R.I.P., Molly Ivins
Well, shit. Molly Ivins, my favorite Texan, has died. Losing her third battle with breast cancer, one of our greatest bastions of clear thinking and best practitioners of humorous-while-pissed-off writing is no longer around to comment on the bullshit that politicians do.
I still remember reading one of Molly’s editorials in the Star-Ledger, back in New Jersey, a few months before the second Iraq War began. I was struck by how clearly she distilled the issues, and how humorously she did so. I followed her syndicated column, and read her excellent book Bushwhacked, a book you should all read. One of her rants from last May even garnered a post on my website, for what that’s worth. Read the book, read her columns. While you’re at it, watch the movie Bush’s Brain for some great interview clips from Molly about the Evildoer in Chief currently taking up space in the White House.
Molly was great. In the style of Jon Stewart, and in response to the political realities of the day, she kept you laughing, to keep you from crying. She will be sorely missed.
Reading some of the pieces she wrote in past years that related to her battle with cancer reminded me of my dad’s losing battle with cancer, and my attempts to write about and reflect on cancer as an attempt to cope with the experience. Molly’s writing on the topic is just so good, it’s inspiring. And then you realize she’s written her last column.
Rest easy, Molly. You fought a great fight. Several, in fact.
Now head on over to Creator’s Syndicate read her obit, and then read her work. All her latest syndicated stuff is there: Molly Ivins’ Syndication Page.
There’s also a little about Molly in each of these obits and tributes below, all worthy of a read. The last link there is to the piece Molly wrote about cancer a few years ago.
Read this.
Read this too
and this…
this…
this…
and definitely this.
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5 comments
I was just debating picking up Bush’s Brain at the video store the other day but picked up BBC’s The Office instead (this is the 2 part follow up to the series – brilliant, BTW). I’m gonna go back this weekend and pick up Bush’s Brain. As for Molly, sad news. She was one of the good ones and will be missed.
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Hi Perry, hes, do pick up Bush’s Brain, it’s a maddening and sickening display of what is wrong around here these days, and why Karl Rove is the lowest form of scum attached to my shoe.
Yes, I’ve watched every minute the BBC’s The Office comedy, including the Christmas Special. It is, to steal one of their other great series titles, absolutely fabulous.
By the way, the Times has a nice obit on Molly today: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/01/washington/01ivins.html
Rob, have you seen the The Ricky Gervais interviews on youtube? Not as good as the office but interesting. He mentioned in one that he based The Office on Spinal Tap, so I had to watch that again. Good as it ever was. The thing about something like Bush’s Brain is that I’d rather just watch a good comedy instead. It’s like having a nice drink while the Titanic sinks. No use letting a certain end spoil my good times if a few good times are all that’s left anyway.
I have not seen those interviews, but I have the links saved. Ahhh, Spinal Tap; great flick, I’ve probably watched that film twenty or thirty times by now.
Nice tribute, Rob… Ivins was great. Susan saw her give a speech last year in Austin, TX while at a conference. Needless to say, she came back saying it was the highlight.
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