Comments on: Andy Answers His Mail

What's In Andy's Mailbag? See A Sampling!

[rank_n_file]

ROONEY: "The only things I can think of that are truly discriminatory are things like the United Negro College Fund..." etc. How about Texas where there was a horrendous racial murder in which a black man (James Byrd) was tied up with a rope and dragged behind a pick-up truck (while alive) for miles, until there was nothing left of him but a heap of blood and mangled flesh. His body had caught a sewage drain on the side of the road resulting in his decapitation. The three White Supremacist perpetrators dumped their victim''s mutilated remains in the town''s black cemetery, and then went to a barbecue. This happened on June 7, 1998. Not very long ago. By anyone''s reckoning, this was an especially horrible, gruesome race-motivated hate crime. The two primary unrepentant White Supremacist perpetrators were convicted and got the death penalty. John King, one of the unrepentant White Supremacist perpetrators, was convicted and sentence to death in 1999. At that time, he was the FIRST white person in Texas to be sent to death row for the murder of an African-American since the state resumed capital punishment in the mid-1970s. And if he is executed he will be only the second white man in Texas history ever executed for the killing of a black person. By Rooney''s distorted reckoning, this statistic does NOT conclusively disclose entrenched racist practices in Texas. There was a time when Rooney was exceptionally insightful, and humorous so. Those days are long gone.

[rank_n_file]

ROONEY: "Guns do not make you a killer. I think killing makes you a killer. You can kill someone with a baseball bat or a car, but no one is trying to ban you from driving to the ball game."

Is Rooney just trying to ''whiff'' a fastball past us, tempting us to try to take it out of the ballpark BEFORE we realize the pitch is actually ''in the dirt?'' Rooney''s saying, those of us who have never killed should be able to carry guns on an airplane and in an airport and in a courthouse and to a baseball game. Yet, as we all well-know, we cannot. And we cannot even carry a baseball bat on an airplane, or nail clippers or a nail file, or a cigarette lighter, or liquids, etc. The vast majority of people in this country have agreed that such preemptive, preventative proscriptions and prohibitions are absolutely essential to our personal safety, especially in this post 9-11 world we live in. Why have we all come to this conclusion? Because none of us are psychics, and therefore, none of us knows, in advance, who among us might be killers. And we all want to be safe and secure to the furthest extent possible, even though we are not omnicient psychics. Rooney''s myopic argument is that no sweeping preventative measures should be taken to protect the public, because law-abiding ''non-killer'' gun owners would be unjustly penalized by such protections and prohibitions. Persons with opinions this disconnected from reality are often institutionalized for their own protection.

[truth_police]

ROONEY: "I have the right ''NOT'' to be tolerant of others because they are different, weird, or tick me off."

REPLY: The statement is legally and constitutionally accurate. But you wouldn''t want to live in such a world where everyone felt that way. If history has taught us anything at all it has taught us that intolerance of differences has created enormous pain and suffering and grotesque genocides throughout human history. It drove the Crusades genocides, the Nazi genocides, the Mao genocides, the Pol-Pot Regime genocides, the Bosnian ''Ethnic Cleansing'' genocides, the Stalin genocides, the Rwandan Genocides, and much more. Escape from intolerance is precisely what the creation of this Nation was all about. The foundational precepts of this Nation are anchored resolutely in the moral duty to protect humanity from the ''intolerance'' of others. I have the right to believe that the Earth is flat and that all science should be completely outlawed and eradicated. Simply having this ''right'' does NOT in any way mean that it is a ''right'' that should be exercised. Having the ''right'' to that opinion does not confer on that opinion an air of logical, moral, ethical or rational legitimacy, rectitude or necessity, nor does it stand as an edict that everyone should ''jump on board'' and share that point of view. A world of militantly intolerant hardheads like Rooney would be a world devoid of all the protections and freedoms which distinguish this country from any other on Earth.

[truth_police]

ROONEY: "I don''t hate the rich; I don''t pity the poor. I think Bill Gates has every right to keep every penny he made and continue to make more."

REPLY - No one is arguing that those who are wealthy should be despised solely because of their wealth or the poor want pity. These are Rooney counterfeit claims. The TRUE ''wealth versus poverty'' problems actually complained of and which historically have caused justifiable public outrage, relate to, for example, the legal justice system''s constitutional responsibility to treat all accused fairly and equally, without regard to wealth, race, gender or political stature. The public outrage, in truth, focuses on the systematic disparate treatment meted out by the legal justice system, solely based on one''s wealth and resulting political influence. The public is justifiably outraged when an extremely wealthy Marc Rich or Scooter Libby, duly convicted lowlife felons, avoid their prison sentences entirely solely because they are extremely wealthy and politically well-connected as a result. A legal system in which wealth solely determines the legal outcome is a constitutionally defective system that every red-blooded, patriotic American should be outraged about. Rooney is executing "The Magician''s Fraud" where he has you looking ''over HERE'' while he slips the card up his sleeve ''over THERE.'' A decoy distraction that has you saying "that''s right," til you see the Trojan Horse chicanery that slipped past you at the front gates.

[truth_police]

ROONEY WROTE: "I think the police should have every right to shoot you if you threaten them after they tell you to stop. If you can''t understand the word ''freeze'' or ''stop'' in English, see the above lines."

REPLY: Once again, the problem is that Rooney''s statement completely misrepresents what the actual perennial legal complaint has been for the past two centuries. Note the very narrow circumstance Rooney is referring to -- "if you threaten them [cops] after they tell you to stop." So what about a shoplifting suspect who is confronted by police and who flees (runs away) in an attempt to escape police capture? Rooney''s spiel clearly requires that the ''cops be THREATENED by the suspect''s conduct'' in order for the cops to be justified in shooting the suspect. And someone who is running away is NOT threatening the officer''s life or safety. But Rooney''s diatribe insinuates that cops are being criticized for shooting a suspect who "threatens" police officer''s safety. That simply is NOT the case. As a criminal law attorney I can categorically state with certainty that the cases causing public outrage over police conduct are cases in which officers shot and killed a non-violent suspect who was fleeing the scene or they were cases in which officers shot and killed a non-violent suspect who was NOT posing a threat to the officers.

[missybelle-2009]

My father was a huge fan of 60 Minutes. One time while visiting our house, he asked my 6 year old son if he could watch 60 Minutes. My son answered, "Okay, Grandpa! Uh, 60 Minutes of what?"

[ryindy]

"Steven Wishnoff has nothing but the utmost respect for Mr. Rooney."

Ok. Yet there''s no accounting for taste in that opening remark.

Who is Andy Rooney and what does he do but make off the wall remarks at the end of a usually boring hour?

If he''s supposed to be CBS'' answer to George Burns or George Carlin, the network has botched it big time.

Ron Yeary
Indianapolis

[erinlovely]

I love you Andy. :D I''ve listened to your opinions nearly all my life. Please do not take those negative moronic critics to heart. I value your beliefs and ideals dearly and I hope you stay on the air and bless us with your godly words forever and ever! thanks

[valvladez]

Firstly, I forgive Andy''s comment that the name "SALVATION ARMY" is dumb as he stated on Dec. 14, 2008. I don''t believe Andy doesn''t know what the Salvation Army does, as he also stated.

Second, the name SALVATION ARMY:In 1865, William Booth, a Methodist minister, formed an evangelical group dedicated to preaching among people living in poverty in London''s East End.

Booth also became involved in the feeding and shelter of the homeless and in rehabilitating alcoholics.

His aim was to lead link them to a church for further spiritual guidance. Even though they were converted, churches did not accept Booth%u2019s followers because of what they had been.

By 1874, he had 1,000 volunteers and 42 evangelists. They served under the name "The Christian Mission." Booth assumed the title of a General Superintendent. His followers called him "General." Known as the "Hallelujah Army," the converts worked in London then into other cities. Booth changed the name to the "Salvation Army."

Thank You and God Bless,

Val Valdez
Salvation Army Volunteer in Austin, Texas

[valvladez]

Firstly, I forgive Andy''s comment that the name "SALVATION ARMY" is dumb as he stated on Dec. 14, 2008. I don''t believe Andy doesn''t know what the Salvation Army does, as he also stated.

Second, the name SALVATION ARMY:In 1865, William Booth, a Methodist minister, formed an evangelical group dedicated to preaching among people living in poverty in London''s East End.

Booth also became involved in the feeding and shelter of the homeless and in rehabilitating alcoholics.

His aim was to lead link them to a church for further spiritual guidance. Even though they were converted, churches did not accept Booth%u2019s followers because of what they had been.

By 1874, he had 1,000 volunteers and 42 evangelists. They served under the name "The Christian Mission." Booth assumed the title of a General Superintendent. His followers called him "General." Known as the "Hallelujah Army," the converts worked in London then into other cities. Booth changed the name to the "Salvation Army."

Thank You and God Bless,

Val Valdez
Salvation Army Volunteer in Austin, Texas

[valvladez]

Firstly, I forgive Andy''s comment that the name "SALVATION ARMY" is dumb as he stated on Dec. 14, 2008. I don''t believe Andy doesn''t know what the Salvation Army does, as he also stated.

Second, this the history of the name SALVATION ARMY
In 1865, William Booth, a Methodist minister, formed an evangelical group dedicated to preaching among unchurched people living in poverty in London''s East End.

Additionally, Booth became involved in the feeding and shelter of the homeless and in rehabilitation of alcoholics.

His aim was to lead them to Christ and to link them to a church for further spiritual guidance. Even though they were converted, churches did not accept Booth%u2019s followers because of what they had been.

By 1874, he had 1,000 volunteers and 42 evangelists. They served under the name "The Christian Mission Volunteer Army." Booth assumed the title of a General Superintendent. His followers called him "General." Known as the "Hallelujah Army," the converts worked in London then into other cities. Booth changed the name from the Christian Mission Volunteer Army to "Salvation Army."

Thank You and God Bless,

Val Valdez
Salvation Army Volunteer in Austin, Texas

[valvladez]

Firstly, I forgive Andy''s comment that the name "SALVATION ARMY" is dumb as he stated on Dec. 14, 2008. I don''t believe Andy doesn''t know what the Salvation Army does, as he also stated.

Second, this the history of the name SALVATION ARMY
In 1865, William Booth, a Methodist minister, formed an evangelical group dedicated to preaching among unchurched people living in poverty in London''s East End.

Additionally, Booth became involved in the feeding and shelter of the homeless and in rehabilitation of alcoholics.

His aim was to lead them to Christ and to link them to a church for further spiritual guidance. Even though they were converted, churches did not accept Booth%u2019s followers because of what they had been.

By 1874, he had 1,000 volunteers and 42 evangelists. They served under the name "The Christian Mission Volunteer Army." Booth assumed the title of a General Superintendent. His followers called him "General." Known as the "Hallelujah Army," the converts worked in London then into other cities. Booth changed the name from the Christian Mission Volunteer Army to "Salvation Army."

Thank You and God Bless,

Val Valdez
Salvation Army Volunteer in Austin, Texas

[valvladez]

Firstly, I forgive Andy''s comment that the name "SALVATION ARMY" is dumb as he stated on Dec. 14, 2008. I don''t believe Andy doesn''t know what the Salvation Army does, as he also stated.

Second, this the history of the name SALVATION ARMY
In 1865, William Booth, a Methodist minister, formed an evangelical group dedicated to preaching among unchurched people living in poverty in London''s East End.

Additionally, Booth became involved in the feeding and shelter of the homeless and in rehabilitation of alcoholics.

His aim was to lead them to Christ and to link them to a church for further spiritual guidance. Even though they were converted, churches did not accept Booth%u2019s followers because of what they had been.

By 1874, he had 1,000 volunteers and 42 evangelists. They served under the name "The Christian Mission Volunteer Army." Booth assumed the title of a General Superintendent. His followers called him "General." Known as the "Hallelujah Army," the converts worked in London then into other cities. Booth changed the name from the Christian Mission Volunteer Army to "Salvation Army."

Thank You and God Bless,

Val Valdez
Salvation Army Volunteer in Austin, Texas

[valvladez]

Firstly, I forgive Andy''s comment that the name "SALVATION ARMY" is dumb as he stated on Dec. 14, 2008. I don''t believe Andy doesn''t know what the Salvation Army does, as he also stated.

Second, this the history of the name SALVATION ARMY
In 1865, William Booth, a Methodist minister, formed an evangelical group dedicated to preaching among unchurched people living in poverty in London''s East End.

Additionally, Booth became involved in the feeding and shelter of the homeless and in rehabilitation of alcoholics.

His aim was to lead them to Christ and to link them to a church for further spiritual guidance. Even though they were converted, churches did not accept Booth%u2019s followers because of what they had been.

By 1874, he had 1,000 volunteers and 42 evangelists. They served under the name "The Christian Mission Volunteer Army." Booth assumed the title of a General Superintendent. His followers called him "General." Known as the "Hallelujah Army," the converts worked in London then into other cities. Booth changed the name from the Christian Mission Volunteer Army to "Salvation Army."

Thank You and God Bless,

Val Valdez
Salvation Army Volunteer in Austin, Texas

[goferpar]

Dear Mr. Rooney''
After your talk about letters, I felt I just had to write you a nice letter. We believe your future is secure!(However long that is?) You see, a few weeks ago our Granddaughter told us she just loves you! and wanted your book "out of My Mind" for Christmas.Thats two generations of new fans. Now if you are imagining a young child, that she is not! A recent Summa *** Laude graduate of Wartburg College, now employed at Disney World.
then this week you said you liked letters. I hope you like this one, especially about your future. RERich

Andy,

I don''t always like what you have to say, but I think it would be pretty creepy if I did. I grew up with you, and you''re still the best part of Sixty Minutes.

[neonink]

All I want for Christmas is Andy to retire.

[bakermbakes]

Hi Mr. Rooney,
My Husband and I watch you every week. We just love how blunt you are. It makes the whole show. With out you doing what you do, on 60 minutes. Forgive me but some one the news reporters are blah, and you just put us back in perspective. Lasts nights reports on the mortgage crisis is just going to make the world panick more.(as they do when they report on most issues) But we knew that when you came on, our thoughts changed and went on to something else. Keep up the good work and keep us smiling....Happy Holidays

[burtonbh]

I hope this gets to you Andy. I enjoy your comments every week. I was too young for your war and too old for the next one. Sometimes we are just born lucky. non the less I identify with with you and respect and agree with your observations. I think the world doesn''t change much with time. When we are gone, our

Would that you would only begin to match the humanitarian works of a great organization you so casually mock.
Some might find you humorous. I used to see it that way.
Today I simply find you arrogant, offensive, annoying, and, at times, ignorant.