Molly Ivins died this morning of complications due to cancer. One of the true characters of the newspaper business, her columns seemed like a breath of fresh air in what otherwise seemed like an endless stream of half-wits and emotional cripples who write many of the op-ed columns these days. I'll miss her, as will a great many others.
Scarecrow collected some of the better quotes of hers from the last few years. One of them is on a subject I wrote about a few days ago:
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. Hit the streets to protest Bush's proposed surge. If you can, go to the peace march in Washington on Jan. 27. We need people in the streets, banging pots and pans and demanding, "Stop it, now!"
That's what I liked about her. She had a gift for expressing the fundamental truths of our lives in clear and often humorous language, and she never failed to express herself when she thought she was right.
The image, by the way, is a biopic of hers from a few years ago. It's the one that I think best captures her essence.
UPDATE: Maya Angelou wrote a tribute to Molly today (h/t Peterr at FDL).
UPDATE2: E. J. Dionne wrote about her today as well.
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