April 11, 2026

Aaron's engagement on this day was dominated by political dysfunction and democratic backsliding. He reposted and reacted to several stories illustrating what he sees as the erosion of political norms and institutions. The case of Calvin Duncan — a man exonerated after 30 years in prison who won a New Orleans judicial election, only to have Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry and the Republican legislature move to eliminate his seat before he could be sworn in — drew particular attention, with the added detail that other officials in similar situations would be allowed to serve out their terms. Aaron also amplified concern about JD Vance traveling overseas to campaign for a struggling authoritarian leader, framed as a serious norm violation, and reposted skepticism about whether Congress's 30-day War Powers clock is simply being ignored. He quoted a news item about a federal appeals panel allowing construction of Trump's planned White House ballroom to continue, responding simply "Fuck this."

Several reposts engaged with broader structural critiques. Aaron shared a piece from Liberal Currents warning that the U.S. government's capacity for militarized enforcement has grown so dominant it now threatens to crowd out all other functions — "[r]egardless of who is elected, the government will function like a hammer and every problem will look like a nail](https://www.liberalcurrents.com/the-security-leviathan/)." He also amplified criticism of RFK Jr.'s cancellation of $500 million in mRNA research funding, including trials targeting pancreatic cancer. On the media criticism front, he reposted a take arguing that favorable JD Vance coverage in major newspapers is a deliberate PR strategy — analogous to how negative stories about Harris and Clinton appeared late in Democratic administrations — designed to insulate Vance from Trump's unpopularity ahead of a future campaign.

A few lighter notes appeared as well. Aaron reposted a post noting widespread sharing of Iranian LEGO videos, and amplified enthusiasm about how e-bikes and improved bike infrastructure in Somerville, Massachusetts have transformed daily life for families with young kids. He also reposted a defense of Biden's preemptive pardons, pushing back on the false equivalence often drawn between those pardons and Trump's own use of the pardon power.