Missing Molly Ivins

Whenever there is an election or something interesting on the political stage, I miss columnist Molly Ivins. I sometimes imagine what sorts of things she would say. She just had the gift of putting people in their place and putting their actions into historical context. For instance, when Pat Robertson was running for president and he gave a barely veiled incendiary speech, Molly Ivins quietly quipped that she liked it better "in the original German."

She was more than pointedly funny, she also perfected the art of political satire and carried on the American tradition of dissention, as former Harper's editor Lewis Lapham said in a very eloquent tribute to her. Speaking of Lewis Lapham, the Museum of Jewish Heritage is very lucky to welcome the author on September 10 when he will interview playwright Frederic Morton about his new work. Until then, you can listen to Lapham's well thought out interviews with other authors and historians via podcast.