RIP molly ivins...

i've loved molly ivins for a while now. her description of texas politics and politicians made me kind of want to move to that big red state, just so i could say i was a little bit closer to all that madness. her take on national politics is just as great (her stuff on reagan is PRICELESS).

 

a strong progressive democrat that stood tall in a place where her view was definitely in the minority. and bless the Observer who took her in and nurtured her so.

 

i'm gonna miss that woman. she absolute ruled.

 

from the Texas Observer obit:

 

"Syndicated political columnist Molly Ivins died of breast cancer Wednesday evening at her home in Austin. She was 62 years old, and had much, much more to give this world.

 

Molly, being practical, used many of her most prestigious awards as trivets while serving exquisite French dishes at her dinner parties. Her awards include the William Allen White Award from the University of Kansas, the Eugene V. Debs award in the field of journalism, many awards for advocacy of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and the David Nyhan Prize from the Shorenstein Center at the Kennedy School at Harvard.

 

Although short, Molly's life was writ large. She was as eloquent a speaker and teacher as she was a writer, and her quips will last at least as long as Will Rogers'. She dubbed George W. Bush "Shrub" and Texas Governor Rick Perry "Good Hair."

 

Molly always said in her official resume that the two honors she valued the most were (1) when the Minneapolis Police Department named their mascot pig after her (She was covering the police beat at the time.) and (2) when she was banned from speaking on the Texas A&M University campus at least once during her years as co-editor of The Texas Observer (1970-76).

 

However, she said with great sincerity that she would be proudest of all to die sober, and she did.

 

Molly's enduring message is, "Raise more hell." "