I was going to title this post "Rest in peace, Molly Ivins," but then it occurred to me that peaceful rest has never been something that the fabulous Ms. Ivins sought. She was a rabble rouser, a poker of wasps' nests, a speaker of often unpleasant truths to power, Diogenes with a ten thousand watt flashlight.
She was hilarious. With her brilliant command of the English language, she skewered politicians who hopped around with one hand in the till and one foot in their mouths. With glee, but also with affection, she shared with the world some of the more delightful verbal gaffes of Texas legislators, such as "This bill is the Sword of Damocles dangling over Pandora's box," and "This legislation would surely derail the Ship of State."
She was relentless. She went after the Shrub and called him on his bullshit. "The president of the United States does not have the sense God gave a duck," she wrote in her very last column, "so it's up to us. You and me."
And now it's up to us. Molly Ivins died of breast cancer yesterday at age 62.
I would love for progressive people all across America to honor her memory by taking these words to heart and living them:
"So keep fightin' for freedom and justice, beloveds, but don't you forget to have fun doin' it. Lord, let your laughter ring forth. Be outrageous, ridicule the fraidy-cats, rejoice in all the oddities that freedom can produce. And when you get through kickin' ass and celebratin' the sheer joy of a good fight, be sure to tell those who come after how much fun it was."
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