Full Version: Molly Ivins Dies from Breast Cancer
QUOTE
We are the people who run this country. We are the deciders. And every single day, every single one of us needs to step outside and take some action to help stop this war. Raise hell. Think of something to make the ridiculous look ridiculous. Make our troops know we're for them and trying to get them out of there.
So said Molly Ivins, one of the sharpest, wittiest writers I have ever read. She’s like the female Mark Twain of our time. Sadly, Molly died Wednesday after her third relapse from breast cancer. It hardly seems fair, to beat it twice only to have it come back again. She fought the good fight, that's for sure.
She is one of the few Texans I truly admire and would have loved to meet. Her spirit, her feistiness, and her absolute refusal to avoid any sacred cow made me want to cheer “Go, Molly!”
QUOTE
There are two kinds of humor. One kind that makes us chuckle about our foibles and our shared humanity -- like what Garrison Keillor does. The other kind holds people up to public contempt and ridicule -- that's what I do. Satire is traditionally the weapon of the powerless against the powerful. I only aim at the powerful. When satire is aimed at the powerless, it is not only cruel -- it's vulgar.
We’ll miss you, Molly.
I have been missing Molly Ivins' op-ed columns terribly and wondered why I didn't see them in our local paper. As a breast cancer survivor (one bout and in remission now), I mourn her passing that much more.
Molly Ivins had the great talent of making us laugh without obscuring the underlying seriousness of her columns. God bless her for her wit and grit.
Thanks, DaffyGrl. I think your comparison of her to Mark Twain is apt. May Molly rest in peace.
Molly Ivins had the great talent of making us laugh without obscuring the underlying seriousness of her columns. God bless her for her wit and grit.
Thanks, DaffyGrl. I think your comparison of her to Mark Twain is apt. May Molly rest in peace.
A lot of people will look at this thread and say, "Molly, who?"
Then again, a lot of people don't read newspapers much these days. They get their opinions from talk radio or blogs or some jerk on television. They don't have time for nuance and someone as fierce, funny and in-your-face as Molly Ivins.
Here's a typical reminder of the passion she brought to her writing.
"Keep fighting for freedom and justice...but don't forget to have fun doin' it. Let your laughter ring forth. Be outrageous, ridicule the fraidy-cat, rejoice in all the oddities that freedom can produce. And when you get through kickin' *** and celebratin' the sheer joy of a good fight, be sure to tell those who come after how much fun it was."
Absolutely right. A lot of dedicated and concerned people sit on their hands and do nothing in the face of evil and injustice because it looks like it's painful, tedious and joyless. They never think how much pure fun there can be in making some pompous windbag or crooked politician look silly. Molly would get mad, but she never got evil. She never lost her humanity even when challenging the totally inhumane. The political Left gets hammered a lot by the Right for being elitist and humorless, but Molly was neither. She was a big ol' redhead from Texas and she raised hell and had fun doing it.
I never had the pleasure or privilege of meeting her in person, but Molly Ivins was one of the great ladies of American journalism and one of the best columnists in the business. She made the powerful uncomfortable and sided with the underdog in the big fights that matter most.
Even those she delighted in skewering with her wit had to give up props.
President Bush, referred to as "Shrub" in Ivins' writings, said in a statement issued after her death Wednesday evening that Ivins was a Texas original who was loved by her readers and many friends.
"I respected her convictions, her passionate belief in the power of words, and her ability to turn a phrase. She fought her illness with that same passion. Her quick wit and commitment to her beliefs will be missed," Bush said. link
Molly took on breast cancer three times before it finally brought her down. The lady was tougher than a two-dollar steak.
Good Golly, Miss Molly, I'm going to miss you.
Other sites celebrating the life and times of a great writer and a pure hellraiser:
http://www.workingforchange.com/index.cfm
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20070219/molly_ivins
http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2007/02/0...e_and_light.php
http://welcome-to-pottersville.blogspot.co...olly-ivins.html
Then again, a lot of people don't read newspapers much these days. They get their opinions from talk radio or blogs or some jerk on television. They don't have time for nuance and someone as fierce, funny and in-your-face as Molly Ivins.
Here's a typical reminder of the passion she brought to her writing.
"Keep fighting for freedom and justice...but don't forget to have fun doin' it. Let your laughter ring forth. Be outrageous, ridicule the fraidy-cat, rejoice in all the oddities that freedom can produce. And when you get through kickin' *** and celebratin' the sheer joy of a good fight, be sure to tell those who come after how much fun it was."
Absolutely right. A lot of dedicated and concerned people sit on their hands and do nothing in the face of evil and injustice because it looks like it's painful, tedious and joyless. They never think how much pure fun there can be in making some pompous windbag or crooked politician look silly. Molly would get mad, but she never got evil. She never lost her humanity even when challenging the totally inhumane. The political Left gets hammered a lot by the Right for being elitist and humorless, but Molly was neither. She was a big ol' redhead from Texas and she raised hell and had fun doing it.
I never had the pleasure or privilege of meeting her in person, but Molly Ivins was one of the great ladies of American journalism and one of the best columnists in the business. She made the powerful uncomfortable and sided with the underdog in the big fights that matter most.
Even those she delighted in skewering with her wit had to give up props.
President Bush, referred to as "Shrub" in Ivins' writings, said in a statement issued after her death Wednesday evening that Ivins was a Texas original who was loved by her readers and many friends.
"I respected her convictions, her passionate belief in the power of words, and her ability to turn a phrase. She fought her illness with that same passion. Her quick wit and commitment to her beliefs will be missed," Bush said. link
Molly took on breast cancer three times before it finally brought her down. The lady was tougher than a two-dollar steak.
Good Golly, Miss Molly, I'm going to miss you.
Other sites celebrating the life and times of a great writer and a pure hellraiser:
http://www.workingforchange.com/index.cfm
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20070219/molly_ivins
http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2007/02/0...e_and_light.php
http://welcome-to-pottersville.blogspot.co...olly-ivins.html
She was a giant, a great, one of the best of our time, and has shown how bright a star can shine, especially when she is writing about a dim bulb!
Molly Ivins was special. Her home base for more than a decade was the Fort Worth Star Telegram. I never met Molly, but a friend for more than three decades, Bob Ray Sanders, paid tribute to his late colleague in today’s column.
I'll let Bob Ray express my esteem for Molly Ivins.
http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/columnists...rs/16605997.htm
I'll let Bob Ray express my esteem for Molly Ivins.
http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/columnists...rs/16605997.htm
I think Ms. Ivins best described her own gift thus: "There are two kinds of humor. One kind that makes us chuckle about our foibles and our shared humanity -- like what Garrison Keillor does. The other kind holds people up to public contempt and ridicule -- that's what I do. Satire is traditionally the weapon of the powerless against the powerful. I only aim at the powerful. When satire is aimed at the powerless, it is not only cruel -- it's vulgar."
Some of my favorite attacks on the powerful:
On Ronald Reagan: "If he gets any more sedate, we'll have to water him twice a week."
On Dick Armey: "If ignorance ever goes to $40 a barrel, I want drillin' rights on that man's head."
On Pat Buchanan's 'Culture Wars' speech at the Republican National Convention: "It probably sounded better in the original German."
On the worst thing that has ever happened to the US: "Next time I tell you someone from Texas should not be president of the United States, please pay attention."
May she rest in well-deserved peace.
Some of my favorite attacks on the powerful:
On Ronald Reagan: "If he gets any more sedate, we'll have to water him twice a week."
On Dick Armey: "If ignorance ever goes to $40 a barrel, I want drillin' rights on that man's head."
On Pat Buchanan's 'Culture Wars' speech at the Republican National Convention: "It probably sounded better in the original German."
On the worst thing that has ever happened to the US: "Next time I tell you someone from Texas should not be president of the United States, please pay attention."
May she rest in well-deserved peace.
They had alot of her sayings in today's paper- oh lord, was she a gem!
She was certainly witty and entertaining to read. Her brand of humor will be missed, and we are all worse off for the loss. But I can't help but notice the the main focus of the grieving is based on who she satired against instead of simply recognizing her talent....... 
I guess politics plays as well in death as in life.......
I guess politics plays as well in death as in life.......
I read of Molly Ivins' death and felt that we had lost a great liberal voice. I heard GWB eulogize her, and I turned to my wife and said, "I've alway's suspected that this President doesn't read."
A lot of people will look at this thread and say, "Molly, who?"
Then again, a lot of people don't read newspapers much these days. They get their opinions from talk radio or blogs or some jerk on television. They don't have time for nuance and someone as fierce, funny and in-your-face as Molly Ivins.
When I Read Nighttimer's remark above a few minutes ago, that same thought came back to me once again. It was a rare column of Molly's that did not attack this President and his administration. Perhaps the President's remarks were prepared for him by a speech writer who wanted to play a practical joke on 'W.'
QUOTE(nighttimer @ Feb 2 2007, 03:12 PM) 
A lot of people will look at this thread and say, "Molly, who?"
Then again, a lot of people don't read newspapers much these days. They get their opinions from talk radio or blogs or some jerk on television. They don't have time for nuance and someone as fierce, funny and in-your-face as Molly Ivins.
When I Read Nighttimer's remark above a few minutes ago, that same thought came back to me once again. It was a rare column of Molly's that did not attack this President and his administration. Perhaps the President's remarks were prepared for him by a speech writer who wanted to play a practical joke on 'W.'
Friends held a memorial service, celebrating the life, not the death of Molly Ivins, in Austin, Texas yesterday.
Click below for the rest of the story.
http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/16626109.htm
QUOTE
AUSTIN -- The friends and family of Molly Ivins bade farewell to the liberal columnist Sunday, marveling at her irrepressible humor and boundless optimism, and sending her off with a rousing rendition of Great Balls of Fire, featuring Grammy nominee Marcia Ball leading the vocals and playing piano.
<snip>
Dave Richards, a friend for nearly 40 years, recalled that Ivins went to work for the Texas Observer in the early 1970s just as Austin was gaining its reputation as the Texas citadel of liberalism:
"It was a time of Sholz [Beer] Garden, beer and politics, and Molly jumped in with both feet."
<snip>
Dave Richards, a friend for nearly 40 years, recalled that Ivins went to work for the Texas Observer in the early 1970s just as Austin was gaining its reputation as the Texas citadel of liberalism:
"It was a time of Sholz [Beer] Garden, beer and politics, and Molly jumped in with both feet."
Click below for the rest of the story.
http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/16626109.htm
QUOTE(Curmudgeon @ Feb 3 2007, 03:19 AM)
I read of Molly Ivins' death and felt that we had lost a great liberal voice. I heard GWB eulogize her, and I turned to my wife and said, "I've alway's suspected that this President doesn't read."
QUOTE(nighttimer @ Feb 2 2007, 03:12 PM)
A lot of people will look at this thread and say, "Molly, who?"
Then again, a lot of people don't read newspapers much these days. They get their opinions from talk radio or blogs or some jerk on television. They don't have time for nuance and someone as fierce, funny and in-your-face as Molly Ivins.
When I Read Nighttimer's remark above a few minutes ago, that same thought came back to me once again. It was a rare column of Molly's that did not attack this President and his administration. Perhaps the President's remarks were prepared for him by a speech writer who wanted to play a practical joke on 'W.'
Is it possible that the President took the high ground and recognized that this country is great because of our ability to openly disagree with the White House?
While I don't agree with Molly's sentiments for the most part, I hate to hear that anyone dies from Cancer coming back. I believe that Ms Ivin's ability to use satire will be remembered indefinitely.
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