Andy Rooney, 60 Minutes tonight, 3-11-07

[grampster]

Below are some comments I posted on THR.


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grampster
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Andy Rooney, 60 Minutes tonight, 3-11-07
Andy Rooney went off on a rant about our voluntary military. He did not have many kind things to say. Questioned the morals of our volunteers, said they didn't represent us well and even stated he did not like the men in his own artillery unit in 1941. His comments were despicable and very offensive to me and I hope all of you. He said that the only way to get worthwhile folks in the military is to draft them. I expressed to him what I thought might be a better use for a draft.

Attached are my remarks to him at CBS.

Dear Mr. Rooney,

I watched your comments tonight regarding our voluntary military. I am ashamed of you and your comments. Our brave men and women, of all stripes, join the military knowing full well what lies ahead. You comments were despicable sir. You have shown your colors when you disparaged your own unit. They are not Red White and Blue. I suspect they are yellow, the color of your journalism.

The voluntary news reader, such as yourself, has declined much over the years. Perhaps we should rather begin to draft news reporters. I believe, for certain, that the quality of broadcaster would markedly improve.

Less than cordially,

My name and hometown
__________________
TFL Alumnus, NRA Life member, APS on the 1st day.

"He aroused, he turned the page and went back to sleep."

"The problem with doing nothing is not knowing when you are finished."

[grislyatoms]

Good show, Grampster.

"the only way to get worthwhile folks in the military is to draft them".

That line immediately made me think of Pat Tillman.

[wingnutx]

I needed a "moral waiver" to enlist in 1988, since I admitted to trying marijuana.

A guy I work with needed a waiver to enlist because he had a misdeneanor trespassing on his record.

I guess we are the bottom of the barrel 

[wingnutx]

Here's that segment:

http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/60minutes/rooney/main3419.shtml

[Standing Wolf]

Wet diapers probably made him cranky.

[Antibubba]

Wet diapers probably made him cranky.

Where are the "Guffaw" and "Roar" smileys when you need them?

[Perd Hapley]

He claims that uneducated and/or moral waiver soldiers from "the bottom of the barrel" don't represent "what we're all like."  "Do we want people like this to represent us?" he asks. 

Wouldn't lowering standards actually give foreigners a more accurate idea of what we're all like?  After all, some Americans ARE uneducated and criminal.  But of course, like most leftist twits, Rooney's just missing the point.  A soldier or sailor's job is not to represent his country to terrorists, but to kill them.

I could rebutt his notion that volunteer military personnel are losers, but we can all do that later, when Ezekiel chimes in.   

[garyk/nm]

What is he, like 112 years old? Senility's a b!tch. Shame on CBS for allowing him a voice.

[Art Eatman]

Anybody recall JShirley, moderator at TFL and THR?  He's a volunteer; in Afghanistan, right now.  Gonna finish his master's degree when he gets back in a few months.  Hoping to get married to a nice little gal.

Oh, well.  they don't call that network SeeBS for no reason...

Art

[wmenorr67]

I would invite Mr. Rooney to Iraq for a visit but then that would mean he would have to leave his cozy little office and take a chance of getting hurt.  Oh well.  But, that is on of the reasons we fight is for people like him to say whatever he feels is necessary.  Doesn't mean I have to listen to it, read it or even believe it if and when I do hear about it.

[Chris]

"In 1942 we were at war with Germany and it wasn't long before drafted college students and high school graduates dominated our military. It changed the United States Army for the better and in two years made it the best fighting force there has ever been. The Army and Navy were no longer made up of losers."

By logical implication, anyone who was not drafted into the military was a loser...a few names come to mind.

George Patton
Douglas MacArthur
Dwight Eisenhour
Audie Murphy

Think of it like this...any person who applied for, was accepted into, and graduated from West Point, Annapolis, or the Air Force Academy, is a loser according to Mr. Rooney, as they were not drafted.  For that matter, anyone who ever enlisted is a loser.  Sgt. Randall Shugart and Sgt. Gary Gordon, Medal of Honor recipients who need no introduction to anyone who frequents this Board, are thus losers.

I am rarely motivated to write to news people.  But, I am motivated now.

[wmenorr67]

Does this also mean that John Kerry is a loser, wasn't drafted; John Kennedy was a loser, wasn't drafted; Colin Powell is a loser, wasn't drafted; Oliver North is a loser, wasn't drafted and the list goes on.

[RJMcElwain]

A few months ago, I posted a thread on THR suggesting that, now that Congressman Rangel is Chairman of Ways and Means, it's only a matter of time before "the draft" is a major issue in Washington. He as much has said so. Maybe Rooney was just sending up a trial balloon for Rangel.

Bob

[Perd Hapley]

A few months ago, I posted a thread on THR suggesting that, now that Congressman Rangel is Chairman of Ways and Means, it's only a matter of time before "the draft" is a major issue in Washington.

  I think you mean a major stunt.  What congressperson in their right mind wants to be held accountable for reviving the draft?  Politically, it's easier for our Congresscritters to vote for Peace with Honor or Cut and Run, however one wishes to phrase it. 

[RJMcElwain]

A few months ago, I posted a thread on THR suggesting that, now that Congressman Rangel is Chairman of Ways and Means, it's only a matter of time before "the draft" is a major issue in Washington.

  I think you mean a major stunt.  What congressperson in their right mind wants to be held accountable for reviving the draft?  Politically, it's easier for our Congresscritters to vote for Peace with Honor or Cut and Run, however one wishes to phrase it. 

Yes, but we're talking about Charlie Rangel. He sits in a very secure district, so he can propose anything he wants, and he's just itching for this one.

Bob

[Perd Hapley]

Like I said, he can propose the draft as a stunt, as he did earlier.  And a few politicians can even vote for it, like they did last time, knowing it will fail, so the consequences will be minimal.  But it's only a major issue as political showmanship, not as a bill with any chance of passing.  YMMV. 

[Cosmoline]

Rooney was never the brightest bulb, but extreme age has robbed him of what little common sense he had.  He blathers on, usually incoherently, because nobody at the show wants to be the one to put a bullet in his brain. 

[Felonious Monk/Fignozzle]

In deference to him, he WAS one of the original curmudgeons; i.e. a curmudgeon when curmudgeonry wasn't cool.

He's always been a liberal SOB, though.

He's just itching for someone to put him in a room in the Old Folk's home, complete with a wheelchair, a bedpan, and a big nurse named Helga with rough hands and a penchant for prostate exams.

[Balog]

Anybody recall JShirley, moderator at TFL and THR?  He's a volunteer; in Afghanistan, right now......  Art

Really! I had no idea; I always thought of him as a fairly old gentleman. Does he still have internet access? I'd like to write and wish him well.

[Ezekiel]

Cannon fodder is a necessary requirement of Imperialism.

Better, friend? 

Certainly, a significant contingent of our "volunteer" military personnel are where they are due to being absolutely unable to perform anywhere else: implying they didn't truly volunteer, they accepted the only position available to their limited skill set.  Essentially, they were unable to hold down jobs in the fast-food industry or as tow truck operators...

Do we require a GED to carry a rifle, yet?  (Seriously.)

A soldier or sailor's job is not to represent his country to terrorists, but to kill them.

I could rebutt his notion that volunteer military personnel are losers, but we can all do that later, when Ezekiel chimes in.

[Perd Hapley]

Certainly, a significant contingent of our "volunteer" military personnel are where they are due to being absolutely unable to perform anywhere else: implying they didn't truly volunteer, they accepted the only position available to their limited skill set.  Essentially, they were unable to hold down jobs in the fast-food industry or as tow truck operators...

Do we require a GED to carry a rifle, yet?  (Seriously.)

I believe a waiver is required for anyone without a high school diploma.

Where did you find out about military personnel having trouble holding down jobs in fast food or driving tow trucks?  I didn't know those two jobs were even comparable in terms of renumeration or required skills.  And how many would be a "significant contingent"?  And are you suggesting that those two jobs are preferrable to military service?  Why? 

And is it really your contention that if someone can't hold down a civilian job, he is thereby forced to enter the military?   Are there really no other options, such as JobCorps, welfare, a few others I don't know about because I've never been down that low? 

And is it a bad thing that the military is, for some people, a formative experience that helps them learn about responsibility and hard work, and so forth?  Is it bad that the military can sometimes be an outlet for people with a poor "skill set"?

So sorry, I forgot to question the sanity of deriding military members as uneducated and unemployable, when many of us are obvious examples to the contrary.  Not me, of course, I'm a loser.   

[Ezekiel]

You are far from a loser and you know it -- as do I.  But I presume that you are a little higher on the Bell Curve than most in your colloquial grouping...

Is it bad that the military can be formative (if organizational brainwashing is such) for folks with poor skill sets?  "Of course not."  But it doesn't eradicate the original information related to their enlistment: there wasn't much going for them in a competitive, capitalist, society.

[Perd Hapley]

You are far from a loser and you know it -- as do I.

  Thanks.  I think I'm actually undergoing some depression right now.  Or perhaps I'm just being honest.  I'm not that good at life.  I'm good at theorizing, disputing on internet forums, and taking standardized tests like the SAT and military ASVAB.  I also managed to make a 4.0 in my last three semesters and Dean's List.  The other infantrymen with which I served may not have scored as high as I did or made A's in college, but I'll wager most of them are making more money or actually finishing their college degrees.  Neither of which I seem to be good at.  I don't think I've ever been above them on any existential bell curve of capitalistic survivability.  I think they have always been higher on your bell curve than I am. 

Is it bad that the military can be formative (if organizational brainwashing is such) for folks with poor skill sets?  "Of course not."  But it doesn't eradicate the original information related to their enlistment: there wasn't much going for them in a competitive, capitalist, society.

Again, why do you claim these are "a significant contingent"?  How many such people are there?  And are you ever going to back up this constant charge of military brainwashing?  Regardless, we are discussing people who can't even work in fast food, but learn to be valuable members of the work force through military service.  If that's brainwashing, we need more of it.  Didn't seem to work that great for me, though.

[Ezekiel]

Thanks.  I think I'm actually undergoing some depression right now.  Or perhaps I'm just being honest.  I'm not that good at life.

You are honest and open.  You, also, make me think.

We you here, I'd buy you a good steak and a high quality beer: we've all been there, friendship helps.

(You're just fine at life, it's just thrown you some really nasty sliders on the corner of the plate right now...)

We'll spar for kicks later.  Right now?  "Thanks for your service, go relax." 

[MechAg94]

I don't know about brain washing, but the military does need to take the average person and turn them into a soldier who will follow orders without asking 20 questions all the time.  That change is a physical and mental change.  It is necessary for a functional military and I am glad it isn't mandatory.

The engineering curriculum that I went through in college does similar things though much milder and longer in that is teaches analytical thought processes and problem solving.