And the winner is…

Yaaaay! Well deserved!!

Congratulations!

Excellent!

Now you can say that's what the "MA" stands for: "Molly Award" Jeff!

Well done!

Congrats MAJeff, you're much appreciated!

(long-time UK lurker)

Congratulations!!! Fabulous choice, and here's hoping that MAJeff stays around here for a long time.

So now it's "Jeff, the God of Biscuits, OM," eh? Great choice!

From Somerville to Brighton, my heartiest congratulations!

Gratz!

Much agreement indeed. ^_^

Cheers! And congratulations!

I agree -- one of my favorites, excellent choice, congratulations, etc. Tell him you have to wear this thing around your neck for the next month for sure, and then at least as long as you'd keep your Christmas lights and decorations up in real life. In Wisconsin, it's not going to thaw till June.

Congratulations!

Thanks everyone. I gotta say, reading that other thread was a bit embarrassing for this Minnesotan. Glad y'all enjoy...

Why, I am pleased!

PZ, how did you know I would be?

Hmm, better adjust the tinfoil on my hat.

Congrats, MAJeff

Wicked!

Well done, MAJeff, and well earned!

Congrats, MAJeff! Woot!

Kseniya, I like that rumble much better than drunk BC undergrads in that sometimes go at it in Brighton.
:)

If I may be so indulged, a few words from the namesake of this honor:

So keep fightin' for freedom and justice, beloveds, but don't you forget to have fun doin' it. Lord, let your laughter ring forth. Be outrageous, ridicule the fraidy-cats, rejoice in all the oddities that freedom can produce. And when you get through kickin' ass and celebratin' the sheer joy of a good fight, be sure to tell those who come after how much fun it was.

I put those on my office door when she died. Still love 'em, and miss her.

Not having spent much time in Boston or the regions thereabouts (although I was kidnapped by a bigot outside of a bar on Huntington Ave) I don't think I understand the Brighton reference in Kseniya's link, but I do love a good pompadour!

PZ, I wonder if it would be possible to repost some of Molly Ivins' comments for those of us who've never had the pleasure of reading her for ourselves.

PZ, I wonder if it would be possible to repost some of Molly Ivins' comments for those of us who've never had the pleasure of reading her for ourselves.

Two of my favorites (in which I believe she was actually quoting others (and from memory so not verbatim):

"The problem with Texas Baptists is that we don't hold 'em under the water long enough."
"Never trust anyone whose lips purse tighter than a chicken's asshole."

Thanks, MAJeff.

Based on those two alone, my pride in my own Molly has increased exponentially.

The classic source of her writing still has to be Molly Ivins Can't Say That, Can She?. Her later two collections of articles are good, but because the first one covers a much longer period of time, it's more selective, and there are more real gems. (You can also really hear her become more angry as you move progressively through the books.)

A lot of us took her loss pretty hard. Terrible to have that wonderful voice silenced, just terrible.

I'd pay to meet all these mollyfied individuals.
NB:I don't even know if they are men, women, Americans, Europeans, Robots, Grey parrots, whatever, but who cares...
They sure pass the Turing test.

MAJeff, congratulations.

And she was a regular commenter here?

I haven't felt this inadequate since, well, this morning in the shower when I just happened to look down.

And she was a regular commenter here?

Not that I'm aware of.
Columnist from Texas.

Oh, for some reason I'd assumed there was a local connection. Oh well.

Molly:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYXUUsDGxkU

you should still feel honored :)

an endnote: Mr Chisum, from the video, one of the most hatefully anti-gay legislators at the state level, made quite a bit of money on viatical settlements (buying out life insurance policies of economically desperate dying people--it was particularly targeted to people living with and dying of AIDS). In other words, he was openly profiting from the death of queers, and look in the video how much he enjoys that prospect (near the end)...good people; very good people these decency police.

He was a prude named Chisum?

Oh, the irony.

MAJeff,

this video made my day...

"an anus is not considered as a sexual orifice"

"you can put anything up your butt, as long as it isn't a penis"

"generally speaking, a Penis doesn't have a face, or an animal attached to it"

Haven't seen the vid yet, but judging by this...

you can put anything up your butt, as long as it isn't a penis

...I take it that butt plugs, fists and gerbils are all kosher for evangelical whack-jobs?

(We already know from the example of the Rev'd Mr Aldridge that condom-wrapped dildoes are OK.)

Brownian OM #21

Somehow I think that the "Brighton" that the Stray Cats are singing about isn't the one on the Green Line.

generally speaking, a Penis doesn't have a face, or an animal attached to it

Maybe not a face, and I know I'm just a silly social scientist, but don't pretty much all penises have animals attached to them...or at least did at one point?

Way to go Jeff! It must have been your last-supper-gay-orgy impression that put you over the top. Always leave em pleased.

*salute*

expect more visions from Cthulhu.

Mollified? Softened?

Brownian:

Oh, for some reason I'd assumed there was a local connection. Oh well.

No, not local to Pharyngula. I guess Molly was an American phenomenon, and not well-known even to our liberal-minded neighbors to the north. She was, as has been noted, a native Texan, but - and this is the local connection for me - she went to Smith College here in Massachusetts, which is one of the so-called Seven Sisters, a sort of Ivy League of women's colleges.

Ms. Ivins was never shy about admitting to liking GW Bush as an affable fellah she'd known since they were both young adults, long before his political career got going, just as she never hesitated to criticise his policies when she felt it was necessary (which was often). She's been criticised herself - rightly at times - for sloppy fact-checking, but most of the time she was right on the money, and her clear voice rang out with intelligence, warmth, and good humor. She was the anti-Coulter.

her clear voice rang out with intelligence, warmth, and good humor

And a sharp wit and way with language that is to be envied by all. I love the way she talked about being asked to leave the NYTimes after describing a certain process of removing chicken feathers (as I recall) as a "gang pluck."

"[Chisum] made quite a bit of money on viatical settlements (buying out life insurance policies of economically desperate dying people--it was particularly targeted to people living with and dying of AIDS). In other words, he was openly profiting from the death of queers, and look in the video how much he enjoys that prospect (near the end)...good people; very good people these decency police."

I offer no defense of Chisum but you paint life settlements with much too broad a brush. Often people with cash value life insurance decide that they no longer want or need their policy. Prior to the life settlements market, their only choice was to keep or surrender the policy. Some smart people realized that actuarially the policy was worth more than the surrender value so they offered more to the owner of the policy. Were some of these people sleazy, especially early on? Sure. Every new financial product has a wide bid/offer spread and lots of taking advantage happens. But life settlements are far from always a bad thing (sometimes they're a very good thing) and should be considered before anyone surrenders a cash value policy.

Mollified? Softened?