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Famous Molly Ivins Quotes

“The Libertarians, of whom I'm rather fond, are running Harry Browne. Libertarians are, just as they claim, principled and consistent - they believe in individual liberty. Commendable as they are, and despite their reliability as allies in civil liberties struggles, you may notice that Libertarians sometimes prove that a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, and that there is a difference between logic and wisdom.”

MindBelieveMayLittlesSometimesRunningIndividualDifferencesLibertyStruggleProveLogicClaimsLibertarianFoolishDespiteConsistentAlliesConsistencyCivil LibertiesIndividual LibertyReliabilityPrincipledLittle MindsCommendable
Author:Molly Ivins
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“Economist Frederick Thayer has studied the history of our balanced-budget crusades and has come up with some depressing statistics. We have had six major depressions in our history (1819, 1837, 1857, 1873, 1893 and 1929); all six of them followed sustained periods of reducing the national debt. We have had almost chronic deficits since the 1930s, and there has been no depression since then - the longest crash-free period in our history.”

Has BeensPeriodsSixMajorsCome UpDebtLibertarianBudgetsStatisticsBalancedCrashDepressingEconomistDeficitReducing1930sCrusadesNational DebtBalanced Budget
Author:Molly Ivins
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“Imagine wasting all that perfectly good anger on paranoid fantasies. Not since Emily Litella got upset about "Soviet jewelry" has there been such a waste of anger. You will notice a certain theme to these Emily Litella Moments. Behind them all is a touching faith that someone, somewhere is actually in charge of what's happening - a proposition I beg leave to doubt.”

MomentsCertainBehindsFantasyDoubtImagineWasteHappeningsLibertarianUpsetThemeTouchingSovietPropositionsJewelryParanoidEmilyPerfectly Good
Book:You Got to Dance with Them What Brung You
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“We've got the emPHAsis on the wrong sylLAble when it comes to crime in this country. The FBI says burglary and robbery cost U.S. taxpayers $3.8 billion annually. Securities fraud alone costs four times that. And securities fraud is nothing to the cost of oil spills, price-fixing, and dangerous or defective products. Fraud by health-care corporations alone costs us between $100 billion and $400 billion a year. No three-strikes-and-you're-out for these guys. Remember the S&L scandal? $500 billion.”

YearsCountryCareRememberGuyThreeFourSecurityDangerousCrimeProductsCostOilLibertarianStrikesBillionsHealth CareCorporationsFraudEmphasisScandalTaxpayersFbiFixingSpillsSyllablesRobberyDefectiveOil SpillBurglaryThree Strikes
Author:Molly Ivins
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“Although it is true that only about 20 percent of American workers are in unions, that 20 percent sets the standards across the board in salaries, benefits and working conditions. If you are making a decent salary in a non-union company, you owe that to the unions. One thing that corporations do not do is give out money out of the goodness of their hearts.”

IfsGivingHeartCompanyOne ThingConditionsGoodnessBenefitsStandardsPercentLaborUnionsWorkersCorruptionLibertarianCorporationsBoardsDecentOrganizeSalaryLabor UnionAmerican WorkersOrganized LaborUnionismUnion SolidarityWorking Conditions
Author:Molly Ivins
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“I used to go on college campuses 25 years ago and announce I was a feminist, and people thought it meant I believed in free love and was available for a quick hop in the sack. ... Now I go on college campuses and say I'm a feminist, and half of them think it means I'm a lesbian. How'd we get from there to here without passing "Go"?”

PeopleThinkingYearsMeanUsedInspiringHalfCollegeGoes OnYears AgoFeministAvailablePassingPassingsHopsCampusFree LoveCollege Campus
Author:Molly Ivins
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“Every two years, one of the most hotly contested elections in Texas is the poll taken among members of the capitol press corps to determine who are actually the ten stupidest members of the Legislature. Two years ago, there were thirty-seven official nominees and several write-ins.”

WritingYearsTwoTakenTenMembersYears AgoElectionPressesSevenDetermineStupidityThirtyOfficialsTwo YearsTexasPollsLegislatureCapitolStupidestTwo Years AgoYear One
Book:Molly Ivins Can't Say That, Can She?
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