As an amateur curmudgeon I note with sadness the death of a professional curmudgeon: Andy Rooney who has passed away at age 92. Although my views of the network he worked for, CBS, are not printable in polite company, I had a soft spot in my heart for Rooney. As the above video indicates, although he was most definitely a political liberal he was also frequently subversive of the left wing pieties embraced by CBS.
Rooney served in the Army during World War 2 and was a patriot to his marrow as indicated by this poignant video:
In 1985 Rooney came out against abortion, which no doubt brought him unending grief considering the social milieu in which he lived. Go here to read his column. Agree with him or disagree with him, and I mostly disagreed with him, especially in regard to religion where he was a fairly snide atheist, Rooney always gave his honest opinion and that is to be respected. So rest in peace Mr. Rooney, I will miss you.
May he rest in peace.
Sadly, I never watch that show.
From Kipling, “Epitaphs of the War”, Journalists: “We have served our day.”
As a long-time practicing curmudgeon, I joined in mourning Rooney’s passing. Oddly, I found he grew less irascible over time, occasionally caving in to political correctness. He was the only reason 60 Minutes was worth watching. The rest consists mainly of puff, filler or superficial reportage.
Truth to tell Joe I haven’t watched 60 minutes for about a decade. Rooney did admit a few years ago that there was a strong liberal tilt at CBS which is sort of like admitting that the Pope is Catholic, but something most journalists ritualistically deny. He got into hot water over this telling truth out of season and he wrote this in a column:
“As a guest on the Larry King show a few weeks ago, I said some things in answer to his questions, that I would have been better off lying about or avoiding. It was not that the people who objected to what I said necessarily thought I was wrong. They thought I shouldn’t have said it. In my own defense, I told a boss of mine that I thought if all the truth were known by everyone, it would be a better world. He scoffed. I think ‘scoff’ is what he did. I know he rejected the idea.”
Specifically, Don, as I recall, he said some unsavory things about homosexuality, which, of course, is immediately fodder for the MSM. I can think of few commentators left in broadcast America, excepting perhaps Michael Savage, who can ruffle the feathers of the established Left. Savage is persona non grata in Britain.