It's the rare person who can combine righteous outrage with humor and grace. Molly Ivins was one such person, and she died today at age 62 from breast cancer. I'll miss her unmistakable voice and good humor.
Here are a few quotes to remember her by:
• If you grew up white before the civil rights movement anywhere in the South, all grown-ups lied. They'd tell you stuff like, "Don't drink out of the colored fountain, dear, it's dirty." In the white part of town, the white fountain was always covered with chewing gum and the marks of grubby kids' paws, and the colored fountain was always clean. Children can be horribly logical.
• In Texas, we do not hold high expectations for the [governor's] office; it's mostly been occupied by crooks, dorks and the comatose.
• It is possible to read the history of this country as one long struggle to extend the liberties established in our Constitution to everyone in America.
• The thing about democracy, beloveds, is that it is not neat, orderly, or quiet. It requires a certain relish for confusion.
• Satire is traditionally the weapon of the powerless against the powerful.
• I have been attacked by Rush Limbaugh on the air, an experience somewhat akin to being gummed by a newt. It doesn't actually hurt, but it leaves you with slimy stuff on your ankle.
• [On Ronald Reagan] If he gets even more sedate, we will 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.
and from her very last column:
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.
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