"Village Idiot" (1907?) and "Texas Village Idiot" (1997?)

[Bapopik at AOL.COM]

"Village idiot" is not in the Yale Book of Quotations. It's attributed to  
Shaw's MAJOR BARBARA (1907), but NewspaperArchive shows earlier citations.
...
"Some village in Texas has lost its idiot" was popular in the 2000  
presidential election. In a Molly Ivins obituary by the Associated Press, she  
ridiculed the Texas legislature with this comment in December 2000--but Google  Groups 
show that she wrote it by at least January 1997. Anyone have the exact  quote?
...
...
...
_http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/texas/entry/some_village_in_texas_is_
missing_its_idiot/_ 
(http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/texas/entry/some_village_in_texas_is_missing_its_idiot/) 
...
 
“Some Village in Texas Is Missing Its Idiot”
 
"Somewhere in Texas a Village Is Missing Its Idiot” appeared on T-shirts and  
bumper stickers in 2000, as George W. Bush ran for president. The term “
village  idiot” has been in use since at least George Bernard Shaw’s play Major  
Barbara (1907), and the Texas interpretation pre-dates the 2000 election.  

Molly Ivins (1944-2007) wrote about the Texas legislature in 1996 or  1997, 
stating: “The Texas Legislature will soon be in session, God forbid,  leaving 
many a village without its idiot.” 


_Wikipedia: Village Idiot_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Village_idiot)   
A village idiot is a person widely known in their community for their  
stupidity and ignorant behavior. The term first appears in the preface to George  
Bernard Shaw’s play Major Barbara, which opened in 1907. Shaw discusses how some 
 people have treated madness or idiocy as a source of humor, remarking that “
I  myself have had a village idiot exhibited to me as something irresistibly  
funny.” The underlying supposition is that in every small rustic town there  
resides a dimwitted and foolish individual whom his fellow denizens regard as  
very amusing.  

_New  York Times_ 
(http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/31/business/media/31cnd-ivins.html?ex=1327899600&en=dd8cfde62d7893d5&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss) 
 
Molly Ivins, Populist Texas Columnist, Dies at 62  
By KATHARINE Q. SEELYE 
Published: January 31, 2007 
Molly Ivins, the  liberal newspaper columnist who delighted in skewering 
politicians and  interpreting, and mocking, her Texas culture, died today at her 
home in Austin.  She was 62. 
(...) 
Her subject was Texas. To her, the Great State, as she  called it, was “
reactionary, cantankerous and hilarious,” and its legislature  was “reporter 
heaven.” When the legislature was set to convene, she warned her  readers: “Every 
village is about to lose its idiot.” 

_Houston  Chronicle_ 
(http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/4516556.html)  
Feb. 1, 2007, 1:33AM 
Quotes and quips from Molly  Ivins 
Associated Press 

Some quotes from Molly Ivins, the liberal  political writer whose words could 
be clever, ruthless and humorous — sometimes  in the same sentence: 
(...) 
“....our very own dreaded Legislature is  almost upon us. Jan. 9 and they’ll 
all be here, leaving many a village without  its idiot,” from a December 2000 
column. 

_Cafepress.com_ (http://www.cafepress.com/irregulargoods.10747222)   
Somewhere in Texas a Village is Missing its Idiot 
Somewhere in  Texas a village is missing its idiot (bumper sticker) 

_BuzzFlash.com_ (http://www.buzzflash.com/store/items/381)  
A  Village in Texas Has Lost Its Idiot (3 1/8” x 2 1/8” Refrigerator Magnet) 
 

_GoodStorm.com_ 
(http://www.goodstorm.com/item/irregularprogress/somewhere_in_texas_a_village_is_missing_its_idiot_t_shirt)   
Somewhere in Texas a Village is Missing its Idiot T-Shirt from  Irregular 
Progress 

_Amazon.com_ (http://www.amazon.com/Village-Texas-Missing-Bumper-Sticker/dp/
B0002U5CTC)   
Some Village In Texas Is Missing Its Idiot Large Bumper Sticker  
by BumperArt.com 

_Google  Groups: soc.retirement_ 
(http://groups.google.com/group/soc.retirement/browse_thread/thread/8f13b2f677adcd89/841ac763dc29c4ba?lnk=st&q=&rnum=11&hl=
en#841ac763dc29c4ba)  
Newsgroups: soc.retirement 
From: “John K.  Taber” 
Date: 1997/01/25 
Subject: Re: GOOD OLD BILL  CLINTON ... 

The Texas Legislature will soon be in session, God forbid,  leaving many a 
village without its idiot.—Molly Ivins 

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org