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
Not sure tbh what passing a law saying illegal things are illegal does if they are already existing laws that say they are illegal.
But it’s still good to get Republicans on the record defending the indefensible
But it’s still good to get Republicans on the record defending the indefensible
Every single Republican voted NO on:
❌ No arresting/detaining U.S. citizens
❌ Warrants required
❌ Body cams required, no masks
❌ No excessive force
❌ Must follow the 1st & 4th Amendments
❌ No arresting/detaining U.S. citizens
❌ Warrants required
❌ Body cams required, no masks
❌ No excessive force
❌ Must follow the 1st & 4th Amendments
January 25, 2026 at 7:44 PM
Not sure tbh what passing a law saying illegal things are illegal does if they are already existing laws that say they are illegal.
But it’s still good to get Republicans on the record defending the indefensible
But it’s still good to get Republicans on the record defending the indefensible
Reposted by Zander Furnas
The NRA when asked to defend the 2nd amendment rights of someone on the left:
January 25, 2026 at 7:37 PM
The NRA when asked to defend the 2nd amendment rights of someone on the left:
Reposted by Zander Furnas
just amazing work by my colleagues at @wsj.com - a frame by frame analysis of the shooting
incredible that some continue to rationalize this
www.wsj.com/us-news/vide...
incredible that some continue to rationalize this
www.wsj.com/us-news/vide...
Videos Contradict U.S. Account of Minneapolis Shooting by Federal Agents
See how immigration officers escalated a fatal confrontation on Saturday.
www.wsj.com
January 25, 2026 at 6:10 PM
just amazing work by my colleagues at @wsj.com - a frame by frame analysis of the shooting
incredible that some continue to rationalize this
www.wsj.com/us-news/vide...
incredible that some continue to rationalize this
www.wsj.com/us-news/vide...
Reposted by Zander Furnas
The tsar can never fail, only be failed
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) on CNN: “I think the death of Americans, what we're seeing on TV, it's causing deep concerns over federal tactics and accountability. Americans don't like what they're seeing right now. … [Trump’s] getting bad advice right now.”
January 25, 2026 at 5:53 PM
The tsar can never fail, only be failed
About time
Klobuchar: "When they're killing 2 constituents in my state, and they're taking 2 year olds our of the arms of their mom, and they're taking an elder Hmong man out of his house & putting him out there in his underwear & then figuring out the have the wrong man -- no, I'm not voting for this funding"
January 25, 2026 at 5:38 PM
About time
Reposted by Zander Furnas
I spent the most formative years of my political life reading headlines like this seemingly every week.
January 25, 2026 at 4:07 PM
I spent the most formative years of my political life reading headlines like this seemingly every week.
The “and it will not.” Is uhhhhh something imo
You're all sending me Jon Rauch's piece, but did any of you *read* it?
He's saying what I've been saying. You all got to that part, right?
I know it was near the end and people get bored, but just in case, here it is.
He's saying what I've been saying. You all got to that part, right?
I know it was near the end and people get bored, but just in case, here it is.
January 25, 2026 at 5:13 PM
The “and it will not.” Is uhhhhh something imo
Reposted by Zander Furnas
Dems should introduce legislation now defunding ICE and CBP operations in Minnesota, so they have to leave the state. One sentence bill. Demand an immediate vote. Maybe refuse to vote for cloture on any funding bills (or other bills) until a vote. Make the GOP Congress break w/ Trump or own it all.
January 25, 2026 at 1:47 PM
Dems should introduce legislation now defunding ICE and CBP operations in Minnesota, so they have to leave the state. One sentence bill. Demand an immediate vote. Maybe refuse to vote for cloture on any funding bills (or other bills) until a vote. Make the GOP Congress break w/ Trump or own it all.
Reposted by Zander Furnas
Kudos to the NYT editor who took “Appears to” out of the lead headline (finally)
January 25, 2026 at 3:19 PM
Kudos to the NYT editor who took “Appears to” out of the lead headline (finally)
Reposted by Zander Furnas
More ink spilled over whether masking requirements infringe on civil liberties than whether extrajudicial executions do, incredible
January 25, 2026 at 3:10 PM
More ink spilled over whether masking requirements infringe on civil liberties than whether extrajudicial executions do, incredible
Reposted by Zander Furnas
imagine if all that money had gone to teachers instead
January 25, 2026 at 2:37 PM
imagine if all that money had gone to teachers instead
Reposted by Zander Furnas
i think this attitude — that all opposition is illegitimate and nothing we do can be questioned— is probably pervasive in the white house and helps explain why they keep making terrible political choices
Putin pioneered this. No opposition is legitimate. Regular, decent, “ordinary” people cannot possibly be against us because only we represent “the real people.”
Tell-tale sign of authoritarianism.
Tell-tale sign of authoritarianism.
January 25, 2026 at 3:02 PM
i think this attitude — that all opposition is illegitimate and nothing we do can be questioned— is probably pervasive in the white house and helps explain why they keep making terrible political choices
Reposted by Zander Furnas
Chicago PD murdered a teenager on video and lied about it, and Rahm Emanuel tried to cover it up. I especially don’t want to hear from him in this moment.
Stop trying to make Rahm Emanuel happen. It’s not going to happen.
Trump is unpopular, but how do Democrats frame their arguments for a comeback?
Two veteran politicos, Rahm Emanuel and Gretchen Whitmer, have thoughts
In NPR video interviews. Worth watching on a snowy day.
Two veteran politicos, Rahm Emanuel and Gretchen Whitmer, have thoughts
In NPR video interviews. Worth watching on a snowy day.
January 25, 2026 at 3:03 PM
Chicago PD murdered a teenager on video and lied about it, and Rahm Emanuel tried to cover it up. I especially don’t want to hear from him in this moment.
Reposted by Zander Furnas
Really hard to look at this and all the other examples of bravery and kindness from ordinary people in this moment not think also of the tremendous cowardice exhibited over the past year by some of the richest, most well-protected people in business, media and politics
Let us all have the courage displayed by the residents of Minneapolis.
January 25, 2026 at 2:24 PM
Really hard to look at this and all the other examples of bravery and kindness from ordinary people in this moment not think also of the tremendous cowardice exhibited over the past year by some of the richest, most well-protected people in business, media and politics
Reposted by Zander Furnas
There we go:
“It should no longer be possible to say that the Trump administration seeks merely to govern this nation. It seeks to reduce us all to a state of constant fear… That is our new national reality. State terror has arrived.”
Gift link:
“It should no longer be possible to say that the Trump administration seeks merely to govern this nation. It seeks to reduce us all to a state of constant fear… That is our new national reality. State terror has arrived.”
Gift link:
Opinion | State Terror Has Arrived
www.nytimes.com
January 25, 2026 at 1:20 AM
There we go:
“It should no longer be possible to say that the Trump administration seeks merely to govern this nation. It seeks to reduce us all to a state of constant fear… That is our new national reality. State terror has arrived.”
Gift link:
“It should no longer be possible to say that the Trump administration seeks merely to govern this nation. It seeks to reduce us all to a state of constant fear… That is our new national reality. State terror has arrived.”
Gift link:
Reposted by Zander Furnas
“Only hours have passed since they shot a man right in front me and I don't feel like I can go home because I heard agents were looking for me. I don't know what the agents will do when they find me.”
You have to read this. Firsthand affidavit from one of the women who was there and recording the video. She talks about how Alex Pretti was directing traffic when she arrived. She watched him be killed in front of her. She's afraid to go home, worried she'll be arrested.
January 25, 2026 at 1:26 AM
“Only hours have passed since they shot a man right in front me and I don't feel like I can go home because I heard agents were looking for me. I don't know what the agents will do when they find me.”
Reposted by Zander Furnas
Kare 11 local news just read, in full, this statement from Michael and Susan Pretti, the parents of Alex Pretti.
"Please get the truth out about our son."
"Please get the truth out about our son."
January 25, 2026 at 12:43 AM
Kare 11 local news just read, in full, this statement from Michael and Susan Pretti, the parents of Alex Pretti.
"Please get the truth out about our son."
"Please get the truth out about our son."
yeah, the British trying to enforce the stamp act
Attorney General Pam Bondi: "Our country was founded on law enforcement"
Bondi: "It's extremely organized. The signs they have are all matching, they're well written. And look at what's happening today. How did these people go out & get gas masks? These protesters. Would you know how to walk out on the street and buy a gas mask? Think about that. We're not gonna have it"
January 25, 2026 at 1:24 AM
yeah, the British trying to enforce the stamp act
Reposted by Zander Furnas
Thinking a lot right now about this crisis of trust. It’s a new world for Americans to not be able to trust what their government tells them.
Not to say that the government has never lied or misled the public before. Obviously it has.
But this is a new, Soviet-style level of lies and fabrication
Not to say that the government has never lied or misled the public before. Obviously it has.
But this is a new, Soviet-style level of lies and fabrication
We don’t even have to speculate. The bare facts are that you cannot and should not trust anything coming from ICE, CBP, DHS, or this administration in general.
They are not reliable. And they don’t have our interests at heart.
They are not reliable. And they don’t have our interests at heart.
Yeah, I saw, and I don’t like to get conspiratorial, but I at this point would 100% believe that each ICE agent is issued a ghost gun as part of their standard kit to plant on victims if something like this happens.
January 24, 2026 at 5:59 PM
Thinking a lot right now about this crisis of trust. It’s a new world for Americans to not be able to trust what their government tells them.
Not to say that the government has never lied or misled the public before. Obviously it has.
But this is a new, Soviet-style level of lies and fabrication
Not to say that the government has never lied or misled the public before. Obviously it has.
But this is a new, Soviet-style level of lies and fabrication
Standing strong for the right to bear arms I see
January 25, 2026 at 1:21 AM
Standing strong for the right to bear arms I see
Reposted by Zander Furnas
One thing that irks me: people keep calling the folks on the streets in Minneapolis protestors. They are not generally there to protest, they are there to observe and document. This is the product of organizing and mutual aid. It is telling that these acts of citizenship are seen as protest!
January 24, 2026 at 9:29 PM
One thing that irks me: people keep calling the folks on the streets in Minneapolis protestors. They are not generally there to protest, they are there to observe and document. This is the product of organizing and mutual aid. It is telling that these acts of citizenship are seen as protest!
Reposted by Zander Furnas
Good
Senate Democrats will not provide the votes to proceed to the appropriations bill if the DHS funding bill is included.
January 25, 2026 at 12:44 AM
Good
Reposted by Zander Furnas
I understand this argument. I also think that it’s worth pointing out that the administration is lying when it calls someone a violent criminal and underscoring that even citizens can be apparently executed on American streets in broad daylight.
I don’t think we should be using words like “innocent” or “US citizen” or “bystander” or things like that because — what if someone was an undocumented immigrant with a criminal record? Would they deserve this? No one deserves to be executed on the street in cold blood.
January 25, 2026 at 12:26 AM
I understand this argument. I also think that it’s worth pointing out that the administration is lying when it calls someone a violent criminal and underscoring that even citizens can be apparently executed on American streets in broad daylight.
Reposted by Zander Furnas
The rockets red glare
The bombs bursting in the air
Gave proof through the night
OUR flag was still there
The bombs bursting in the air
Gave proof through the night
OUR flag was still there
Minnesotans are showing the soul of the United States to the world.
January 25, 2026 at 12:24 AM
The rockets red glare
The bombs bursting in the air
Gave proof through the night
OUR flag was still there
The bombs bursting in the air
Gave proof through the night
OUR flag was still there