Ruth Kostik
@ruthkostik.bsky.social
Alaska transplant, theatre kid who grew up to have a career in government finance, #akleg junky
Decent show from Douglas tonight
January 21, 2026 at 6:47 AM
Decent show from Douglas tonight
Reposted by Ruth Kostik
A day will come when Donald Trump no longer dominates our politics.
Even though this is obvious, it’s hard to keep in mind.
The future will belong to those who can think clearly about what happens next.
Even though this is obvious, it’s hard to keep in mind.
The future will belong to those who can think clearly about what happens next.
January 20, 2026 at 5:35 PM
A day will come when Donald Trump no longer dominates our politics.
Even though this is obvious, it’s hard to keep in mind.
The future will belong to those who can think clearly about what happens next.
Even though this is obvious, it’s hard to keep in mind.
The future will belong to those who can think clearly about what happens next.
Reposted by Ruth Kostik
Good morning. What a deeply embarrassing day to be a US citizen, on so many levels.
January 19, 2026 at 1:34 PM
Good morning. What a deeply embarrassing day to be a US citizen, on so many levels.
Reposted by Ruth Kostik
2) Also: what the fuck projection is this?! Russia is eight times Greenland's size and they're making it look the same?
January 18, 2026 at 4:44 PM
2) Also: what the fuck projection is this?! Russia is eight times Greenland's size and they're making it look the same?
Reposted by Ruth Kostik
Reposted by Ruth Kostik
Right-wing influencer Jake Lang is stuck in a window recess against Minneapolis City Hall.
He’s soaked with freezing water after counterprotesters hurled water balloons at him. bit.ly/4baGhJn
He’s soaked with freezing water after counterprotesters hurled water balloons at him. bit.ly/4baGhJn
January 17, 2026 at 7:09 PM
Right-wing influencer Jake Lang is stuck in a window recess against Minneapolis City Hall.
He’s soaked with freezing water after counterprotesters hurled water balloons at him. bit.ly/4baGhJn
He’s soaked with freezing water after counterprotesters hurled water balloons at him. bit.ly/4baGhJn
Reposted by Ruth Kostik
The classy move would have been to give Machado the FIFA Peace Prize in return.
January 16, 2026 at 11:07 AM
The classy move would have been to give Machado the FIFA Peace Prize in return.
Reposted by Ruth Kostik
Reposted by Ruth Kostik
Like, say, you're an advocate for democracy desperate to save your country from the grip of an autocracy, and the man who holds your country's fate in his hands is angry because you got a prize and he didn't. What do you do? Whose example do you look to for guidance?
January 15, 2026 at 10:49 PM
Like, say, you're an advocate for democracy desperate to save your country from the grip of an autocracy, and the man who holds your country's fate in his hands is angry because you got a prize and he didn't. What do you do? Whose example do you look to for guidance?
Reposted by Ruth Kostik
I feel like repeating something I said about a year ago: there are a lot of good people, trying to do their jobs and protect the institutions and people they're responsible for, dealing with situations and pressures very, very few of us have ever seen before. Try to give them some grace.
January 15, 2026 at 10:42 PM
I feel like repeating something I said about a year ago: there are a lot of good people, trying to do their jobs and protect the institutions and people they're responsible for, dealing with situations and pressures very, very few of us have ever seen before. Try to give them some grace.
Reposted by Ruth Kostik
So much of modern politics is projection, but one of the funniest ones is the right insisting that activists on the left are paid/professional protesters. Like, there just isn't that kind of money on that side of the aisle! And the idea that people would do it because they care seems to not compute.
January 15, 2026 at 3:04 PM
So much of modern politics is projection, but one of the funniest ones is the right insisting that activists on the left are paid/professional protesters. Like, there just isn't that kind of money on that side of the aisle! And the idea that people would do it because they care seems to not compute.
Reposted by Ruth Kostik
Posts from Minneapolis residents read like they'll be read in voiceover in a Ken Burns-like doc one day
January 15, 2026 at 4:34 PM
Posts from Minneapolis residents read like they'll be read in voiceover in a Ken Burns-like doc one day
Reposted by Ruth Kostik
I would like to live in a country where statements like "people are vermin" & "we should attack our NATO allies" & "we shouldn't have elections" immediately ended presidencies.
January 15, 2026 at 4:59 PM
I would like to live in a country where statements like "people are vermin" & "we should attack our NATO allies" & "we shouldn't have elections" immediately ended presidencies.
Reposted by Ruth Kostik
👇🏻
There are many tactics Republicans can & may employ to try to depress voter turnout and intimidate voters. That said, voter turnout can also be depressed by people preemptively declaring the election is rigged. It takes effort to get to the polls, it doesn't help to tell people it's not worth it.
January 15, 2026 at 7:40 PM
👇🏻
Reposted by Ruth Kostik
The median American here imo
January 15, 2026 at 7:25 PM
The median American here imo
Reposted by Ruth Kostik
Just guessing here, but I suspect the White House is pushing so hard for wars of conquest on multiple fronts because they see their support collapsing ahead of the midterms and worry they won't get another shot. An example of how tyrants become more dangerous as they get weaker, not less.
January 14, 2026 at 7:51 PM
Just guessing here, but I suspect the White House is pushing so hard for wars of conquest on multiple fronts because they see their support collapsing ahead of the midterms and worry they won't get another shot. An example of how tyrants become more dangerous as they get weaker, not less.
Reposted by Ruth Kostik
Second thought: a Governor broadcasting an emergency televised address about Federal forces laying siege to his state and the need to resist is straight out of “The Turner Diaries.” With certain valences reversed.
January 15, 2026 at 2:12 AM
Second thought: a Governor broadcasting an emergency televised address about Federal forces laying siege to his state and the need to resist is straight out of “The Turner Diaries.” With certain valences reversed.
Reposted by Ruth Kostik
With real prosecutors quitting, and this person doggedly staying in her job contrary to a court order, it's possible that one things that will grind the Administration to a halt is a lack of people to run it.
The Justice Department responded defiantly to a federal judge’s order directing Lindsey Halligan to explain why she continues to use the title U.S. attorney in Virginia despite another judge’s ruling that her appointment was unconstitutional.
Halligan defends her use of U.S. attorney title in combative court filing
Lindsey Halligan was a personal lawyer for President Donald Trump before being appointed as interim U.S. attorney in Virginia’s Eastern District.
wapo.st
January 13, 2026 at 9:54 PM
With real prosecutors quitting, and this person doggedly staying in her job contrary to a court order, it's possible that one things that will grind the Administration to a halt is a lack of people to run it.
Reposted by Ruth Kostik
Oh man, I just realized the seed art at the State Fair this year is going to be *something*.
January 14, 2026 at 12:44 AM
Oh man, I just realized the seed art at the State Fair this year is going to be *something*.
Reposted by Ruth Kostik
The letter from Bill and Hillary Clinton to James Comer explaining their refusal to testify in his Epstein investigation is really remarkable, not like any letter of this genre I've seen. It's signed by them, not a lawyer, and the arguments are not legal ones. Reprinted from their X account:
January 13, 2026 at 6:20 PM
The letter from Bill and Hillary Clinton to James Comer explaining their refusal to testify in his Epstein investigation is really remarkable, not like any letter of this genre I've seen. It's signed by them, not a lawyer, and the arguments are not legal ones. Reprinted from their X account:
Reposted by Ruth Kostik
The LeBron James of divorced women. No one is doing it like her.
The Trevor Project, known for its hotline for LGBTQ+ youth, received $45 million from billionaire and author MacKenzie Scott at the end of 2025. https://bit.ly/4sEbdYv
Billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott donates $45 million to LGBTQ+ youth hotline organization, The Trevor Project | Fortune
“I literally could not believe it and it took some time. I actually gasped,” said Jaymes Black, CEO of The Trevor Project.
bit.ly
January 13, 2026 at 8:08 PM
The LeBron James of divorced women. No one is doing it like her.
Reposted by Ruth Kostik
This isn't just a casual observation. Fascism scholars have long made this point. It's why calling them "weird" was a more effective strategy than talking about the prices of eggs. Fascism is an aesthetic political movement - you need to make people feel embarassed and horrified by it.
one of the most effective weapons we have against fascism is mockery, especially when its really funny
It occurs to me all the yelling at ICE in MPLS isn't merely funny. Getting made fun of like this is awful for morale. ICE is losing field officers faster than it can wave them through training, and a big part of it is how little of this these little weasels can take.
January 12, 2026 at 5:54 PM
This isn't just a casual observation. Fascism scholars have long made this point. It's why calling them "weird" was a more effective strategy than talking about the prices of eggs. Fascism is an aesthetic political movement - you need to make people feel embarassed and horrified by it.
Reposted by Ruth Kostik
Grateful to @geneweingarten.bsky.social for bringing up a story of a murder in the Civil Rights era that I had never heard of, one that has particular relevance right now.
geneweingarten.substack.com/p/this-has-h...
geneweingarten.substack.com/p/this-has-h...
This Has Happened Before
Viola Liuzzo was 39 years old when she was murdered. It was March 25, 1965.
geneweingarten.substack.com
January 12, 2026 at 6:54 PM
Grateful to @geneweingarten.bsky.social for bringing up a story of a murder in the Civil Rights era that I had never heard of, one that has particular relevance right now.
geneweingarten.substack.com/p/this-has-h...
geneweingarten.substack.com/p/this-has-h...
Reposted by Ruth Kostik
You can say Merry Protein again
January 12, 2026 at 7:57 AM
You can say Merry Protein again
Reposted by Ruth Kostik
WSJ investigation: In the past 6 months ICE agents have fired at vehicles 13 times, leading to:
* 8 people shot
* 5 of which were U.S. citizens
* 2 died
* no victims drew a weapon
The playbook: Agents box in a vehicle, block attempts to flee, then fire
www.wsj.com/us-news/vide...
* 8 people shot
* 5 of which were U.S. citizens
* 2 died
* no victims drew a weapon
The playbook: Agents box in a vehicle, block attempts to flee, then fire
www.wsj.com/us-news/vide...
Videos Show How ICE Vehicle Stops Can Escalate to Shootings
A WSJ visual investigation found that the Minneapolis ICE killing is one of 13 incidents where federal immigration agents have used deadly force against civilians in vehicles since July.
www.wsj.com
January 10, 2026 at 3:44 PM
WSJ investigation: In the past 6 months ICE agents have fired at vehicles 13 times, leading to:
* 8 people shot
* 5 of which were U.S. citizens
* 2 died
* no victims drew a weapon
The playbook: Agents box in a vehicle, block attempts to flee, then fire
www.wsj.com/us-news/vide...
* 8 people shot
* 5 of which were U.S. citizens
* 2 died
* no victims drew a weapon
The playbook: Agents box in a vehicle, block attempts to flee, then fire
www.wsj.com/us-news/vide...