Laura Ruby
banner
thatlauraruby.bsky.social
Laura Ruby
@thatlauraruby.bsky.social
Novelist, poet, teacher, unrepentant cat-lover, cancer patient, two-time National Book Award Finalist. Bone Gap, Thirteen Doorways, etc. Made of bees. @thatlauraruby on most socials. www.lauraruby.com
Reposted by Laura Ruby
The thing about the "I voted against this" position Schumer is taking is that either he is trying to mislead Dem voters by implying he didn't support reopening right now, or he has no control over his caucus.
November 10, 2025 at 9:35 PM
Reposted by Laura Ruby
This holiday season, give Jeff Bezos and Amazon the gift of zero dollars. 🥰
November 10, 2025 at 6:47 PM
Reposted by Laura Ruby
No agreement on healthcare but the government will temporarily reopen.

Wish Dems would have stood their ground.

Many millions will now shift to not purchasing any health insurance or signing for high deductible health plans that strain budgets without offering robust coverage.
November 10, 2025 at 6:37 PM
Reposted by Laura Ruby
Hearing now that @chrismurphyct.bsky.social will allow the fast-tracking of the capitulation CR.

If any senator objects, the bill passage could be delayed until Friday. But apparently zero Senators have objected to the scheduling motion on the hotline.
Zero!
I got back to my office after the vote last night and recorded this. There's no way to sugarcoat what happened. And my fear is that Trump gets stronger, not weaker, because of this acquiescence. I'm angry - like you. But I choose to keep fighting.
November 10, 2025 at 9:49 PM
I just sent a furious message to Durbin and it wasn’t furious enough.
Whoa -- Sen. Durbin went to up Leader Thune during the vote last night to tell him that on the shutdown vote and ACA promise that "8 of us are sticking our neck out that you're going to keep your word. I hope you will. He said 'I assure you I will,'" Durbin says just now
November 10, 2025 at 9:46 PM
Reposted by Laura Ruby
Schumer's a coward. Shaheen & co. soiled themselves. Yes, yes to all of it. But why don't Murkowski, Tillis, & company even get asked questions? Why do we have zero expectation of them? Journalists don't even bother trying. We have accepted Murc's Law as a constitutional provision. It's maddening.
These 5 people could caucus with the Democrats, giving them a majority & firmly opposing the fascism, any time. It might be nice for an enterprising journalist to ask them why they keep not doing this every day as the crimes & corruption continue & John Thune refuses to fulfill his oath of office.
🚨 The Senate votes 52-48 to overturn President Trump's 50 percent tariffs on Brazil. 5 GOP Senators break ranks to vote against Trump: Collins ME, McConnell KY, Murkowski AK, Paul KY, and Tillis NC.
November 10, 2025 at 5:52 PM
Reposted by Laura Ruby
Please don’t think this beltway game of having retiring Dem senators vote yes while everyone else votes no is going to shield leadership from the end result. We see what is happening and can’t be fooled by those games.
November 10, 2025 at 1:15 AM
Reposted by Laura Ruby
Still true
American politics makes a lot more sense when you realize that the GOP is afraid of pissing off the GOP base, and the Dems are afraid of pissing off the GOP base, but neither party is afraid of pissing off the Dem base.
November 10, 2025 at 2:31 PM
Reposted by Laura Ruby
I'm a SNAP recipient... for the last month I was tightening my belt, doing my best to eat cheaper and eating less so I'd have a little left over to help get me through when payments were cut. It was all for nothing. Fuck the dems who supported this.
I received this email about Democrats caving to end the shutdown from one of the SNAP recipients I spoke to:
November 10, 2025 at 4:43 PM
Reposted by Laura Ruby
weirdly honest messaging from the breakaway mod/institutionalist leaders who blew up the party strategy

they're explicitly giving up. "It wasn't working so we quit" that's the message
November 10, 2025 at 12:34 PM
Reposted by Laura Ruby
I received this email about Democrats caving to end the shutdown from one of the SNAP recipients I spoke to:
November 10, 2025 at 2:17 PM
Reposted by Laura Ruby
Lots going on but from outside it seems that at least part of the calculus was that flight disruption for middle class and up travelers matters more than life disruption for untold numbers who’ll be deprived of health care.
November 10, 2025 at 9:34 AM
Reposted by Laura Ruby
We must Move Our Money, away from the forces of destruction aiding this regime & into our communities. From Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday, folks are collectively committing to avoid Target, Amazon and Home Depot. If this leaves you $ to spare, local food banks, shelters, & community groups need it.
November 10, 2025 at 4:17 PM
Reposted by Laura Ruby
seems to me that those democrats inclined not to fight perceive themselves as living through a somewhat ordinary cycle of presidential overreach and backlash and not something much more significant and dangerous
November 10, 2025 at 12:50 PM
I think this was a coordinated effort, which is why four retiring Senators took much of the heat for the whiny chickenshits who wanted to cave (including Schumer, who of course wanted to cave, because that’s what he does best). But the timing! They didn’t even wait a bloody week after the election!
November 10, 2025 at 4:23 PM
Reposted by Laura Ruby
It’s such a bad idea, when one of his crimes was calling forth an insurrection, that he’s actually forbidden from holding the office by a constitutional provision, which a unanimous Supreme Court invented a way to turn off.
To repeat: Maybe electing a life-long criminal to an office where he can pardon other criminals wasn't such a good idea.
November 10, 2025 at 1:18 PM
Reposted by Laura Ruby
Remember that insurance is actually a thing you hope never to use, and then read this critique.
November 10, 2025 at 3:36 PM
Reposted by Laura Ruby
Bluesky, a reintroduction!

I’m an investigative reporter @chicagotribune.com covering big stories. Now focused on immigration. But I’ll take any tips about people being hurt by government, junk science, healthcare, business or anybody else. Reach out gpratt@chicagotribune.com or Signal grp.27
November 10, 2025 at 2:24 PM
Reposted by Laura Ruby
it's not 'performative' if you're taking pictures of random fucking strangers reading. they're just reading! you're the creepy one!
Oh fuck off
November 10, 2025 at 4:02 PM
Reposted by Laura Ruby
Assume all the yes and no votes from Dem senators are strategic and not sincere votes. The party caucus made a decision. No way to know how many were in favor. Then the caucus decided who would vote yes and no based on what would protect each of them politically the most. That’s how this works.
November 10, 2025 at 2:12 AM
Senator Lander has a nice ring to it.
November 10, 2025 at 4:46 AM
We couldn’t even be happy for a whole week.
November 10, 2025 at 4:36 AM
Reposted by Laura Ruby
These 8 Senators sold us out to Trump:
Hassan
King
Cortez-Masto
Shaheen
Kaine
Fetterman
Durbin
Rosen

Understand This Fact: Chuck Schumer is behind this. None of these 8 are up for reelection in 2026. Schumer asked them vote yes—they agreed. He's such a coward that he folded and won't even own it.
November 10, 2025 at 2:59 AM
Reposted by Laura Ruby
liberals: we can't really do anything unless we have a majority of 70%

conservative: we snuck one guy through the air vents and long hair is illegal now
January 8, 2025 at 3:03 PM