The Texas-based political humorist and syndicated columnist died Wednesday in Austin after a long and sometimes public battle with cancer. Ivins' death was announced by the Texas Observer, where she began her career. Her stint as a New York Times national correspondent ended shortly after she described a community chicken-killing festival as a "gang pluck," Elaine Woo writes in the LAT obituary. Ivins described herself as "a left-wing, aging-Bohemian journalist, who never made a shrewd career move, never dressed for success, never got married, and isn't even a lesbian, which at least would be interesting."

Photo: Texas Observer