A cornucopia of Molly

Outspoken Texan Molly Ivins may have been the only print American journalist in history to gain her own constituency. Her pet phrase for George W. Bush (The Shrub) was adopted wholesale during his eight years in office. I never turned off the Ivins Google alert for her name since she died of breast cancer three years ago and there hasn't been a day gone by that an alert has come up linking to someone wondering what she'd think about something in the news.

The last month has been a rich feast of Molly alerts, with review after review of Bill Minutaglio's biography: Molly Ivins: A Rebel Life. Finally managed to snatch a day to read it. Her battle with alcohol long preceded her battle with cancer, but what was little known to her legions of fans was that she was born to a privileged Houston family - her father was the lead counsel for Humble Oil and she rubbed elbows with Dubya during her high school years. Looks like it was her fractious relationship with him that led her to become one of the loudest American voices for the poor and underprivileged.

This loving review of Molly's bio in The Statesman made me weep: http://bit.ly/nqDic

Read an excerpt from the bio here: http://bit.ly/4A0Lp

And here's a treat for those of you who've never seen Molly at her best, especially if you're in need of a laugh (warning: racy langauge): http://bit.ly/812Gic