Two well-known women have died recently. Somehow the attention given their deaths has been disproportionate. True that Anna Nicole Smith was, because of a strangely tragic life (and lifestyle), a well-known subject for the tabloids.? The loss of? Molly Ivins however,? barely rated a mention on the national news. It’s only in the last few years that I became aware of this brash, outspoken, often profane, delightfully funny Texas woman. She has been given credit? for coining my favorite nicknames for the president: Shrub and Dubya.

Anyone who hasn’t yet read her books is in for a treat. Her colorful language was too much for the New York Times where she reportedly ran around the newsroom in her stocking feet accompanied by her dog to? whom she had given a vulgar name. After realizing the Times was a bad fit, she eventually returned to Texas where, when she? wrote “beer gut” it wasn’t changed by copy editors to “protuberant abdomen.” Her first book title was “Molly Ivins Can’t Say That, Can She?” Well, she could and she did and she continued to.

Molly Ivins died of breast cancer at the age of 62. She didn’t keep her diagnosis secret. When she told her “beloved” readers in her column of her diagnosis, she finished by telling women to “Get. The.? Damn. Mammogram.” With all my heart I wish she had done so earlier.

Molly’s use of “beloved” is a real clue to her character. No matter how thoroughly she skewered her victims, she had respect and love for her readers. From the many tributes to her posted on the net, she was also gifted with great friends. One of them was the late Ann Richards, former Governor of Texas who was defeated by “Shrub.” Hopefully they are sharing a good laugh and maybe a beer in some celestial dimension at this very moment.

So, because there will be no more Molly on NPR, and perhaps no more scathingly funny books, I’m going to go back and reread “Bushwhacked” in her memory. Go with God! Molly, we hardly knew ya!

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We have the House. We have the Senate, although by a very narrow margin. Where do we go from here? Listening to progressive radio this week, I heard many callers who assumed that the first order of business would be impeachment, although Speaker-to-be Pelosi has said it’s off the table. The assumption is that she lied just as the administration has lied about so many things. Yech! If we don’t take the high ground now we’re as bad as the neocons. Pelosi has enumerated priorities. These are issues that should have been addressed in the last six years. We have two years to make some progress. If we waste this time on revenge we will be behaving like bratty kids. We have the upper hand, but we can count on it for a very limited time,? a circumstance? the Republicans? ignored to their peril. Plus, and this is very important, Bush is impeached; we get Cheney. We try to impeach both; we pretty much waste the whole of the two years we have. Do they deserve impeachment? I think so! Do we deserve the results of an impeachment attempt? No way! Maybe we could try it if we could count on having the six years they had, but we can’t count on more than two. We had better make the most of them.

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The Haggard mess is just another example of right wing hypocrisy. The religious wrong preaches drivel that would be laughable if people didn’t take them so seriously. The saddest part of all this is that the more liberal main stream churches are so timid about refuting the evangelicals misinterpretations of the Bible. It is so the right time to give up on guns and gays and begin to preach that peace and social justice are what Jesus taught. Old Testament – “Thou shat not”. New Testament – “Blessed are they…”