The Good Molly Ivins in Hospital

It's recently been revealed that Molly Ivins is on her third recurrence of cancer since 1999; we wish her a speedy recovery and hope she can continue her columns but the truth is that it's not certain what her state of health is. Here's the story from Editor & Publisher:

Her assistant Betsy Moon says she may be able to go home Monday. She adds that those close to Ivins are ``not sure what's going to happen, but she's very sick.''

The 62-year-old columnist had taken an earlier break from her syndicated column, but resumed writing earlier this month.

Last October she had suggested this headline to an E&P interviewer: "Molly Ivins Still Not Dead."

E&P wrote then, "The third recurrence of the breast cancer she has been battling since 1999 (and which recently claimed her good friend, former Texas Gov. Ann Richards) has left the 62-year-old Ivins with precarious balance, minimal hair, and no illusions about the redemptive quality of life-threatening illness. 'I'd hoped to become a better person from confronting my own mortality,' she laughs. 'But it hasn't happened.'"

In the Jan. 11 column, which opposed the troop escalation, Ivins wrote “We are the people who run this country. We are the deciders. And every single day, every single one of us needs to step outside and take some action to help stop this war....If you can, go to the peace march in Washington on Jan. 27. We need people in the streets, banging pots and pans and demanding, 'Stop it, now!'"

If nothing else, Molly Ivins is a fighter. Six years ago, I wrote a fictional story about a savvy reporter by the name of Maggie McIvers and I didn't try very hard to hide that I modeled the character after Molly Ivins. Get well, Molly. We need you back.