Wednesday, January 31, 2007

RIP Molly Ivins

Molly Ivins passed away today. She was 62. And whether she was writing about the Texas Legislature or about Dubya's reign in DC, she was brilliant.

Oh yes, and she knew Dubya like nobody else (at least on the progressive end of things), and I knew I could always count on her to unspin all the unbelievable crap that has been coming out of DC for the last six years...
Just like how she had been able to see through all the BS in Austin.
I know I'll be missing her. : (

From the Texas Observer:

To Our Readers and Friends
Molly Ivins left her editor's chair at The Texas Observer more than 30 years ago and went on to play a larger stage. But she never left us behind. She remained convinced that Texas needed a progressive, independent voice to call the powerful to account and to stand up for the common folk. She kept our voice alive. More than once, when the paper was on the brink of insolvency, she delivered speeches and gave us the honorariums. She donated royalties from her best-selling book Shrub to keep the doors open. Her determination and efforts sustained the Observer as a magazine, as a family, and as a community.

Molly was a hero. She was a mentor. She was a liberal. She was a patriot. She was a friend. And she always will be. With Molly's death we have lost someone we hold dear. What she has left behind we will hold dearer still.

Despite her failing health, and an impending ice storm, Molly insisted on being driven to the Observer's most recent public event in early January so she could thank our supporters.

Observer writers are useful, she explained to the crowd, in much the same way as good hunting dogs. Turn them loose, let them hunt. When they return with their prey, pat them on the head, say a few words of praise, and set them loose to hunt again.

For the time being, The Texas Observer's web site (www.texasobserver.org) will be dedicated to remembering Molly, her work, her wit, her contributions to the political discourse of a nation. We invite readers to submit their own thoughts and recollections, to say a few words of praise.

Then, we will return to the hunt.

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