Goodbye to Molly Ivins

[Lightning Rod]

Goodbye to Molly Ivins
for release 02-01-07
Washington DC


The Poet's Eye has a tear in it this morning. It's partly a tear of sadness because Molly Ivins is gone and partly it's a tear of joy that we had her while we did. Not a week has gone by in years without me reading her column. I will miss her sorely, I guess this tear is mainly for myself. When we cry at funerals, we cry for the living, not the dead.

Molly had a knack for taking the pomposity out of politics. With her plain language and colorful colloquialisms, and her salty charm, she could deflate even the most gargantuan windbags.

I never met Molly, though we both lived in the same town at times and had common friends. But like her many fans and readers, I felt like I knew her well. She was one of those rare journalists who made you feel like she was talking to you friend-to-friend.

I always thought of Molly as one of those great and saucy ladies of the Old West, like Belle Star or Annie Oakley or Calamity Jane. She was tough as any outlaw and her aim was deadly.

The Poet's Eye owes a lot to Molly Ivins. By example she taught me that it is possible to talk about tired subjects in a fresh way, that simple language was best to explain complex things and that poise means being able to hit the spittoon and still look like a lady no matter how drunk you are. These are important lessons for a columnist.

This morning I have read six eulogies to Molly Ivins. You will probably see many others. (including this one) This is because, while her readers loved her, other writers loved her even more and I know I'm not the only one who studied her style and enjoyed her inspiration.

Yes, there is a tear in The Poet's Eye this morning and yes, it is a tear for myself. I know Molly will be fine. She's probably already sitting at the Devil's dinner table and regaling him with tales of Texas folklore. Keep a chair warm for me Molly.

[firsty]

you're the first person i thought of when i heard the news. she was truly a woman of the people and would be thrilled to know that that is how people are remembering her.

[firsty]

hope it's ok i crossmarketed yr in memoriam. i think molly would approve.

[Zlatko Waterman]

Published on Thursday, January 11, 2007 by Creators Syndicate
Stand Up Against the Surge
by Molly Ivins

AUSTIN - The purpose of this old-fashioned newspaper crusade to stop the war is not to make George W. Bush look like the dumbest president ever. People have done dumber things. What were they thinking when they bought into the Bay of Pigs fiasco? How dumb was the Egypt-Suez war? How massively stupid was the entire war in Vietnam? Even at that, the challenge with this misbegotten adventure is that WE simply cannot let it continue.

It is not a matter of whether we will lose or we are losing. We have lost. Gen. John P. Abizaid, until recently the senior commander in the Middle East, insists that the answer to our problems there is not military. "You have to internationalize the problem. You have to attack it diplomatically, geo-strategically," he said.

His assessment is supported by Gen. George W. Casey Jr., the senior American commander in Iraq, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who only recommend releasing forces with a clear definition of the goals for the additional troops.

Bush's call for a "surge" or "escalation" also goes against the Iraq Study Group. Talk is that the White House has planned to do anything but what the group suggested after months of investigation and proposals based on much broader strategic implications.

About the only politician out there besides Bush actively calling for a surge is Sen. John McCain. In a recent opinion piece, he wrote: "The presence of additional coalition forces would allow the Iraqi government to do what it cannot accomplish today on its own -- impose its rule throughout the country. ... By surging troops and bringing security to Baghdad and other areas, we will give the Iraqis the best possible chance to succeed." But with all due respect to the senator from Arizona, that ship has long since sailed.

A surge is not acceptable to the people in this country -- we have voted overwhelmingly against this war in polls (about 80 percent of the public is against escalation, and a recent Military Times poll shows only 38 percent of active military want more troops sent) and at the polls. We know this is wrong. The people understand, the people have the right to make this decision, and the people have the obligation to make sure our will is implemented.

Congress must work for the people in the resolution of this fiasco. Ted Kennedy's proposal to control the money and tighten oversight is a welcome first step. And if Republicans want to continue to rubber-stamp this administration's idiotic "plans" and go against the will of the people, they should be thrown out as soon as possible, to join their recent colleagues.

Anyone who wants to talk knowledgably about our Iraq misadventure should pick up Rajiv Chandrasekaran's "Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone." It's like reading a horror novel. You just want to put your face down and moan: How could we have let this happen? How could we have been so stupid?

As The Washington Post's review notes, Chandrasekaran's book "methodically documents the baffling ineptitude that dominated U.S. attempts to influence Iraq's fiendish politics, rebuild the electrical grid, privatize the economy, run the oil industry, recruit expert staff or instill a modicum of normalcy to the lives of Iraqis."

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 January 27. We need people in the streets, banging pots and pans and demanding, "Stop it, now!"

© Copyright 2007 Creators Syndicate

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