Brian Lyman
@brianlyman.bsky.social
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.
Pinned
Brian Lyman
@brianlyman.bsky.social
· Nov 12
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
Here’s our mission statement at @alreflector.bsky.social. From my first column on launch day in February 2023.
Reposted by Brian Lyman
Via KFF Health News : For the first time in more than two decades, the United States is poised to lose its measles elimination status, a designation indicating that outbreaks are rare and rapidly contained. https://ow.ly/HzVo50Xz36K
November 28, 2025 at 6:05 PM
Via KFF Health News : For the first time in more than two decades, the United States is poised to lose its measles elimination status, a designation indicating that outbreaks are rare and rapidly contained. https://ow.ly/HzVo50Xz36K
Reposted by Brian Lyman
Abraham Lincoln, 1855.
www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/spee...
www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/spee...
![I am not a Know-Nothing. That is certain. How could I be? How can any one who abhors the oppression of negroes, be in favor or degrading classes of white people? Our progress in degeneracy appears to me to be pretty rapid. As a nation, we began by declaring that "all men are created equal." We now practically read it "all men are created equal, except negroes" When the Know-Nothings get control, it will read "all men are created equal, except negroes, and foreigners, and Catholics." When it comes to this I should prefer emigrating to some country where they make no pretence of loving liberty -- to Russia, for instance, where despotism can be taken pure, and without the base alloy of hypocracy [sic].](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:egd33s7iuqsmwlwab6mbtrqi/bafkreiaaicjid4jg3oongeah73ukqvwsqv4vwbp75q4f755nldtcfermhi@jpeg)
November 28, 2025 at 3:01 PM
Abraham Lincoln, 1855.
www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/spee...
www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/spee...
Just the ones I saw in Pittsburgh between 2000 & 2002:
They Might Be Giants
Miriam Makemba
Jonathan Richman
Victoria Williams
Barenaked Ladies
They Might Be Giants
Miriam Makemba
Jonathan Richman
Victoria Williams
Barenaked Ladies
November 28, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Just the ones I saw in Pittsburgh between 2000 & 2002:
They Might Be Giants
Miriam Makemba
Jonathan Richman
Victoria Williams
Barenaked Ladies
They Might Be Giants
Miriam Makemba
Jonathan Richman
Victoria Williams
Barenaked Ladies
Reposted by Brian Lyman
A while back someone said that they would love to see Ken Burns tackle immigration as a topic. I think that is a great idea.
Most people have no idea how hard or expensive it is to migrate to America.
Then to see that their great grandparents just had to get on a boat and survive till they arrived
Most people have no idea how hard or expensive it is to migrate to America.
Then to see that their great grandparents just had to get on a boat and survive till they arrived
November 28, 2025 at 2:02 PM
A while back someone said that they would love to see Ken Burns tackle immigration as a topic. I think that is a great idea.
Most people have no idea how hard or expensive it is to migrate to America.
Then to see that their great grandparents just had to get on a boat and survive till they arrived
Most people have no idea how hard or expensive it is to migrate to America.
Then to see that their great grandparents just had to get on a boat and survive till they arrived
Reposted by Brian Lyman
(taps sign)
see, that’s the thing about going hard right on immigration. no one will even notice when immigration rates fall because it’s actually about white supremacy. pandering to this hatred only drags you down with it
Net migration to Britain has fallen by almost 80% from its 2023 peak, according to data released on Thursday.
November 28, 2025 at 1:57 PM
(taps sign)
My mother immigrated from Ireland because there was no free secondary education when she was a teenager. Which is why she left at age 17, and for no other reason.
Trump makes the outrageous claim that “most” immigrants, which include over 25 million U.S. citizens, “are on welfare, from failed nations, or from prisons, mental institutions, gangs, or drug cartels.”
As insulting as the “deplorables” comment, and on Thanksgiving day no less.
As insulting as the “deplorables” comment, and on Thanksgiving day no less.
Trump calls Tim Walz “seriously retarded”
November 28, 2025 at 1:40 PM
My mother immigrated from Ireland because there was no free secondary education when she was a teenager. Which is why she left at age 17, and for no other reason.
Reposted by Brian Lyman
Via Ashley Murray: West Virginia National Guard member U.S. Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, 20, one of the victims of a shooting near the White House, died Thursday, President Donald Trump said.
One of the National Guard members shot in attack in D.C. has died, Trump says | Alabama Reflector
Federal law enforcement officials examined evidence collected from the home of the alleged lone gunman, who drove to the nation’s capital from Washington state to target the troops, officials said.
alabamareflector.com
November 28, 2025 at 1:34 PM
Via Ashley Murray: West Virginia National Guard member U.S. Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, 20, one of the victims of a shooting near the White House, died Thursday, President Donald Trump said.
During our post-Thanksgiving walk, a puppy came out of a neighbor’s car and started playing with us. 10/10, would recommend.
November 28, 2025 at 1:51 AM
During our post-Thanksgiving walk, a puppy came out of a neighbor’s car and started playing with us. 10/10, would recommend.
Reposted by Brian Lyman
When the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade was directed by Hieronymus Bosch
November 28, 2024 at 3:03 PM
When the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade was directed by Hieronymus Bosch
Reposted by Brian Lyman
In a way, aren’t we all traveling to turkey today?
Pope Leo XIV embarked on his first international trip as pontiff on Thursday, traveling to Turkey to start a six-day tour that will also include Lebanon. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/27/w...
November 27, 2025 at 7:58 PM
In a way, aren’t we all traveling to turkey today?
Reposted by Brian Lyman
I’m mindful today of those for whom this is their first Thanksgiving without a loved one. I’m praying for a measure of peace and the comfort of beautiful memories.
November 27, 2025 at 5:06 PM
I’m mindful today of those for whom this is their first Thanksgiving without a loved one. I’m praying for a measure of peace and the comfort of beautiful memories.
Reposted by Brian Lyman
Via Anna Barrett: An Alabama lawmaker pre-filed a bill that would streamline the process for formerly incarcerated Alabamians to get their voting rights restored. https://ow.ly/9HT450XxPaP
November 27, 2025 at 1:05 PM
Via Anna Barrett: An Alabama lawmaker pre-filed a bill that would streamline the process for formerly incarcerated Alabamians to get their voting rights restored. https://ow.ly/9HT450XxPaP
Reposted by Brian Lyman
There is but one true chef.
November 27, 2025 at 3:27 PM
There is but one true chef.
CHOTINER: You have often expressed your love for everyone. One could say it’s the focus of your work?
ELMO: Yes! Elmo lives everyone!
CHOTINER: But there was also your public falling-out with Zoe over your favorite blank—
ELMO: Elmo’s passions sometimes get the better of him
ELMO: Yes! Elmo lives everyone!
CHOTINER: But there was also your public falling-out with Zoe over your favorite blank—
ELMO: Elmo’s passions sometimes get the better of him
chotiner: but elmo, is it not true you were caught red-handed?
elmo:
elmo:
November 27, 2025 at 3:09 PM
CHOTINER: You have often expressed your love for everyone. One could say it’s the focus of your work?
ELMO: Yes! Elmo lives everyone!
CHOTINER: But there was also your public falling-out with Zoe over your favorite blank—
ELMO: Elmo’s passions sometimes get the better of him
ELMO: Yes! Elmo lives everyone!
CHOTINER: But there was also your public falling-out with Zoe over your favorite blank—
ELMO: Elmo’s passions sometimes get the better of him
Once again, it’s weird that our media conducts interviews with Muppets as if they are autonomous individuals. Also, my lawn is something you should get off
November 27, 2025 at 2:48 PM
Once again, it’s weird that our media conducts interviews with Muppets as if they are autonomous individuals. Also, my lawn is something you should get off
Respect to the kid who got a Rockettes ticket from Al Roker and told him she saw them yesterday.
November 27, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Respect to the kid who got a Rockettes ticket from Al Roker and told him she saw them yesterday.
I’m never particularly sympathetic to the life balance woes of the powerful. But reading between the lines, it seems like Johnson doesn’t delegate and hints at a need for control. If you let people call the 3rd-in-line for the presidency with “drama,” it suggests a tendency toward micromanagement.
‘In Triage Every Day’: A Beleaguered Speaker Says He’s Overwhelmed
www.nytimes.com
November 27, 2025 at 1:36 PM
I’m never particularly sympathetic to the life balance woes of the powerful. But reading between the lines, it seems like Johnson doesn’t delegate and hints at a need for control. If you let people call the 3rd-in-line for the presidency with “drama,” it suggests a tendency toward micromanagement.
Thankful today for my lovely family; friends; colleagues; a profession that is filled with good and talented people doing important work amid mounting challenges; and the fact I have never been at a Thanksgiving where politics came up.
November 27, 2025 at 12:43 PM
Thankful today for my lovely family; friends; colleagues; a profession that is filled with good and talented people doing important work amid mounting challenges; and the fact I have never been at a Thanksgiving where politics came up.
This is a really interesting analysis of Birdhouse In Your Soul. They Might Be Giants really aren’t appreciated as composers.
The 1989 Pop Hit With 18 KEY CHANGES
YouTube video by Charles Cornell
youtu.be
November 27, 2025 at 12:39 AM
This is a really interesting analysis of Birdhouse In Your Soul. They Might Be Giants really aren’t appreciated as composers.
Rewatching the Parks and Recreation finale, and I feel confident that in this universe, Tom’s book got on If Books Could Kill.
November 26, 2025 at 11:14 PM
Rewatching the Parks and Recreation finale, and I feel confident that in this universe, Tom’s book got on If Books Could Kill.
Reposted by Brian Lyman
Via Jennifer Shutt: The Metropolitan Police Department reported around 2:45 p.m. Eastern that it was on the scene of a shooting near the intersection of 17th and I streets NW, just about two blocks from the White House. MPD reported shortly later on social media that one suspect was in custody.
BREAKING: Two National Guard members shot in Washington, D.C., officials confirm | Alabama Reflector
The Metropolitan Police Department reported shortly later on social media that one suspect was in custody.
alabamareflector.com
November 26, 2025 at 8:38 PM
Via Jennifer Shutt: The Metropolitan Police Department reported around 2:45 p.m. Eastern that it was on the scene of a shooting near the intersection of 17th and I streets NW, just about two blocks from the White House. MPD reported shortly later on social media that one suspect was in custody.
This is weird as the Pope is one of the biggest users of AI* in the world.
*Aquinas Interpretations
*Aquinas Interpretations
Pope Leo XIV told students not to use artificial intelligence for homework, saying that AI ‘won’t stand in authentic wonder before the beauty of God’s creation.’
Even God Is Worried About ChatGPT
Pope Leo XIV told students not to use artificial intelligence for homework, saying that AI ‘won’t stand in authentic wonder before the beauty of God’s creation.’
www.vulture.com
November 26, 2025 at 5:46 PM
This is weird as the Pope is one of the biggest users of AI* in the world.
*Aquinas Interpretations
*Aquinas Interpretations
Reposted by Brian Lyman
Via Dennis Pillion and Inside Climate News: Alabama’s largest electric utility has proposed delaying an approved rate increase for an extra year amid a public outcry surrounding high utility bills.
Alabama Power seeks to delay rate hike for new gas plant amid outcry | Alabama Reflector
Alabama Power customers will still see an increase in bills stemming from the company’s $622 million purchase of the Lindsay Hill Generating Station earlier this year, but not for another year, if the plan is approved by the state’s Public Service Commission.
alabamareflector.com
November 26, 2025 at 5:04 PM
Via Dennis Pillion and Inside Climate News: Alabama’s largest electric utility has proposed delaying an approved rate increase for an extra year amid a public outcry surrounding high utility bills.
Another tell here is that traditional right-wing Catholicism tends to express itself through devotion to the Virgin Mary; Marian apparitions inevitably stress obedience to the Church and rejection of anything that might interfere with that (communism but also “materialism,” broadly defined).
you're telling me a right-wing catholic convert is just a protestant in disguise? shocked
In newly leaked audio, Peter Thiel admits he urged JD Vance to ignore Pope Leo XIV on moral questions — including the ethical development of AI.
He goes even further, branding Leo “the woke American pope” and suggesting he’s a tool of the Antichrist.
He goes even further, branding Leo “the woke American pope” and suggesting he’s a tool of the Antichrist.
November 26, 2025 at 2:22 PM
Another tell here is that traditional right-wing Catholicism tends to express itself through devotion to the Virgin Mary; Marian apparitions inevitably stress obedience to the Church and rejection of anything that might interfere with that (communism but also “materialism,” broadly defined).
“Gentlemen, I reject your scorn. We *can* retwist the internal rubber band that powers every human being.” (Shouting, pitchforks brandished) www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/u...
November 26, 2025 at 1:54 PM
“Gentlemen, I reject your scorn. We *can* retwist the internal rubber band that powers every human being.” (Shouting, pitchforks brandished) www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/u...