Zander Furnas
@alexanderfurnas.com
Research Assistant Professor | Politics & Computational Social Science | Northwestern University, Center for Science of Science and Innovation | Dad & Wife Guy | Not Ok | Sorry for the Swears | #goblue
The Noah Smith arc
This is the correct take. Stewing in white supremacist propaganda is bad for your thinking. And if think you are so savvy that it won’t impact you, you are the exact kind of mark they are slowly converting (I’m looking at you, centrist pundits).
It’s really funny how a generation will roll its eyes at parents who watch Fox News but doesn’t see why being immersed in Twitter is having the same effect. Lots of serious people show up on Fox News too but that shouldn’t be your primary source on the news.
November 27, 2025 at 5:45 PM
The Noah Smith arc
Reposted by Zander Furnas
This is the first Thanksgiving for Sophie & Colin Hortman without their parents, Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman and Mark Hortman who were assassinated along with the family dog in an act of political murder. National guards troops were not deployed to the state in response.
November 27, 2025 at 5:24 PM
This is the first Thanksgiving for Sophie & Colin Hortman without their parents, Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman and Mark Hortman who were assassinated along with the family dog in an act of political murder. National guards troops were not deployed to the state in response.
Reposted by Zander Furnas
Devil’s egg is such a better name, why don’t we call it that
Demi Adejuyigbe’s pumpkin pie
Costco browned turkey breast
Green bean
Maybe devils egg?
Costco browned turkey breast
Green bean
Maybe devils egg?
Let’s run this again, was fun last year, what new adversities are we about to create for ourselves on the field, drop your menus below
November 27, 2025 at 5:38 PM
Devil’s egg is such a better name, why don’t we call it that
Reposted by Zander Furnas
FYI: law and science, political science, and sociology all still have DDRIG programs run outside of the NSF but funded by NSF. The rest of these programs unfortunately do not.
I run the political science DDRIG.
I run the political science DDRIG.
NEW from me - NSF cancels grant scheme for social science research.
Seems the NSF quietly archived ALL calls for DDRIG grants in the SBE directorate. This is a massive blow for PhD students wanting to do cutting-edge social science research. 🏺🧪
Seems the NSF quietly archived ALL calls for DDRIG grants in the SBE directorate. This is a massive blow for PhD students wanting to do cutting-edge social science research. 🏺🧪
Today's biggest science news: Doomed comet explodes | Comet 3I/ATLAS course alteration | Dark matter detected?
Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025: Your daily feed of the biggest discoveries and breakthroughs making headlines.
www.livescience.com
November 27, 2025 at 3:25 PM
FYI: law and science, political science, and sociology all still have DDRIG programs run outside of the NSF but funded by NSF. The rest of these programs unfortunately do not.
I run the political science DDRIG.
I run the political science DDRIG.
Reposted by Zander Furnas
Zaller (1991):
NO ONE FORMS POLITICAL IDEAS FROM WHAT THEY SEE IN THE WORLD.
THEY FORM POLITICAL IDEAS FROM WHAT THEY HEAR FROM OTHER PEOPLE.
There are many, many, many important implications of this!!
THEY FORM POLITICAL IDEAS FROM WHAT THEY HEAR FROM OTHER PEOPLE.
There are many, many, many important implications of this!!
November 27, 2025 at 5:05 PM
Zaller (1991):
Agree
The single best intervention the government can make for poor ppl is to rebalance the terms of their labor so they can make more money and work fewer hours.
And they will make healthier choices because they have the time and energy to do so.
And they will make healthier choices because they have the time and energy to do so.
November 27, 2025 at 5:03 PM
Agree
this is me holding my breath
If they want to slow down the Trump administration, Democrats should begin promising this *now*
We're gonna need a truth and reconciliation commission and Nuremberg style trials to reckon with all of this evil, and any Dem candidate for office who shies away from a full reckoning in the name of "moving forward as a nation" can get well and truly fucked
November 27, 2025 at 5:03 PM
this is me holding my breath
Reposted by Zander Furnas
Ahead of launching a war on Venezuela, the US would like to announce that no one in Venezuela should help US forces, it'd be stupid to do so, the US will denigrate you and screw you over no matter how much you help, and blame you if even one Venezuelan who also helped the US ever does something bad.
CIA statement about the Afghan man identified as the gunman who shot two National Guardsmen in Washington
November 27, 2025 at 4:59 PM
Ahead of launching a war on Venezuela, the US would like to announce that no one in Venezuela should help US forces, it'd be stupid to do so, the US will denigrate you and screw you over no matter how much you help, and blame you if even one Venezuelan who also helped the US ever does something bad.
Reposted by Zander Furnas
We’re driving to Cleveland for Thanksgiving with my husband Chris’s extended family, and anticipation of OSU-Michigan this weekend, Chris is playing “We don’t give a damn for the whole state of Michigan.”
To which I say, Go Blue! The Thanksgiving squabbles begin… 💙💛
To which I say, Go Blue! The Thanksgiving squabbles begin… 💙💛
November 27, 2025 at 4:52 PM
We’re driving to Cleveland for Thanksgiving with my husband Chris’s extended family, and anticipation of OSU-Michigan this weekend, Chris is playing “We don’t give a damn for the whole state of Michigan.”
To which I say, Go Blue! The Thanksgiving squabbles begin… 💙💛
To which I say, Go Blue! The Thanksgiving squabbles begin… 💙💛
Reposted by Zander Furnas
This means NSF dissertation improvement grants in the social sciences are simply...not happening.
NEW from me - NSF cancels grant scheme for social science research.
Seems the NSF quietly archived ALL calls for DDRIG grants in the SBE directorate. This is a massive blow for PhD students wanting to do cutting-edge social science research. 🏺🧪
Seems the NSF quietly archived ALL calls for DDRIG grants in the SBE directorate. This is a massive blow for PhD students wanting to do cutting-edge social science research. 🏺🧪
Today's biggest science news: Doomed comet explodes | Comet 3I/ATLAS course alteration | Dark matter detected?
Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025: Your daily feed of the biggest discoveries and breakthroughs making headlines.
www.livescience.com
November 27, 2025 at 1:16 PM
This means NSF dissertation improvement grants in the social sciences are simply...not happening.
Reposted by Zander Furnas
I've seen people scoffing at this as a "photo op." And I think it might be a photo op. It's a chance for people who need these services to see their new mayor and make eye contact, they can take photos. They can hear his promises and hold him to account too.
I think it's a good kind of "photo op."
I think it's a good kind of "photo op."
Combatting poverty and hunger in this city will take every single one of us. Myself included.
November 27, 2025 at 4:37 PM
I've seen people scoffing at this as a "photo op." And I think it might be a photo op. It's a chance for people who need these services to see their new mayor and make eye contact, they can take photos. They can hear his promises and hold him to account too.
I think it's a good kind of "photo op."
I think it's a good kind of "photo op."
Reposted by Zander Furnas
the invasion of Afghanistan is among the most horrific recent chapters of the long history of elite impunity in the US. this coda is grim but fitting - the govt practically explicitly affirming that it should only be Afghans who live with the consequences amid fading public memory of the atrocity
November 27, 2025 at 3:58 AM
the invasion of Afghanistan is among the most horrific recent chapters of the long history of elite impunity in the US. this coda is grim but fitting - the govt practically explicitly affirming that it should only be Afghans who live with the consequences amid fading public memory of the atrocity
Reposted by Zander Furnas
NEW: The two shot National Guard troops never should have been in DC. More troops is no answer.
The violence is horrible and unacceptable. Trump, Pete Hegseth, and West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey never should have put the troops in this position.
Tonight, at Law Dork:
The violence is horrible and unacceptable. Trump, Pete Hegseth, and West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey never should have put the troops in this position.
Tonight, at Law Dork:
The two shot National Guard troops never should have been in DC. More troops is no answer.
The violence is horrible and unacceptable. Trump, Pete Hegseth, and West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey never should have put the troops in this position.
www.lawdork.com
November 27, 2025 at 4:45 AM
NEW: The two shot National Guard troops never should have been in DC. More troops is no answer.
The violence is horrible and unacceptable. Trump, Pete Hegseth, and West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey never should have put the troops in this position.
Tonight, at Law Dork:
The violence is horrible and unacceptable. Trump, Pete Hegseth, and West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey never should have put the troops in this position.
Tonight, at Law Dork:
Reposted by Zander Furnas
AI use is gonna be like plastic surgery: when it's obvious and over the top will incur some stigma, when done well, you won't even know.
You can, but it's going to be demo and social network based. There's definitely going to be a major stigma towards being a Clippy addict in a lot of white collar professional circles.
November 26, 2025 at 6:16 PM
AI use is gonna be like plastic surgery: when it's obvious and over the top will incur some stigma, when done well, you won't even know.
Reposted by Zander Furnas
THEY KNEW:
“Trump and his top White House aides pushed for lethal strikes on Western Hemisphere drug traffickers almost as soon as they took office in January, and in the past 10 months have repeatedly steamrolled or sidestepped govt lawyers who questioned whether the provocative policy was legal.”
“Trump and his top White House aides pushed for lethal strikes on Western Hemisphere drug traffickers almost as soon as they took office in January, and in the past 10 months have repeatedly steamrolled or sidestepped govt lawyers who questioned whether the provocative policy was legal.”
White House blew past legal concerns in deadly strikes on drug boats
The Trump administration sidestepped skeptical lawyers across national security agencies as it pursued a military campaign against alleged narcotraffickers, officials say.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 26, 2025 at 5:18 PM
THEY KNEW:
“Trump and his top White House aides pushed for lethal strikes on Western Hemisphere drug traffickers almost as soon as they took office in January, and in the past 10 months have repeatedly steamrolled or sidestepped govt lawyers who questioned whether the provocative policy was legal.”
“Trump and his top White House aides pushed for lethal strikes on Western Hemisphere drug traffickers almost as soon as they took office in January, and in the past 10 months have repeatedly steamrolled or sidestepped govt lawyers who questioned whether the provocative policy was legal.”
Reposted by Zander Furnas
Good morning to Brazilian reporter Manuela Borges, who’s been waiting eleven years for this petty moment. ❤️ 🇧🇷
November 26, 2025 at 1:04 PM
Good morning to Brazilian reporter Manuela Borges, who’s been waiting eleven years for this petty moment. ❤️ 🇧🇷
Reposted by Zander Furnas
this is like cyberpunk gothic
"A death-haunted Trump is fed a steady stream of AI-generated news and polls while he focuses 100% of his efforts on building a ballroom that would dwarf the rest of the White House while navigating a series of accellerating and hidden health crises" is my take on the current situation.
November 26, 2025 at 3:19 PM
this is like cyberpunk gothic
Reposted by Zander Furnas
I've taken a deep dive into the DOGE bro's open source software code commits to verify they never wrote (or even oversaw) any code beyond culture war messaging. It's all trivial stuff like this: taking out the "nonbiary" option on some form.
November 26, 2025 at 3:39 AM
I've taken a deep dive into the DOGE bro's open source software code commits to verify they never wrote (or even oversaw) any code beyond culture war messaging. It's all trivial stuff like this: taking out the "nonbiary" option on some form.
Reposted by Zander Furnas
DOGE was not a money-saving effort. It was an effort to chase down and prove right-wing conspiracy theories. They went after USAID to prove conspiracy theories about foreign aid. Then they went after SSA to, again, pursue conspiracy theories about Dems paying "illegals" to vote. 1/2
All DOGE accomplished was purging critical government staff, handing private data to outsiders, and sentencing thousands in developing countries to death by gutting USAID.
I don’t say this lightly: if there were any justice in this world, the people responsible for this devastation would be in jail
I don’t say this lightly: if there were any justice in this world, the people responsible for this devastation would be in jail
DOGE 'doesn't exist' with eight months left on its charter
U.S. President Donald Trump's Department of Government Efficiency has disbanded with eight months left to its mandate.
www.cnbc.com
November 25, 2025 at 2:47 PM
DOGE was not a money-saving effort. It was an effort to chase down and prove right-wing conspiracy theories. They went after USAID to prove conspiracy theories about foreign aid. Then they went after SSA to, again, pursue conspiracy theories about Dems paying "illegals" to vote. 1/2
Reposted by Zander Furnas
The first official confirmation that Noem herself made the decision not to turn the planes around. A couple hundred men were tortured as a result — and soon after, the Supreme Court confirmed that the Trump admin’s Alien Enemies Act process was a total violation of due process.
BREAKING:
“After receiving that legal advice, Secretary Noem directed that the AEA detainees who had been removed from the United States before the Court’s order could be transferred to the custody of El Salvador. “
“After receiving that legal advice, Secretary Noem directed that the AEA detainees who had been removed from the United States before the Court’s order could be transferred to the custody of El Salvador. “
November 26, 2025 at 1:45 AM
The first official confirmation that Noem herself made the decision not to turn the planes around. A couple hundred men were tortured as a result — and soon after, the Supreme Court confirmed that the Trump admin’s Alien Enemies Act process was a total violation of due process.
Reposted by Zander Furnas
Kids these days just have to believe us that it never used to be acceptable for the president to threaten his political opponents with execution every day while stealing billions of dollars.
November 26, 2025 at 2:43 AM
Kids these days just have to believe us that it never used to be acceptable for the president to threaten his political opponents with execution every day while stealing billions of dollars.
Reposted by Zander Furnas
trump getting rolled on the regular at all levels these days
Despite President Trump’s public and private efforts to obtain him clemency, Jair Bolsonaro, the former president of Brazil, has begun serving his 27-year prison sentence.
Per the AP.
Per the AP.
November 25, 2025 at 9:38 PM
trump getting rolled on the regular at all levels these days
Reposted by Zander Furnas
Chicago = New York > all other US cities
If you would rather live in Boston than Chicago you are an idiot
Bluesky: “Obviously the housing crisis is the only reason anyone would choose to live outside of NYC”
Actual Americans: “Vegas, baby!”
Actual Americans: “Vegas, baby!”
November 25, 2025 at 9:37 PM
Chicago = New York > all other US cities