Posted on 01/27/2007 4:43:33 AM PST by Ninian Dryhope
AUSTIN - Nationally syndicated columnist Molly Ivins has been hospitalized in her recurring battle with breast cancer.
"I think she's tough as a metal boot," her brother, Andy Ivins, said Friday after a visit with her at Seton Medical Center in Austin.
Andy Ivins said his sister was admitted to Seton on Thursday. She spent Friday morning with longtime colleagues and friends, and was "sleeping peacefully" when he arrived later in the day.
A self-described leftist agitator, Ivins, 62, completed a round of radiation treatment in August, but the cancer "came back with a vengeance," and has spread through her body, Andy Ivins said.
Ivins' columns, which she infuses with passion and wit, appear in more than 300 newspapers around the country. She's written six books, four of which were best sellers.
They included Shrub: The Short But Happy Political Life of George W. Bush, Bushwhacked: Life in George W. Bush's America, which she wrote with longtime friend Lou Dubose; and Who Let the Dogs In? Incredible Political Animals I Have Known.
Ivins was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1999. A year later, she described her treatment with characteristic wit: "First they poison you; then they mutilate you; then they burn you. I've had more fun."
She received her third diagnosis a year ago; despite her illness, she's managed to crank out her columns.
In a piece earlier this month, she wrote that she was starting a newspaper crusade to end the war in Iraq.
"Raise hell," she urged readers. "Think of something ridiculous to make the ridiculous look ridiculous. ... We need people in the streets, banging pots and pans and demanding, 'Stop it, now!' "
I wish her well, and hope she can recover from this. After all, she's a human being. Something quite a few folks on this thread seem to have forgotten.
FYI - that quote originated with Alice Longworth Roosevelt. Grandma sounds like a hoot. :)
I suggest she simply join the newspaper crusade to lose in Iraq that has been going on for some time.
Prayers for her salvation.
Are all human beings equal? Can we not make distinctions between those who act honorably and those who don't? Molly Ivins has been relentless in her pursuit of all things Bush family. And it's been personal and nasty.
Tough diagnosis indeed, best wishes for her and her family, even 62 is young for some.
Politically we must persuade, not wish bad upon them.
And her nasty demeanor has rightly earned his criticism on this site. Are we now to respond in kind because "she did it first"? Or are we better than that?
I might also point out that politics is different than life itself. This isn't Saddam Hussein we're talking about; she's a fellow human being deserving of our well wishes in her battle with cancer.
Which is why it is incumbent upon us NOT to reciprocate.
We should be above that.
In her column she has consistently shown herself to be a mean, vicious, nasty woman. I wonder if she believes in karma...
I take your point. As someone who has cared for people battling cancer, I know what a tough fight it is.
Was she ever married and does she have children?
Prayers for her and her family
I don't share her politics but God Bless her and any woman who suffers so.
We could spend a lot of time arguing that, since politics has a great effect on life.....but, OK.
This isn't Saddam Hussein we're talking about; she's a fellow human being deserving of our well wishes in her battle with cancer.
Give us a list of people that's OK to criticize and villify, no matter what their condition happens to be. Just so we know.
/s
I would think it is evident to a reasonable person that a career political critic is different than a murderer, rapist, etc. Don't you?
We're not talking about criticizing or vilifying. Just not wishing pain and death upon someone with whom we disagree politically.
Prayers for Molly and her family. I am sure she wants to be around for the Hillary campaign.
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