I've never understood the animosity that Andy Rooney attracts by a certain segment of the TV viewing population. Take his segment on last night's '60 Minutes' (video after the jump). He talked about the jobless rate and the jobs that are available now and how maybe - just maybe - we need more plumbers and other people who actually do something more than we need, well, people who do my job.

This isn't a new stance by Rooney. He's been saying the same thing for years. Rooney just turned 91 years old so he's earned the right to repeat things if he wants. But I know that Rooney has talked about this before because, well, I've actually read what Rooney has written over the years. Most people who dislike Rooney know him for only one thing, his weekly segments on '60 Minutes.'

But the guy has been a journalist since World War II and has written several books and a weekly column for decades, but the people who find him "unfunny" or "irrelevant" only know him from the CBS show.

Andy Rooney is one of my favorite writers and one of my favorite people in general. He turns 91 today, and he's still going to work and writing and doing his weekly essays for 60 Minutes. His work there is still my favorite part of the show, but to get an even better sense of the man you should read his books.

Here are a few samples of his work on 60 Minutes over the years. Happy Birthday, Mr. Rooney.

On New Year's Eve:

A lot of people only know Andy Rooney from the "A Few Minutes with Andy Rooney" segments that he's done on 60 Minutes since the late 70s. That's a shame. Not that those segments aren't great (I still make a point of making sure I watch Rooney every Sunday night), it's just that there's a lot more to Rooney than what viewers see on TV. His new book will show you that.

Actually, the title 60 Years of Wisdom and Wit is inaccurate, since the book also has a few pieces from the early 1940s, when Rooney was a reporter in the Army. Rooney will be 91 in January, and he really has lived a great life. We should all be working and still lively when we're near that age.

Today is Memorial Day (formerly Decoration Day), and between the burgers, beaches, and the day off from work, there are probably some people who aren't quite sure what the day means. Andy Rooney talked about it last night (actually a repeat from last year) on 60 Minutes. His book My War is a really interesting take on World War II.

There's a column being circulated around the globe via e-mail that was supposedly written by 60 Minutes essayist Andy Rooney. It lists a bunch of things that are pretty much anti-minority (I haven't gotten the e-mail myself, I've only read news reports about it. I'm sure it's only a matter of time before I get it). The only problem? Rooney didn't write it.

This isn't the first time that this has happened. In his new book, Out of My Mind, he talks about a column about women that was being circulated via e-mail. It had his name on it but he didn't write that one either. He talks about this e-mail hoax in the book too, so this has been going on for a couple of years. The same thing happened to George Carlin (Carlin even put something on his web site telling fans he didn't write it). I guess anything can happen in this age of anonymous e-mails and web sites.

[via TV Newser]