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Brian Lyman

@brianlyman.bsky.social

7K followers 630 following 4.2K posts

Editor, Alabama Reflector. Podcaster, Becoming Lincoln. 2024 Pulitzer finalist. Past: MGM Advertiser; Press-Register; The Anniston Star; Norwich Bulletin; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Politics, history, science, horrific puns.

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Brian Lyman @brianlyman.bsky.social · Nov 12

Here’s our mission statement at @alreflector.bsky.social. From my first column on launch day in February 2023.

Alabama Reflector: Covering the pain and promise of our home • Alabama Reflector

Laws are made in the State House. Alabama is made outside it. Alabama Reflector will cover these dynamics that shape our home.

alabamareflector.com

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Brian Lyman @brianlyman.bsky.social · 4h

If nothing else, Doug Jones’ win preserved the ACA long enough for Democrats to take back the Senate and eventually make ACA repeal politically toxic.

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Brian Lyman @brianlyman.bsky.social · 4h

Thiessen published this column in 2017 claiming that Democrats should have rooted for Roy Moore to win the Alabama Senate race, which was genuinely one of the silliest things I ever read in a national publication.

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Lora Kolodny @lorak.bsky.social · 6h

criticize whatever you must and loudly - legacy, indie, trade, influencer, etc. but news is vital. great work is everywhere. shout it out when you see it. i'm so grateful for what we learn from reporting fearless to fun or fast and accurate. (well aware of the faults too.)

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Matt Gabriele @profgabriele.com · 8h

I know this case is all over - & it should be - but Turning Point USA has waged a harassment campaign against faculty for more than a decade. I know of at least a half dozen other faculty, personally, who have received death threats and several of those who felt so unsafe they too left their homes

David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 8h

Are we great yet?

Mark Bray, a Rutgers University professor and expert on anti-fascist groups, is fleeing to Spain with his family due to death threats that stem from a campaign by Turning Point USA and other conservative groups to get him fired, falsely labeling him as an antifa member.

Antifa expert at Rutgers University says he is moving to Spain because of death threats

An expert on anti-fascist groups who teaches at New Jersey’s flagship state university is moving his family overseas.

apnews.com

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Alabama Reflector @alabamareflector.com · 8h

President Donald Trump said Thursday he’s prepared to cancel funding approved by Congress that he believes is going toward programs supported by Democrats, though he didn’t share any additional details during a Cabinet meeting. https://ow.ly/svFf50X9oje

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Alabama Reflector @alabamareflector.com · 12h

Via Stateline: States are usually reimbursed for federal costs once federal spending impasses are resolved. But the Trump administration’s record of pulling funding and targeting Democratic-led states has some officials worried about what comes after the shutdown. https://ow.ly/O3Hb50X9bWL

Reposted by Brian Lyman

Alabama Reflector @alabamareflector.com · 15h

Via Anna Barrett: The Alabama Crime Victims Compensation Commission (ACVCC) has received one application from a victim of the Montgomery mass shooting on Saturday. https://ow.ly/6YMt50X9jua

Alabama Crime Victims Compensation Commission gets application from Montgomery shooting | Alabama Reflector

Everette Johnson said after the commission’s meeting Thursday that it came for one of the deceased victims. Two people died in the shooting.

ow.ly

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Alabama Reflector @alabamareflector.com · 14h

Via Louisiana Illuminator: The lawsuit calls on the FDA to reverse regulatory action it took in 2023 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing doctors to prescribe mifepristone through remote patients visits or – as the lawsuit claims – without any interaction with a medical professional.

Louisiana sues Food & Drug Administration to stop mailing of abortion medication | Alabama Reflector

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill filed a lawsuit this week that calls on the federal government to strike down rules that allow the distribution of abortion drugs without an in-person doctor’s visit.

ow.ly

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Alabama Reflector @alabamareflector.com · 15h

Via Jennifer Shutt: A majority of Americans disapprove of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s job performance and the federal government’s evolving vaccine policy, according to a poll released Thursday by the nonpartisan health organization KFF. https://ow.ly/ATtF50X9bgv

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Brian Lyman @brianlyman.bsky.social · 15h

The death penalty is a political act pretending to be a judicial one, and seeing it up close has only strengthened my convictions that it must be abolished.

Radley Balko @radleybalko.bsky.social · 15h

Some good news.

That "Texas won't execute a guy who is likely innocent, at least in the near future" counts as good news right now . . . says a lot about right now.

But I'll take it.

clayjak.substack.com/p/breaking-n...

BREAKING NEWS: Robert Roberson will see his next birthday

That should make us all hopeful

clayjak.substack.com

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Alabama Reflector @alabamareflector.com · 18h

Via Andrea Tinker: Alabama’s community colleges are continuing to see enrollment rise, according to data presented to the Alabama College Community System (ACCS) Board of Trustees on Wednesday. https://ow.ly/EUuF50X8T98

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Alabama Reflector @alabamareflector.com · 19h

Via Sarah Jane Tribble & KFF Health News : A 91-year-old learns to check health portals; a 7-year-old finally can do homework. They were among rural residents helped by a digital navigator, until President Trump abruptly canceled the Digital Equity Act’s dollars. https://ow.ly/TAp450X8KR7

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Brian Lyman @brianlyman.bsky.social · 20h

Famous Tory The Seventh Doctor

Jonny Morris @jonnymorris.bsky.social · 1d

Is this real or am I in a coma?

Young Conservative with a Doctor Who question mark pullover.

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Alabama Reflector @alabamareflector.com · 20h

Via Jacob Fischler: The Federal Aviation Administration reported no travel delays due to staffing levels at U.S. air traffic control facilities Wednesday, following a day of some delays related to above-average absences at a handful of facilities. https://ow.ly/ZxPe50X8JtJ

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Alabama Reflector @alabamareflector.com · 1d

Via Jennifer Shutt: Both sides in the federal government shutdown remained dug in Wednesday, as the Senate failed to pass Republicans’ short-term government funding bill for the sixth time and Democrats could not get the support needed to advance their counterproposal. https://ow.ly/u9ek50X8J3S

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Alabama Reflector @alabamareflector.com · 1d

Rep. Greg Stanton, D-Arizona, led efforts to gain recognition to get U.S. Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva sworn in Wednesday. GOP Rep. Russ Fulcher of Idaho, presiding over the House during its pro forma session, quickly gaveled out and did not recognize the Democrats. https://ow.ly/M4Kq50X8SQ6

US House GOP delays seating Rep.-elect Grijalva, potential deciding vote on Epstein petition | Alabama Reflector

Grijalva has vowed to be the 218th and final signature needed on a bipartisan petition to force a vote on the measure.

ow.ly

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Oregon Capital Chronicle @oregoncapitalchronicle.com · 1d

About 200 members of the Oregon National Guard will remain under federal control but cannot yet be deployed to Portland, according to a ruling Wednesday by three judges in a federal appeals court. buff.ly/3o8ocqH

Oregon National Guard remains federalized for now, but cannot be deployed, judges rule • Oregon Capital Chronicle

About 200 members of the Oregon National Guard will remain under federal control but cannot yet be deployed to Portland, judges rule.

oregoncapitalchronicle.com

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Alabama Reflector @alabamareflector.com · 1d

Via Nada Hassanein and Stateline: With hotter temperatures come more heat-related workplace injuries — about 28,000 injuries each year, according to a new study published Monday in the journal Environmental Health. https://ow.ly/6byI50X8v2w

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Brian Lyman @brianlyman.bsky.social · 1d

My extended family is wonderful, but you can see that generally, children who come from huge families don't want to recreate the experience. Mary Lincoln had over a dozen siblings, and neither she nor her brothers and sisters came close to having that many children on their own.

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Brian Lyman @brianlyman.bsky.social · 1d

My dad was one of five; my mom was one of 10, which is why I am one of two.

William B. Fuckley @opinionhaver.bsky.social · 1d

I think the thing with the debate about ‘Pro-Natalism’ is that everyone kind of dances around saying explicitly is that revealed preferences show lots of people think having kids of sort of sucks for the parent but is clearly necessary for society.

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Alabama Reflector @alabamareflector.com · 1d

Via Ashley Murray: Former FBI Director James Comey pleaded not guilty to two felony charges Wednesday in federal court in Virginia, in response to an indictment that followed an extraordinary pressure campaign from President Donald Trump.

Former FBI Director Comey pleads not guilty to criminal charges demanded by Trump | Alabama Reflector

President Donald Trump has long targeted Comey for his role leading the FBI during an investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

alabamareflector.com

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Julia Azari @juliaazari.bsky.social · 1d

Here's the thing. I am a lucky person and pay a fair bit in taxes. I can think of no better use for my tax dollars than feeding children, because I think all people are equally deserving of basic humanity.

Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 1d

The elimination of USAID is a moral atrocity and all involved made a choice to enable, and then lie about, ending the lives of some of the most vulnerable people in the world.

MAE SOT, Thailand (AP) - Mohammed Taher clutched the lifeless body of his 2-year-old son and wept. Ever since his family's food rations stopped arriving at their internment camp in Myanmar in April, the father had watched helplessly as his once-vibrant baby boy weakened, suffering from diarrhea and begging for food.
On May 21, exactly two weeks after Taher's little boy died, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio sat before Congress and declared: "No one has died" because of his government's decision to gut its foreign aid program. Rubio also insisted: "No children are dying on my watch."
That, Taher says, "is a lie."

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Alabama Reflector @alabamareflector.com · 2d

Via Amanda Hernández and Stateline: The nation’s prison population grew for the second consecutive year in 2023, reversing more than a decade of steady decline. But even with recent increases, the prison population in 2023 was still about 20% below the 2013 level. https://ow.ly/Vnq950X7Qrm

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eke @eke.bsky.social · 1d

you can throw in galveston, too. we're literally a different historic culture (and a couple different languages!) than the inland deep south

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Brian Lyman @brianlyman.bsky.social · 1d

The Gulf Coast areas of Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana could be turned into their own state. Here in Alabama, the two coastal counties of Mobile and Baldwin pump a lot of tourism money into state coffers but often struggle to have their particular concerns addressed in Montgomery.

William Hazen @williamhazen.bsky.social · 2d

This is the most accurate depiction of the Midwest to date. Wichita has always felt like the last Midwest city while also being the first plains city.

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