GOOD NIGHT, FAITHFUL GUARDIANS

The nation is more spiritually impoverished this week, due to the loss of two great American liberal thinkers. Jesuit Priest-turned Congressman Robert F. Drinan, and today the inimitable Molly Ivins have left this world for the better one.

Of Drinan, it was written:

With all the goodwill he generated, Drinan was a natural to run as an anti war candidate in 1970. He defeated the Democratic incumbent and was invulnerable to conventional opposition during his 10 years in office. But he remained a Jesuit to the core, one of those remarkable men who used the skills acquired in the order to improve the world. When the pope insisted that priests could not serve in governmental office, Drinan chose the priesthood over more traditional ambition.

He became a professor at Georgetown Law School, headed Americans for Democratic Action, and worked on international issues for the American Bar Association. He returned often to Boston College, notably in October 2004, when he received the Distinguished Service Medal on the 75th anniversary of the law school. He urged the students to consider a career in international law. "Think beyond Boston," he said, "and if you don't want to go to Beijing [or London or Nairobi] to work, stay in Boston to help the poor get the legal aid they deserve." Drinan honored Boston by encouraging his hometown and his alma mater to stretch for greatness.

Molly Ivins succumbed to a third bout with breast cancer. She was 62. She was incisively funny in a homespun sort of way, and was particularly on her game when savaging the "Shrub." Molly's fiery brand of liberalism was complimented by another dimension of her personality, described as follows by Anthony Zurcher, one of her editors at Creators' Syndicate:

For a woman who made a profession of offering her opinion to others, Molly was remarkably humble. She was known for hosting unforgettable parties at her Austin home, which would feature rollicking political discussions, and impromptu poetry recitals and satirical songs. At one such event, I noticed her dining table was littered with various awards and distinguished speaker plaques, put to use as trivets for steaming plates of tamales, chili and fajita meat. When I called this to her attention, Molly matter-of-factly replied, "Well, what else am I going to do with 'em?"

Thanks for the h/t, CAMOON! And, praise God that Molly saw the beginning of the reining in of this Crawford cabal of evil dunces.