
Originally Aired: February 1, 2007 Columnist Molly Ivins Dies at the Age of 62 Syndicated columnist Molly Ivins passed away Wednesday at the age of 62 due to complications from breast cancer. Ms. Ivins was widely known as the humorist who first referred to President George W. Bush as "shrub." Transcript: JIM LEHRER: Finally tonight, Molly Ivins, who died yesterday of breast cancer in Austin, Texas. She wrote books, essays, and they were always very funny and usually about very serious matters. We chose an example of her work that was broadcast here on the NewsHour in 1986. It was an essay on what Molly called "fine art in her home state." MOLLY IVINS, Columnist: Many people will tell you Texas is beautiful. Mostly Texans will tell you that. Well, it's true, in parts. But there is a lot of Texas that's not much to write home about. Parts of it are just plain homely, and then, here and there, ugly barely covers it. But what does mankind do when faced with the challenge of ugliness? Man creates art, is what he does, builds his own beauty. And that's what we do down here in Texas, too. And I'm about to show you some of it, so don't say you weren't warned. A lot of our art is found in front of courthouses, so as to let folks know it's official. Now, this here is a statue of a peanut found in the courthouse square in Floresville. And here's a statue of a shrimp right here in downtown Aransas Pass. In Seguin, we have a statue of a pecan. Not everybody likes it. Crystal City <b>...</b>
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