#mollyivins — Public Fediverse posts

A quotation from Molly Ivins

Ah, my friends, rejoice. These are frabjous days. Our nation survived eight years of Ronald Reagan as President. We can survive this, too. We can even laugh. All it takes is a strong stomach.

Molly Ivins (1944–2007) American writer, political columnist [Mary Tyler Ivins]
Essay (1995-03-01), “Needed: One Strong Stomach,” The Progressive, Vol. 59, No. 3

More about this quote: wist.info/ivins-molly/86328/

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A quotation from Molly Ivins

Don’t give up on politics. Don’t reject it. It’s not only our responsibility to make this country work more fairly than it does now. It’s also a helluva lot of fun. There are very few things more fun than raising hell for the good of the people.

Molly Ivins (1944–2007) American writer, political columnist [Mary Tyler Ivins]
Interview (2006-10-09), “Who’s It Screw, and Who’s Doing the Screwing?” by Rosalind Alexander, Seattle Weekly

More about this quote: wist.info/ivins-molly/85961/

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A quotation from Molly Ivins

You have more political power than 99 percent of all the people who have ever lived on this planet. You can not only vote, you can register other people to vote, round up your friends, get out and do political education, talk to people, laugh with people, call the radio, write the paper, write your elected representatives, use your email list, put up signs, march, volunteer, and raise hell. All your life, no matter what else you do — butcher, baker, beggarman, thief / doctor, lawyer, Indian chief — you have another job, another responsibility: You are a citizen. It is an obligation that requires attention and effort.

Molly Ivins (1944–2007) American writer, political columnist [Mary Tyler Ivins]
Essay (2004), Introduction, Who Let the Dogs In?

More about this quote: wist.info/ivins-molly/85973/

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A quotation from Molly Ivins

   It’s tacky to start playing the blame game before the dead are even counted. It is not too soon, however, to make a point that needs to be hammered home again and again, and that is that government policies have real consequences in people’s lives.
   This is not “just politics” or blaming for political advantage. This is about the real consequences of what governments do and do not do. And about who winds up paying the price.

Molly Ivins (1944–2007) American writer, political columnist [Mary Tyler Ivins]
Essay (2005-09-09), “Katrina and You,” Texas Observer

More about this quote: wist.info/ivins-molly/86067/

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RE: https://mefi.social/@MissConstrue/117248118692861049

#MollyIvins
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A quotation from Molly Ivins

I don’t think there was ever a time when money was not important in politics. The single most striking development in American politics is the extent to which money is so predominant that everything else including the public interest is insignificant.

Molly Ivins (1944–2007) American writer, political columnist [Mary Tyler Ivins]
Interview (2006-10-09), “Who’s It Screw, and Who’s Doing the Screwing?” by Rosalind Alexander, Seattle Weekly

More about this quote: wist.info/ivins-molly/85840/

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A quotation from Molly Ivins

I try to look at politics not as a spectrum that runs from right to left, but a scale that runs from top to bottom. Then the only political question is: Who’s it screw, and who’s doing the screwing?

Molly Ivins (1944–2007) American writer, political columnist [Mary Tyler Ivins]
Interview (2006-10-09), “Who’s It Screw, and Who’s Doing the Screwing?” by Rosalind Alexander, Seattle Weekly

More about this quote: wist.info/ivins-molly/85658/

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A quotation from Molly Ivins

Wake me up when impending egalitarianism is a problem. In the meantime, oligarchy is eating our ass, our dreams, our country, our heritage, our democracy, our justice, and our tax code.

Molly Ivins (1944–2007) American writer, political columnist [Mary Tyler Ivins]
Essay (2001-04), “Wake Me When We’re Equal,” The Progressive, Vol. 65, No. 4

More about this quote: wist.info/ivins-molly/85517/

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A quotation from Molly Ivins

   This is a column for everyone in the path of Hurricane Katrina who ever said, “I’m sorry, I’m just not interested in politics,” or, “There’s nothing I can do about it,” or, “Eh, they’re all crooks anyway.”
   Look around you this morning. I suppose the NRA would argue, “Government policies don’t kill people, hurricanes kill people.” Actually, hurricanes plus government policies kill people. […] This, my friends, is why we need to pay attention to government policies, not political personalities, and to know whereon we vote. It is about our lives.

Molly Ivins (1944-2007) American writer, political columnist [Mary Tyler Ivins]
Essay (2005-09-09), “Katrina and You,” Texas Observer

More about this quote: wist.info/ivins-molly/16624/

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A quotation from Molly Ivins

I do not believe the President’s sex life is any of our business. After thirty years of political reporting, I have been unable to establish a link between marital fidelity and high performance in public office. It really doesn’t matter who they screw in private, as long as they don’t screw the public.

Molly Ivins (1944-2007) American writer, political columnist [Mary Tyler Ivins]
Essay (1998-03), “A Dodge Too Far,” The Progressive, Vol. 62, No. 3

More about this quote: wist.info/ivins-molly/16566/

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A quotation from Molly Ivins

Things are not getting worse; things have always been this bad. Nothing is more consoling than the long perspective of history. It will perk you up no end to go back and read the works of progressives past. You will learn therein that things back then were also terrible, and what’s more, they were always getting worse. This is most inspiriting.

Molly Ivins (1944-2007) American writer, political columnist [Mary Tyler Ivins]
Essay (1986-03), “How to Survive Reagan,” The Progressive, Vol. 50, No. 3

More about this quote: wist.info/ivins-molly/31928/

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A quotation from Molly Ivins

Friends, soulwise, these are trying times. Now is the time for all good citizens to come to the aid of our country, and it won’t help if you all cower in places like Madison and the Upper West Side, having hot fantods over the approach of fascism. To the barricades, team. And for Lord’s sake, don’t leave your sense of humor behind.

Molly Ivins (1944-2007) American writer, political columnist [Mary Tyler Ivins]
Essay (2005-03), “Use It or Lose It,” The Progressive, Vol. 69, No. 3

More about this quote: wist.info/ivins-molly/85094/

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A quotation from Molly Ivins

   As a now-forgotten Sunday-morning chatter announced in horror: “This could cause people to think that the rich can buy their way out of the justice system.”
   No shit.
   Been going to Texas prisons for a long time. Seen nobody rich on Death Row yet. You mean MONEY has something to do with justice in this country?

Molly Ivins (1944-2007) American writer, political columnist [Mary Tyler Ivins]
Essay (2001-04), “Wake Me When We’re Equal,” The Progressive, Vol. 65, No. 4

More about this quote: wist.info/ivins-molly/16299/

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A quotation from Molly Ivins

It’s hard to convince people you are bombing that you’re doing it for their own good.

Molly Ivins (1944-2007) American writer, political columnist [Mary Tyler Ivins]
Essay (2001-12), “What Osama Bin Wants,” The Progressive, Vol. 65, No. 12

More about this quote: wist.info/ivins-molly/16357/

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A quotation from Molly Ivins

I just finished with nine months of treatment for cancer. First they poison you, then they mutilate you, then they burn you. I’ve had more fun. And when it’s over, you’re so glad that you’re grateful to absolutely everyone. And I am. The trouble is, I’m not a better person. I was in great hopes that confronting my own mortality would make me deeper, more thoughtful. Many lovely people sent books on how to find a more spiritual meaning in life. My response was, “Oh, hell, I can’t go on a spiritual journey — I’m constipated.”

Molly Ivins (1944-2007) American writer, political columnist [Mary Tyler Ivins]
Essay (2000-10), “Cancer, II,” The Progressive magazine

More about this quote: wist.info/ivins-molly/15925/

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A quotation from Molly Ivins

   There are three things one must not do in the face of electoral disaster. Whine. Despair. Or fall for that specious old radical crap: “Things have to get worse before they can get better.” The only possible response to that one is, “Not with my child’s life.”
   Nor is it helpful to sit around hoping that given enough rope, the R’s will hang themselves. They’ll hang us along with them. The only thing to do is to fight harder and smarter.

Molly Ivins (1944-2007) American writer, political columnist [Mary Tyler Ivins]
Essay (2002-12-01) “Fight Harder and Smarter,” The Progressive Magazine

More about this quote: wist.info/ivins-molly/16447/

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A quotation from Molly Ivins

Nice is a pallid virtue. Not like honesty or courage or perseverance. On the other hand, in a nation frequently lacking in civility, there is much to be said for nice.

Molly Ivins (1944-2007) American writer, political columnist [Mary Tyler Ivins]
Essay (1994-05-15), “My, Oh, My, It’s the Ninth Wonder of the World,” Creators Syndicate column, Fort Worth Star-Telegram

More about this quote: wist.info/ivins-molly/50640/

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A quotation from Molly Ivins

It’s all very well to dismiss the dismal sight of our Legislature in action by saying, “I’m just not interested in politics,” but the qualifications of the people who prescribe your eyeglasses, how deep you will be buried, what books your kids read in school, whether your beautician knows how to give a perm, the size of the cells in Stripe City, and a thousand and one other matters that touch your lives daily are decided by the dweebs, dorks, geeks, crooks, and bozos we’ve put into public office.

Molly Ivins (1944-2007) American writer, political columnist [Mary Tyler Ivins]
Essay (1992-03-01), “Good morning, Fort Worth! Glad to be here,” Fort Worth Star-Telegram

More about this quote: wist.info/ivins-molly/83846/

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A quotation from Molly Ivins

It’s all very well to dismiss the dismal sight of our Legislature in action by saying, “I’m just not interested in politics,” but the qualifications of the people who prescribe your eyeglasses, how deep you will be buried, what books your kids read in school, whether your beautician knows how to give a perm, the size of the cells in Stripe City, and a thousand and one other matters that touch your lives daily are decided by the dweebs, dorks, geeks, crooks, and bozos we’ve put into public office.

Molly Ivins (1944-2007) American writer, political columnist [Mary Tyler Ivins]
Essay (1992-03-01), “Good morning, Fort Worth! Glad to be here,” Fort Worth Star-Telegram

More about this quote: wist.info/ivins-molly/83846/

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A quotation from Molly Ivins

   I am not anti-gun. I’m pro-knife. Consider the merits of the knife.
   In the first place, you have to catch up with someone in order to stab him. A general substitution of knives for guns would promote physical fitness. We’d turn into a whole nation of great runners. Plus, knives don’t ricochet. And people are seldom killed while cleaning their knives.

Molly Ivins (1944-2007) American writer, political columnist [Mary Tyler Ivins]
Essay (1993-03-09), “Get a Knife, Get a Dog, but Get Rid of Guns,” Creators Syndicate column, Fort Worth Star-Telegram

More about this quote: wist.info/ivins-molly/16945/

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A quotation from Molly Ivins

Me, I think government is a tool, like a hammer. You can use a hammer to build with or you can use a hammer to destroy with. Whether government is good or bad depends on what you use it for and how well you use it. On the whole, it’s a poor idea to put people in charge of government who don’t believe in using it.

Molly Ivins (1944-2007) American writer, political columnist [Mary Tyler Ivins]
Essay (1992-03-01), “Good morning, Fort Worth! Glad to be here,” Fort Worth Star-Telegram

More about this quote: wist.info/ivins-molly/16887/

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A quotation from Molly Ivins

How the American right managed to convince itself that the programs to alleviate poverty are responsible for the consequences of poverty will someday be studied as a notorious mass illusion. In the meantime, real children — kids who get earaches and like Big Bird and are crabby when they aren’t fed and whose eyes widen in wonder when they meet Santa Claus — will pay the price for this pernicious folly.

Molly Ivins (1944-2007) American writer, political columnist [Mary Tyler Ivins]
Essay (1995-12-24), “Look to the Children of the Poor in This Season of Budget-Slashing,” Fort Worth Star-Telegram

More about this quote: wist.info/ivins-molly/83595/

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A quotation from Molly Ivins

The way one solves problems obviously influences not only the outcome, but the kinds of problems one faces after the immediate problem is settled.

Molly Ivins (1944-2007) American writer, political columnist [Mary Tyler Ivins]
Essay (2002-11-19), “Blast from the Past,” Creators Syndicate column

More about this quote: wist.info/ivins-molly/83403/

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A quotation from Molly Ivins

There is a batty degree of triumphalism loose in this country right now. We are brushing off world opinion as though it mattered not a whit what other people think of us.

Molly Ivins (1944-2007) American writer, political columnist [Mary Tyler Ivins]
Essay (2002-11-19), “Blast from the Past,” Creators Syndicate column

More about this quote: wist.info/ivins-molly/15883/

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A quotation from Molly Ivins

I’ve never had much use for management myself. I’ve worked for a wide variety of managements, and the result is that I always join a union if there’s one available. When management was the art of getting a whole bunch of people together to do something in the best way possible, I had some interest in it. But now that it has become an endless quest for increased quarterly profits, I find it boring and a menace to quality.

Molly Ivins (1944-2007) American writer, political columnist [Mary Tyler Ivins]
Essay (1997-01-30), “Dumped by Disney,” Fort Worth Star-Telegram

More about this quote: wist.info/ivins-molly/83207/

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@TexasObserver

R.I.P. #MollyIvins

I do miss her.

A quotation from Molly Ivins

This has happened before in our history — in fact, it’s a pretty predictable reaction to fear. We get so rattled by some big Scary Thing — communism or crime or drugs or illegal aliens or terrorism — something that scares us so much, we think we can make ourselves safer by giving up some of our freedom. Now, not only does that not hold a drop of water as a logical proposition but it has consistently proved to be an illusion as a practical matter. Empirically, when you make yourself less free, you are not safe, you are just less free.

Molly Ivins (1944-2007) American writer, political columnist [Mary Tyler Ivins]
Bill of Wrongs, Introduction (2007) [with Lou Dubose]

More about this quote: wist.info/ivins-molly/81677/

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Documentary on Molly Ivins is now on HBO. We need as many reporters like her as we can get. Sorely missed.

Raise Hell: The Life and Times of Molly Ivins

Trailer:

https://youtu.be/fh4RTjYd-Yg

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A quotation from Molly Ivins

Our politicians have truly made a pact with the Devil. One watches them spend more and more of their time and energy grubbing, coaxing, flattering, and whoring for money. Terrified of being cut off from the mother’s milk, they stand like morons in the rising sea of contempt that threatens to drown the whole system. Then they wonder why no one likes them anymore.

Molly Ivins (1944-2007) American writer, political columnist [Mary Tyler Ivins]
Essay (1998-01), “Introduction,” You Got to Dance with Them What Brung You (1998)

More about this quote: wist.info/ivins-molly/80992/

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A quotation from Molly Ivins

Our political system has been thoroughly corrupted, and by the usual suspect — money, what else? The corruption is open, obscene, and unmistakable. The way campaigns are financed is a system of legalized bribery. We have a government of special interests, by special interests, and for special interests. And that will not change until we change the way campaigns are financed.

Molly Ivins (1944-2007) American writer, political columnist [Mary Tyler Ivins]
Essay (1998-01), “Introduction,” You Got to Dance with Them What Brung You (1998)

More about this quote: wist.info/ivins-molly/45433/

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A quotation from Molly Ivins

The odd thing about these television discussions designed to “get all sides of the issue” is that they do not feature a spectrum of people with different views on reality. Rather, they frequently give us a face-off between those who see reality and those who have missed it entirely. In the name of objectivity, we are getting fantasy-land.

Molly Ivins (1944-2007) American writer, political columnist [Mary Tyler Ivins]
Essay (1987-03), “Killing the Messenger,” The Progressive Magazine

More info about this quote: wist.info/ivins-molly/79898/

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A quotation from Molly Ivins

Legislators do not merely mix metaphors: they are the Waring blenders of metaphors, the Cuisinarts of the field. By the time you let the head of the camel into the tent, opening a loophole big enough to drive a truck through, you may have thrown the baby out with the bathwater by putting a Band-Aid on an open wound, and then you have to turn over the first rock in order to find a sacred cow.

Molly Ivins (1944-2007) American writer, political columnist [Mary Tyler Ivins]
Essay (1989-09-17), “On Language: The Legislative Mangle,” New York Times Magazine

More info about this quote: wist.info/ivins-molly/79685/

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A quotation from Molly Ivins

   Seems to me it’s a simple concept — the concentration of wealth is a Bad Idea. Since capital tends to concentrate, it is one of the functions of government to oppose this tendency. That’s why we used to have antimonopoly laws and the like.
   When you see government encouraging the concentration of wealth, check your wallet.

Molly Ivins (1944-2007) American writer, political columnist [Mary Tyler Ivins]
Essay (1991-02), “Season of Drear,” The Progressive

More info about this quote: wist.info/ivins-molly/78877/

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A quotation from Molly Ivins

They used to say that Texas was hell on women and horses — I don’t know why they stopped.

Molly Ivins (1944-2007) American writer, political columnist [Mary Tyler Ivins]
Essay (1986), “Texas Women: True Grit and All the Rest,” Texas Celebrates! commemorative magazine

More info about this quote: wist.info/ivins-molly/78933/

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@arbevere

I miss the great #MollyIvins

A quotation from Molly Ivins

The most disturbing development among the Washington press corps is a collective amnesia about the purpose of a newspaper — which is to gather news. The mortal sins of the press have always been our sins of omission, not our sins of commission, no matter what you may have heard about bias, hubris, or anything else. It is the stories we don’t get, the ones we miss, pass over, fail to recognize, don’t pick up on, that will send us to hell.

Molly Ivins (1944-2007) American writer, political columnist [Mary Tyler Ivins]
Essay (1990-02), “Mimic Men,” Mother Jones

Sourcing, notes: wist.info/ivins-molly/78241/

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@jascochran.bsky.social #Texas needs more #MollyIvins.

@Tengrain

#MollyIvins ❤️