get to this point, and where have the years gone?”

At this point, once we accept that we are no longer 30 years old, and no longer have the world on a string, we reflect. We look back on the years and ask ourselves some tough questions. Was I a good person? If there is a scorecard, did I give more than I took? Did my life have purpose, in the grand scheme of things? What was my single greatest achievement in life? What was my worst mistake, and did I atone for it in some way? And the real kicker … if I had it to do over again, what would I do differently?

Thing is, though, that the answers on Tuesday might be entirely different from the answers on Friday. Take that first question, for example. “Was I a good person?” Well, first of all, define “good”. There was the time that I threatened to beat a lady with a shovel for taking too long checking out at a local market. I wasn’t very good that day. But then, there was the time that I gave a family $1,000 that was most of my own bank account at Christmas to buy gifts for their children. Does one outweigh or offset the other?

And, about that “single greatest achievement in life” … is it my children? Well, one child now. That one child is making a difference in the world every day. She is a nurse, and one who entered the field because she wanted to help people, to dedicate her life to others. I gave birth to her, taught her all of life’s important lessons, taught her to think for herself. Do I get a brownie point for that? No, I think that point belongs on her scorecard.

I spent some 30 years as an accountant … more than once, I compared the field of accounting to a career in prostitution, reckoning that the most successful accountants sold their souls upriver. Twice during my career, I quit jobs rather than break the law or sacrifice my integrity. Does that make me a good person? Doubtful, as somebody else simply stepped in to do the dirty work.

On to another question, then. Did I give more than I took? This one is easy … or is it? I think that yes, I did, but then … did I really? I first thought the answer was a resounding “yes”, but then … I look around. I have given small amounts from time to time to a variety of humanitarian organizations, but … I have also lived a life of convenience. It is snowing outside, and my heat is set at a comfortable 72°. I have a refrigerator and freezer full of food, a chicken is simmering in the crock pot, and quite literally, I want for nothing. Or at least nothing that money can buy. I am not wealthy by any stretch of the imagination, but neither am I suffering. I spent $89 at the grocery today, $10 of which was for a bottle of wine to help me relax enough to sleep at night, and $5 of which was to purchase the aforementioned chicken. Some people are living on $25 or less for a week. More to the point, perhaps, some people would not see a chicken killed for their own pleasure, so here again, I fail.

So, at the end of the day, I could compare myself to some and be seen as a good person, or to others and be seen as a total dud, a failure. So, the question really is, I think, whether we, each and every one of us, believe we did our best, gave our all. For me, I am not proud of all the times I have put self ahead of the greater good, but neither will I kick myself for the times I have failed, for through failure I have learned.

As we get older, as we come to realized that our lives are on the downhill side, we ask ourselves the questions, we contemplate whether we might have done more … and I think that we will, if we are honest with ourselves, come up lacking. But you know what? I think that just the fact we take the time to ask the questions, to look back, to assess and analyze, says something about our character. I hope that at the end of the day, more people will remember me with a smile than with a scowl.

♫ Lean On Me ♫

Posted on November 14, 2019 by jilldennison under music, Social commentary

I rarely have to go looking for a song … they are usually playing around in my head, just begging to be released. But, for the past couple of days, the last one I played, Al Green’s Let’s Stay Together, wouldn’t leave my head, even though I played it here, gave it permission to hop out of my head and into yours, but it had seemingly carved out a niche somewhere in my head and … given the cold temps outside, I think it liked it in there. So, tonight I went in search of something that I maybe hadn’t heard in a while, and came across this little gem.

This song, written and recorded by singer-songwriter Bill Withers, was released in April 1972 as the first single from his second album, Still Bill. It was his first and only number one single. According to Withers …

“This was my second album, so I could afford to buy myself a little Wurlitzer electric piano. So I bought a little piano and I was sitting there just running my fingers up and down the piano. In the course of doing the music, that phrase crossed my mind, so then you go back and say, ‘OK, I like the way that phrase, Lean On Me, sounds with this song.’ So you go back and say, ‘How do I arrive at this as a conclusion to a statement? What would I say that would cause me to say Lean On Me?’ At that point, it’s between you and your actual feelings, you and your morals and what you’re really like. You probably do more thinking about it after it’s done.”

Withers did not record his first song until he was 32 years old. He was in the US Navy for nine years, then worked at a factory making parts for airplanes. Says Withers:

“Being from a rural, West Virginia setting, that kind of circumstance would be more accessible to me than it would be to a guy living in New York where people step over you if you’re passed out on the sidewalk, or Los Angeles, where you could die on the side of the freeway and it would probably be eight days before anyone noticed you were dead. Coming from a place where people were a little more attentive to each other, less afraid, that would cue me to have those considerations. I think what we say is influenced by how we are, what’s been our life experiences. Now, I notice young guys writing about shooting each other in the city and stuff like that, well I would never have said anything like that because it was not my experience, I’m not from a big city. I think circumstance dictates what people think.”

Lean On Me
Bill Withers

Sometimes in our lives we all have pain
We all have sorrow
But if we are wise
We know that there’s always tomorrow

Lean on me, when you’re not strong
And I’ll be your friend
I’ll help you carry on
For it won’t be long
‘Til I’m gonna need
Somebody to lean on

Please swallow your pride
If I have things you need to borrow
For no one can fill those of your needs
That you won’t let show

You just call on me brother, when you need a hand
We all need somebody to lean on
I just might have a problem that you’ll understand
We all need somebody to lean on

Lean on me, when you’re not strong
And I’ll be your friend
I’ll help you carry on
For it won’t be long
‘Til I’m gonna need
Somebody to lean on

You just call on me brother, when you need a hand
We all need somebody to lean on
I just might have a problem that you’ll understand
We all need somebody to lean on

If there is a load you have to bear
That you can’t carry
I’m right up the road
I’ll share your load

If you just call me (call me)
If you need a friend (call me) call me uh huh(call me) if you need a friend (call me)
If you ever need a friend (call me)
Call me (call me) call me (call me) call me
(Call me) call me (call me) if you need a friend
(Call me) call me (call me) call me (call me) call me (call me) call me (call me)