Aaron S. Veenstra
@asveenstra.bsky.social
FAU Journalism Prof and UFF-FAU Steward, political communication & digital media // The Press and Democratic Backsliding from Lexington Books, LXFANDF30 for 30% off // he/him
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Getting There | Official Trailer
YouTube video by Aaron S. Veenstra
youtu.be
Six months ago I landed in Perth and started working on this project in earnest. Today I have a trailer.
Reposted by Aaron S. Veenstra
1. Hundreds of corps that pledged to stop donating to members of Congress who voted to overturn the election on 1/6/21 have broken their promise over the last 5 years
But we've identified 10 promise keepers:
Farmers
Airbnb
Expedia
Nike
Clorox
Eversource Energy
Holland & Hart
Qurate
Whirlpool
Lyft
But we've identified 10 promise keepers:
Farmers
Airbnb
Expedia
Nike
Clorox
Eversource Energy
Holland & Hart
Qurate
Whirlpool
Lyft
Five years later, these 10 corporations still aren’t funding election deniers
Five years ago today, on January 6, 2021, a violent mob stormed the Capitol building.
popular.info
January 6, 2026 at 1:37 PM
1. Hundreds of corps that pledged to stop donating to members of Congress who voted to overturn the election on 1/6/21 have broken their promise over the last 5 years
But we've identified 10 promise keepers:
Farmers
Airbnb
Expedia
Nike
Clorox
Eversource Energy
Holland & Hart
Qurate
Whirlpool
Lyft
But we've identified 10 promise keepers:
Farmers
Airbnb
Expedia
Nike
Clorox
Eversource Energy
Holland & Hart
Qurate
Whirlpool
Lyft
Reposted by Aaron S. Veenstra
The logical endpoint of the denuding of American journalism is that once something becomes "political," journalists can only respond to what political figures say about it. AI is political. Elon Musk is political. Can't cover them unless Dems spin up a culture war-framed attack campaign.
Elon Musk chatbot repeatedly making CSAM on demand should be one of the single biggest stories right now and it's effectively a collective shrug instead
January 6, 2026 at 1:30 AM
The logical endpoint of the denuding of American journalism is that once something becomes "political," journalists can only respond to what political figures say about it. AI is political. Elon Musk is political. Can't cover them unless Dems spin up a culture war-framed attack campaign.
Astonishing to me that any government, in 2025, could think that prohibition is a workable approach to tobacco of all things.
Pressure grows over WA tobacco shop laws in wake of Bunbury firebombing
Pressure is mounting on the WA government to push through legislation to give police powers to shut down illegal tobacco stores.
www.watoday.com.au
January 6, 2026 at 12:53 AM
Astonishing to me that any government, in 2025, could think that prohibition is a workable approach to tobacco of all things.
Reposted by Aaron S. Veenstra
Again I find it baffling to compare the coverage to when Gemini generated implausibly many Black hockey players etc. That was apparently a societal emergency. But the mass harassment campaign taking place in public barely warrants a mention.
January 3, 2026 at 11:06 PM
Again I find it baffling to compare the coverage to when Gemini generated implausibly many Black hockey players etc. That was apparently a societal emergency. But the mass harassment campaign taking place in public barely warrants a mention.
Reposted by Aaron S. Veenstra
Extraordinary panel featuring colleagues at Stanford who are experts on Venezuela happening this Wednesday at noon pacific. Zoom open to public. Strongly recommend joining for this, if you can.
cddrl.fsi.stanford.edu/events/venez...
@stanfordcddrl.bsky.social
cddrl.fsi.stanford.edu/events/venez...
@stanfordcddrl.bsky.social
Venezuela After Maduro: Democracy, Authoritarian Rebalancing, or Chaos
January 7, 12:00 pm PT
cddrl.fsi.stanford.edu
January 5, 2026 at 8:33 PM
Extraordinary panel featuring colleagues at Stanford who are experts on Venezuela happening this Wednesday at noon pacific. Zoom open to public. Strongly recommend joining for this, if you can.
cddrl.fsi.stanford.edu/events/venez...
@stanfordcddrl.bsky.social
cddrl.fsi.stanford.edu/events/venez...
@stanfordcddrl.bsky.social
Everyone hates this, but what's funny is that it was also Bernie Sanders' exact line about how he would deal with Republican obstructionism.
January 5, 2026 at 3:25 PM
Everyone hates this, but what's funny is that it was also Bernie Sanders' exact line about how he would deal with Republican obstructionism.
Wow, they must have a lot of indictments.
Trump in a single gaggle on Air Force One just threatened:
-- a second strike against Venezuela
-- Cuba
-- Mexico
-- Colombia
-- Iran
-- Greenland (which in turn would be an attack on the EU and Denmark)
-- a second strike against Venezuela
-- Cuba
-- Mexico
-- Colombia
-- Iran
-- Greenland (which in turn would be an attack on the EU and Denmark)
January 5, 2026 at 2:17 AM
Wow, they must have a lot of indictments.
Punting on 4th and 1 in a meaningless game seems cowardly. OTOH, JJ McCarthy is Tim Tebow, so maybe it makes sense.
January 4, 2026 at 6:24 PM
Punting on 4th and 1 in a meaningless game seems cowardly. OTOH, JJ McCarthy is Tim Tebow, so maybe it makes sense.
Not the point, but in this weirdly affected format, are we meant to believe that this guy actually said "Joseph R. Biden Jr."?
From the perspective of reporting the news, it doesn’t strike me that there is a functional difference between a president who answers the phone at 4:30am in the morning but doesn’t answer a reporter’s questions, versus a president who doesn’t agreed to be interviewed.
January 4, 2026 at 3:40 PM
Not the point, but in this weirdly affected format, are we meant to believe that this guy actually said "Joseph R. Biden Jr."?
It's noteworthy that "In This House We Believe in Science!"-ism has never included social science.
There's significant evidence from state legislative term limits that they do, in fact, empower both lobbyists and state executive branches.
"Disagreeing" without offering any counter-evidence is just vibes.
"Disagreeing" without offering any counter-evidence is just vibes.
I disagree with the suggestion that term limits would further empower lobbyists and therefore we shouldn't consider them as a viable path forward. The current system of federal elected officials who are financially incentivized to become insider traders until they choose to retire isn't working.
January 4, 2026 at 2:26 PM
It's noteworthy that "In This House We Believe in Science!"-ism has never included social science.
JD Vance just posted this with the eyes emoji to a group chat we're in.
January 4, 2026 at 4:23 AM
JD Vance just posted this with the eyes emoji to a group chat we're in.
Reposted by Aaron S. Veenstra
Compare this to Biden leaving Afghanistan & think about what the incentives are for every American politician
everyone on the tv wants you to know that this is good actually
January 4, 2026 at 12:09 AM
Compare this to Biden leaving Afghanistan & think about what the incentives are for every American politician
An example of real irony is that the sort of person making this claim today is the same sort of person who touted Tulsi Gabbard in 2020.
again, every Democrat has not in fact done this by any stretch of the imagination, and there have been multiple statements - here's a few - www.thecentersquare.com/illinois/art... - that condemn this unequivocally but sure, if you just lie about it you can feel fine saying both sides are the same.
January 3, 2026 at 11:59 PM
An example of real irony is that the sort of person making this claim today is the same sort of person who touted Tulsi Gabbard in 2020.
The AI that works weekends for USA Today believes there is a US Department of Travel.
The Department of Travel launched an airport civility campaign in November that included a call for travelers to dress up. Are they doing it?
Uncle Sam is asking fliers to dress better at airports. Are we?
The Department of Travel launched an airport civility campaign in November that included a call for travelers to dress up. Are they doing it?
bit.ly
January 3, 2026 at 10:39 PM
The AI that works weekends for USA Today believes there is a US Department of Travel.
Just as everything Trump does is the responsibility of the hundreds of Republicans officials who choose to keep him in office every day, everything Jeffries does as caucus leader is the responsibility of the Dem Representatives who could dump him at any time. None have even called for this publicly.
January 3, 2026 at 7:30 PM
Just as everything Trump does is the responsibility of the hundreds of Republicans officials who choose to keep him in office every day, everything Jeffries does as caucus leader is the responsibility of the Dem Representatives who could dump him at any time. None have even called for this publicly.
This is a White House press release with the gold plating scraped off.
Nicolas Maduro's heavy-handed rule in Venezuela is finally ended by Trump reut.rs/3YWbo3K
Nicolas Maduro's heavy-handed rule in Venezuela is finally ended by Trump
Nicolas Maduro ruled Venezuela with a heavy hand for more than 12 years, presiding over deep economic and social crises and resisting pressure from domestic opponents and foreign governments for political change.
reut.rs
January 3, 2026 at 3:57 PM
This is a White House press release with the gold plating scraped off.
Reposted by Aaron S. Veenstra
one of my recent preoccupations is the visceral hostility the MAGA right has for the histories and traditions of the United States. these are people who spit on the Declaration and salute third-rate European despots!
It's striking that progressives like Tim Walz and Zohran Mamdani evoke the middle American attitude that, "Yes, we can fix these social problems because we're Americans and it's the right thing to do!" While the "America first" right only emulates failed and failing nation-states elsewhere.
January 2, 2026 at 12:45 AM
one of my recent preoccupations is the visceral hostility the MAGA right has for the histories and traditions of the United States. these are people who spit on the Declaration and salute third-rate European despots!
Reposted by Aaron S. Veenstra
Seeking Rents' most-read story of 2025 revealed that homebuilding giant Lennar Corp. was quietly lobbying Florida lawmakers to pass a bill that would have let the company lock homebuyers into never-ending fees.
The rest of the top 10 to follow.
jasongarcia.substack.com/p/a-homebuil...
The rest of the top 10 to follow.
jasongarcia.substack.com/p/a-homebuil...
A homebuilding giant is lobbying for the power to collect endless profits from homeowners
A bill backed by Fortune 500 homebuilder Lennar Corp. would to let developers lock homebuyers into paying perpetual fees that do nothing but pad developer profits.
jasongarcia.substack.com
January 1, 2026 at 6:07 PM
Seeking Rents' most-read story of 2025 revealed that homebuilding giant Lennar Corp. was quietly lobbying Florida lawmakers to pass a bill that would have let the company lock homebuyers into never-ending fees.
The rest of the top 10 to follow.
jasongarcia.substack.com/p/a-homebuil...
The rest of the top 10 to follow.
jasongarcia.substack.com/p/a-homebuil...
The fact that half the ads on ESPN's primetime, big audience football broadcasts are for prepper shit is probably a bad sign for the linear TV industry.
January 1, 2026 at 3:34 AM
The fact that half the ads on ESPN's primetime, big audience football broadcasts are for prepper shit is probably a bad sign for the linear TV industry.
With the disappearance of a third of the population having destroyed the economy, food supply, and every service industry, those who remain are reduced to living in 50-year-old cars and hoping this is the wave that finally drowns them.
An official account of the United States government is dreamposting about deporting 80+ million citizens
December 31, 2025 at 11:27 PM
With the disappearance of a third of the population having destroyed the economy, food supply, and every service industry, those who remain are reduced to living in 50-year-old cars and hoping this is the wave that finally drowns them.
I regret to inform you that there are only two years left of the "seven more to go" from the best song of the 2020s.
That Funny Feeling -- Bo Burnham (from "Inside")
YouTube video by boburnham
www.youtube.com
December 31, 2025 at 11:13 PM
I regret to inform you that there are only two years left of the "seven more to go" from the best song of the 2020s.
wHy DoN't PeOpLe ReAd ThE nEwSpApEr AnYmOrE???
December 31, 2025 at 7:17 PM
wHy DoN't PeOpLe ReAd ThE nEwSpApEr AnYmOrE???
Banner morning for collecting frozen iguanas.
December 31, 2025 at 3:41 PM
Banner morning for collecting frozen iguanas.
Reposted by Aaron S. Veenstra
Real "oh my god, she admit it" moment here. Trump is treated as an uninteresting figure without agency so we can dump endless criticism on liberals for how they react to his "natural disaster." He "doesn't participate in moral frameworks" lmfao
December 30, 2025 at 6:28 PM
Real "oh my god, she admit it" moment here. Trump is treated as an uninteresting figure without agency so we can dump endless criticism on liberals for how they react to his "natural disaster." He "doesn't participate in moral frameworks" lmfao