Molly Ivins, 1944-2007

Molly Ivins, the bad-ass columnist from Texas, died yesterday after a battle with breast cancer.
From her obit in the Dallas Morning News:

The 62-year-old writer was a rare commodity in Texas – a liberal – who wrote a twice-weekly column that appeared in at least 300 newspapers. Based in Austin, her commentary appeared in national magazines from Harper’s to Playboy, and her Texas drawl was heard parsing events on shows ranging from 60 Minutes to The NewsHour With Jim Lehrer.
She did not confine her humorous skewering to Republicans. She aimed it at wherever she perceived pomposity or wrongdoing.
Of the Gore-Bush presidential race in 2000 she said, “It’s like having Ted Baxter of the old ‘Mary Tyler Moore’ show running for president: Gore has Ted’s manner and Bush has his brain.”
Of ultraconservative U.S. Rep. Jim Collins, R-Dallas, in the early 1980s, she said: “If his IQ slips any lower, we’ll have to water him twice a day.”

Sigh, so awesome. In a world where smarts and humor aren’t always appreciated in women, Ivins was a hero to many. Me included.
If want to see Ivins in action–check out this video with her talking about Texas’ ban on sex toys.
Also, NPR has a segment on the columnist; listen here.