Molly at the 2005 DemocracyFest, Austin TX

Mary Tyler "Molly" Ivins (August 30, 1944 – January 31, 2007) was an American newspaper columnist, political commentator, and best-selling author from Austin, Texas. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 458 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (675 × 883 pixel, file size: 66 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Molly Ivins 2005 Deanfest Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 458 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (675 × 883 pixel, file size: 66 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Molly Ivins 2005 Deanfest Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ... August 30 is the 242nd day of the year (243rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... January 31 is the 31st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... A columnist is a journalist who produces a specific form of writing for publication called a column. Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and the Internet. ... The term Pundit has multiple meanings: A pundit or pandit, in the culture of India, is a master of traditional religious poetry and/or traditional music. ... A bestseller is a book that is identified as extremely popular by its inclusion on a list of top-sellers. ... An author is any person(s) or entity(s) that originates and assumes responsibility for an expression or communication. ... Nickname: Location in the state of Texas Coordinates: , Country United States State Texas Counties Travis County Government  - Mayor Will Wynn Area  - City  296. ...

Biography

Early Life and Education

Ivins was born in Monterey, California and raised in Houston, Texas, graduating from St. John's School. In high school, she was active in extracurricular activities, including the yearbook staff. She had her first pieces of journalism published in The Review, the official student newspaper, and later became co-editor of the arts section. She participated frequently in theater productions and earned a lifetime membership to Johnnycake, the drama club. Nickname: Location of Monterey, California County Monterey Government  - Mayor Chuck Della Sala Area  - City 30. ... Nickname: Location in the state of Texas Coordinates: Country United States State Texas Counties Harris County Fort Bend County Montgomery County Incorporated June 5, 1837 Government  - Mayor Bill White Area  - City  601. ... For other uses, see St. ... Extracurricular activities are activities performed by students that fall outside the realm of the normal curriculum of school or university education. ... A student newspaper is a newspaper run by students of a university, high school, or middle school. ...

She matriculated to Smith College, earning a BA in 1966, and then earned a master's degree at Columbia University's school of journalism. She then studied at the Institute of Political Science in Paris for a year.^[1][2] Smith College, located in Northampton, Massachusetts, is the largest womens college in the United States []. Smith admits only female undergraduates, but admits both men and women as graduate students. ... Columbia University is a private research university in the United States. ... The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism is one of the most prestigious schools of journalism in the United States. ... Front of Sciences Po. ... City flag City coat of arms Motto: Fluctuat nec mergitur (Latin: Tossed by the waves, she does not sink) The Eiffel Tower in Paris, as seen from the esplanade du Trocadéro. ...

Professional Life

Her first newspaper job was in the complaint department of the Houston Chronicle, followed by the position of, as she put it, "sewer editor," responsible for reporting on the nuts-&-bolts of local city life. The Houston Chronicle is a daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. ...

She went on to the Minneapolis Tribune, where she was the first woman police reporter in that city and, later, the reporter who covered a beat called Movements for Social Change, where she notes that she wrote about "militant blacks, angry Indians, radical students, uppity women and a motley assortment of other misfits and troublemakers." The Star Tribune is the largest newspaper in Minnesota and is published seven days each week in an edition for the Minneapolis-St. ...

She left the Tribune to write for the Texas Observer from 1970 to 1976. The New York Times, concerned that its prevailing writing style was too staid and lifeless, hired her away from the Observer in 1976^[3], and she wrote for the Times until 1982. During her run at the Times, Ivins became Rocky Mountain bureau chief, covering nine western states, although the writer was known to say she was named chief because there was no one else in the bureau.^[4] Her more colorful style clashed with the editors' expectations, and in 1982, after she wrote about a "community chicken-killing festival" and called it a "gang-pluck," she was dismissed. The Texas Observer (also known as the Observer) is an American political newsmagazine published bi-weekly and based in Austin, Texas. ... The New York Times is a daily newspaper published in New York City by Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr. ... The Rocky Mountains, often called the Rockies, are a broad mountain range in western North America. ...

She then wrote for the Dallas Times Herald from 1982 until the paper's demise in 1992, moving in that year to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, which was her home paper until 2001, when she became an independent journalist. Her column, distributed by Creators Syndicate at the end of her life, appeared in nearly 400 papers nationwide. The Dallas Times Herald was an afternoon publication and one of two major daily newspapers serving the Dallas, Texas area. ... The Fort Worth Star-Telegram is a major U.S. daily newspaper serving Fort Worth and the western half of the North Texas area known as the Metroplex. ...

She was also a board member of the Texas Democracy Foundation, which publishes the Texas Observer in Austin.^[5]

Death

In 1999, Ivins was diagnosed with stage III inflammatory breast cancer. The cancer recurred in 2003 and again in late 2005. In January 2006 she reported that she was again undergoing chemotherapy.^[6] In December 2006 she took leave from her column to again undergo treatment.^[7] She wrote two columns in January 2007, but returned to the hospital on the 26th for further treatment.^[8] Ivins died at her Austin, Texas home in hospice care on January 31, 2007, at age 62. Year 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar). ... The stage of a cancer is a descriptor (usually numbers I to IV) of how much the cancer has spread. ... Inflammatory breast cancer[1] is an especially aggressive[2] type of breast cancer that can occur in women of any age (and, although extremely rarely, in men). ... Chemotherapy is the use of chemical substances to treat disease. ... Nickname: Location in the state of Texas Coordinates: , Country United States State Texas Counties Travis County Government  - Mayor Will Wynn Area  - City  296. ... January 31 is the 31st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ...

After her death, President George W. Bush, a frequent target of her barbs, said in a statement, "I respected her convictions, her passionate belief in the power of words, and her ability to turn a phrase. She fought her illness with that same passion. Her quick wit and commitment to her beliefs will be missed."^[9] George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is the 43rd and current President of the United States, inaugurated on January 20, 2001. ...

Writing style

Written from a generally liberal perspective, Ivins' style consisted of down-home homilies, peppered with colorful phrases to create the "feel" of Texas. When outraged by instances of what she considered malfeasance or stupidity on the part of public officials, she couched her argument in an air of stunned amusement. She enjoyed telling stories about the Texas Legislature, which she simply called "The Lege." She contended that it is one of the most corrupt, most incompetent, and funniest governing bodies in the nation—a well she dipped from on a regular basis. For example: American liberalism—that is, liberalism in the United States of America—is a broad political and philosophical mindset, favoring individual liberty, and opposing restrictions on liberty, whether they come from established religion, from government regulation, from the existing class structure, or from multi-national corporations. ... The Texas Legislature is the central lawmaking body of the U.S. state of Texas. ...

Practice, practice, practice, that's what Texas provides when it comes to sleaze and stink. Who can forget such great explanations as "Well, I'll just make a little bit of money, I won't make a whole lot"? And "There was never a Bible in the room"?^[10]

In 2003, she coined the term "Great Liberal Backlash of 2003," and was a passionate critic of the 2003 Iraq War.^[11] She is also credited with applying the nickname "Shrub" to George W. Bush. 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses of the term, see Iraq war (disambiguation) The 2003 invasion of Iraq (also called the 2nd or 3rd Persian Gulf War) began on March 20, 2003, when forces belonging primarily to the United States and the United Kingdom invaded Iraq without the explicit backing of the United... A broom shrub in flower A shrub or bush is a horticultural rather than strictly botanical category of woody plant, distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and lower height, usually less than 6 m tall. ... George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is the 43rd and current President of the United States, inaugurated on January 20, 2001. ...

Quotations

"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." (from her last column ^[12])

"Having breast cancer is massive amounts of no fun. First they mutilate you; then they poison you; then they burn you. I have been on blind dates better than that."^[13]

"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."—quoted by John Nichols for The Nation^[14] Original source: "The Fun's in the Fight" column for Mother Jones, 1993.^[15] John Nichols John Nichols is a journalist, author and pioneering political blogger. ... The Nation (ISSN 0027-8378) is a weekly [1] U.S. periodical devoted to politics and culture, self-described as the flagship of the left. [2] Founded on July 6, 1865 as an Abolitionist publication, it is the oldest continuously published weekly magazine in the United States. ...

On Bill Clinton: "If left to my own devices, I'd spend all my time pointing out that he's weaker than bus-station chili. But the man is so constantly subjected to such hideous and unfair abuse that I wind up standing up for him on the general principle that some fairness should be applied. Besides, no one but a fool or a Republican ever took him for a liberal." (Introduction to You Got to Dance With Them What Brung You^[16]) William Jefferson Bill Clinton (born William Jefferson Blythe III[1] on August 19, 1946) was the 42nd President of the United States, serving from 1993 to 2001. ...

On James M. Collins, US Representative, R-Dallas: "If his IQ slips any lower we'll have to water him twice a day."^[17] This quotation engendered substantial controversy, with calls and letters pouring into her newspaper, The Dallas Times Herald. The newspaper turned the controversy into a publicity campaign, with billboards all over the city asking, "Molly Ivins can't say that…can she?"—which she employed as the title for her first book.^[18] James Mitchell Jim Collins (April 29, 1916 - July 21, 1989) was a Republican who represented the Third Congressional District of Texas from 1969-1983. ...

Awards

• William Allen White Award from the University of Kansas (2001)^[19]
• Smith Medal from Smith College (2001)^[20]
• Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2001)^[21][22]
• Ivan Allen Jr. Prize for Progress and Service (2003)^[23]
• Pringle Prize for Washington Journalism from Columbia University (2003)^[21]
• Eugene V. Debs Award in the field of journalism (2003)^[21]
• David Brower Award for journalism from the Sierra Club (2004)^[21]
• David Nyhan Prize for Political Journalism from the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics, and Public Policy at Harvard University (2006)^[24]

In addition to these formal awards, Ivins said that she was particularly proud of two distinct honors: having the Minneapolis police force's mascot pig named after her, and being banned from the Texas A&M campus.^[25] William Allen White Born in Emporia, Kansas, on February 10, 1868, William Allen White was a nationally known newspaper editor for much of his life. ... The University of Kansas (often referred to as KU) is an institution of higher learning in Lawrence, Kansas. ... The House of the Academy, Cambridge, Massachusetts. ... Ivan Jr. ... Columbia University is a private research university in the United States. ... Eugene Victor Debs (November 5, 1855 – October 20, 1926) was an American labor and political leader, one of the founders of the International Labor Union, the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), and five-time Socialist Party of America candidate for President of the United States. ... David Ross Brower (July 1, 1912 – November 5, 2000) was the founder of many environmentalist organizations including the Sierra Club Foundation, the John Muir Institute for Environmental Studies, Friends of the Earth (1969), the League of Conservation Voters, Earth Island Institute (1982), North Cascades Conservation Council, and Fate of... The Sierra Club is an American environmental organization founded on May 28, 1892 in San Francisco, California by the well-known preservationist John Muir, who became its first president. ... David Nyhan (1940-2005) was a famed journalist and biographer whose op-ed column ran in The Boston Globe newspaper for many years. ... The Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy[1] at Harvard University explores the intersection of press, politics and public policy in theory and practice, striving to bridge the gap between journalists and scholars, and between them and the public. ... Harvard University (incorporated as The President and Fellows of Harvard College) is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA and a member of the Ivy League. ... Nickname: Motto: En Avant (French: Forward) Location in Hennepin County and the state of Minnesota Coordinates: , Country United States State Minnesota Counties Hennepin Government  - Mayor R.T. Rybak (DFL) Area  - City 58. ... Millie, once mascot of the City of Brampton, is now the Brampton Arts Councils representative. ... Texas A&M University, often called A&M or TAMU, is a coeducational public research university located in College Station, Texas. ...

Bibliography

• Who Let the Dogs In?: Incredible Political Animals I Have Known (Random House, 2004) ISBN 1-4000-6285-3
• Bushwhacked: Life in George W. Bush's America with Lou Dubose (Random House, 2003) ISBN 0-375-50752-3
• Pipe Dreams: Greed, Ego, and the Death of Enron by Robert Bryce, foreword by Molly Ivins (PublicAffairs, 2002) ISBN 1-58648-138-X
• Sugar's Life in the Hood: The Story of a Former Welfare Mother by Sugar Turner and Tracy Bachrach Ehlers, foreword by Molly Ivins (University of Texas Press, 2002) ISBN 0-292-72102-1
• The Betrayal of America: How the Supreme Court Undermined the Constitution and Chose Our President (2001) with Vincent Bugliosi (Thunder's Mouth Press, 2001) ISBN 1-56025-355-X
• Shrub: The Short But Happy Political Life of George W. Bush with Lou Dubose (Random House, 2000) ISBN 0-375-50399-4
• You Got to Dance With Them What Brung You: Politics in the Clinton Years (Random House, 1998) ISBN 0-679-40446-5
• Nothin' But Good Times Ahead (Random House, 1995) ISBN 0-517-16429-9
• Molly Ivins Can't Say That, Can She? (Random House, 1991) ISBN 0-679-40445-7
• The Edge of the West and Other Texas Stories with Bryan Wooley (Texas Western Pr, 1987) ISBN 0-87404-214-3

References

• ^ Ivins, Molly. "Bush-hater strikes again". The Free Press. October 16, 2003.
• ^ Ivins, Molly. "There Goes the Electrical Grid". AlterNet. July 12, 2005.
• ^ Ivins, Molly. "Who Needs Breasts, Anyway?" Time Magazine. Feb. 18, 2002.
• ^ King, Florence. "Author, Author!" The American Enterprise. November/December 1995 Issue.
• ^ King, Florence. "Molly Ivins, Plagiarist". The American Enterprise. September/October 1995.
• ^ Robert Siegel and Wade Goodwyn, "Molly Ivins Dies at 62 After Bout with Breast Cancer", including interviews with and commentaries by Ivins, NPR, January 31, 2007.

AlterNet, a project of the non-profit Independent Media Institute, is a progressive news website that was launched in 1998 and receives over 2 million visitors per month. ... Robert Siegel is an American radio journalist. ... NPR logo For other meanings of NPR see NPR (disambiguation) National Public Radio (NPR) is a private, not-for-profit corporation that sells programming to member radio stations; together they are a loosely organized public radio network in the United States. ...

Notes

The Associated Press, or AP, is an American news agency, the worlds largest such organization. ... January 6 is the 6th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 359 days (360 in leap years) remaining. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... Paul Krugman Paul Robin Krugman (born February 28, 1953) is an economist who has written several books, and since 2000 has written a twice-weekly op-ed column for The New York Times. ... The New York Times is an internationally known daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed in the United States and many other nations worldwide. ... AlterNet is a popular news website that was created in 1998. ... (Clockwise from upper left) Time magazine covers from May 7, 1945; July 25, 1969; December 31, 1999; September 14, 2001; and April 21, 2003. ... The Nation (ISSN 0027-8378) is a weekly [1] U.S. periodical devoted to politics and culture, self-described as the flagship of the left. [2] Founded on July 6, 1865 as an Abolitionist publication, it is the oldest continuously published weekly magazine in the United States. ... Screenshot of Salon. ... For the Scottish student radio station, see Fresh Air (Edinburgh). ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... January 31 is the 31st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly known as Georgia Tech, is a public, coeducational research university, part of the University System of Georgia, and located in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, with satellite campuses in Savannah, Georgia, Metz, France and Singapore. ... Harvard University (incorporated as The President and Fellows of Harvard College) is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA and a member of the Ivy League. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... February 1 is the 32nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Molly Ivins

• Molly Ivins tribute A tribute to Molly Ivins, written by her long-time editor Anthony Zurcher.
• Remembering Molly A tribute to Molly Ivins, written by Terry O'Rourke.
• Molly Ivins Mother Jones archive
• Tribute in her own words Aired on Minnesota Public Radio, 2/1/07.

• Molly Ivins' column in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram with archives
• Stories by Molly Ivins at AlterNet
• Minneapolis Tribune article by Ivins on Honeywell protest, April 1970
• Molly Ivins' Inflammatory Breast Cancer Site
• Molly Ivins' campaign contributions
• Selected Molly Ivins quotations
• Interview excerpts on Fresh Air with Terry Gross from Oct. 3, 1991 and Oct. 7, 2003
• Texas Observer Tribute
• Guardian obituary