Molly Ivins

(The Associated Press)

Columnist Molly Ivins died of cancer on January 31, 2007. I followed her over the years in her syndicated column in various papers and online. I featured her here in the hilarious Dildo Diaries video, so I want to observe her passing.

She mostly wrote wrote about Texas politics,

Naturally, when it comes to voting, we in Texas are accustomed to discerning that fine hair's-breadth worth of difference that makes one hopeless dipstick slightly less awful than the other. But it does raise the question: Why bother?

but followed the Bushs as they went national.

When I think of Ivins, former Texas Governor Anne Richards also comes to mind (Richards also died in the last year). Richards is famous for referring to George H. W. Bush with this in 1988:

Poor George, he can't help it...He was born with a silver foot in his mouth.

It always struck me as something Molly would have said. But Ivins would have gotten a rude word in there somewhere.

I'm certain Texas can't afford to lose any more fine women.