Aaron's Bluesky Activity — September 12, 2026

Immigration and Executive Power

Aaron engaged with a proposed White House policy that would impose a $100,000 tax on international graduates remaining in the US through Optional Practical Training — a measure widely seen as a major blow to the pipeline of skilled foreign workers. He reposted commentary noting that the policy would effectively benefit India's talent retention, and separately amplified a drily sardonic observation that perhaps the US ought to try having a legislature make law rather than concentrating near-absolute policymaking power in the executive branch. On a related note about executive overreach, Aaron reposted Jacob Levy's warning that efforts by figures like Howard Lutnick to route revenue outside normal congressional budget processes represent a serious threat to Article I's power of the purse — a thread Aaron flagged via an NBC News report on the Trump $5,000 check proposal.

Electoral and Legislative Politics

Aaron's political attention ranged across several races and legislative fights. He reposted frustration over a Montana Senate poll showing the Democratic candidate at just 16% — a distant third behind a Republican and an independent — with the implication that progressive vote-splitting is doing real damage. He also amplified criticism of Pramila Jayapal's endorsement of San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan in the CA-11 congressional race, with the argument that Chan is substantively more conservative than incumbent Scott Wiener on housing and transit despite her progressive branding. On AI legislation, Aaron reposted David Dayen's concern that a bipartisan Senate AI safety bill would preempt stronger state laws in New York and California, comparing the political atmosphere to the post-9/11 rush to pass the PATRIOT Act — a dynamic covered by Politico.

Language, Tech, and a Few Smaller Notes

Aaron took a moment to vent about consumer electronics manufacturers selling expensive devices with cables but no charging plug — a frustration he shared in his own post and reinforced by reposting a related observation about the USB-to-USB-C transition leaving users with incompatible bricks and no new chargers. He also reposted a pointed piece of language criticism: a Provo cyclist killed by a driver was described in press coverage as being "struck by a car," and the reposted comment argued that framing erases human agency and obscures the possibility of prevention. Separately, Aaron offered a brief reflection on left versus right political trust ecosystems, referencing early writing by Matt Yglesias on how the right's more hierarchical structure allows leaders to make commitments on behalf of constituencies in ways the left's more decentralized culture resists.