Happy Birthday, Molly

Today, in Monterey, California, in 1944 Molly Ivins was born.

We miss her more than ever now, I think. How she'd gleefully tackle "Governor Goodhair"'s run at the presidency, accompanied by Bachman and Mitt! And what hell she'd be giving the Conciliator-in-Chief, too...

"There are two kinds of humor. One kind that makes us chuckle about our foibles and our shared humanity -- like what Garrison Keillor does. The other kind holds people up to public contempt and ridicule -- that's what I do. Satire is traditionally the weapon of the powerless against the powerful. I only aim at the powerful. When satire is aimed at the powerless, it is not only cruel -- it's vulgar. "

"It is possible to read the history of this country as one long struggle to extend the liberties established in our Constitution to everyone in America."

"There's never been a law yet that didn't have a ridiculous consequence in some unusual situation; there's probably never been a government program that didn't accidentally benefit someone it wasn't intended to. Most people who work in government understand that what you do about it is fix the problem -- you don't just attack the whole government. "

more of her words here