AIDS Episode
To start off with, something they deserve credit for: they did at least point out the hyperpromiscuity in the bath houses in San Francisco. That really was ground zero for the disease. It's rare you see people even touch that because everyone is too afraid of being accused of being homophobic.
On the other hand......they ran with the usual focus almost entirely on Reagan as far as the response to this disease goes. Which pretty much ignores the fact this wasn't on the front burner for a lot of people (regardless of political persuasion). For example: the Democratic Party's 1984 platform made no mention of AIDS and Walter Mondale didn't mention it once in the debates. In fact, no reporter asked either candidate about it during the whole campaign.
As far as Reagan's response goes, they seemed to go out of their way to show the most insensitive quotes from him they could find. Instead they could have shown (for example) a September 17th, 1985 press conference in which he called AIDS a "top priority" and said that "there's no question about the seriousness of this and the need to find an answer." Furthermore, members of his administration were talking about it years before that. Reagan's Secretary of Health and Human Services Margaret Heckler (for example) called AIDS (in June 1983) her department's "number-one health priority". Also, during the Reagan years, over 5 billion dollars was spent on AIDS research and prevention.
They also portrayed ACT UP as some sort of heroes......while simultaneously (whether they realized it or not) showing their dark, irrational side. (i.e. picketing a person committed to helping them and calling him a killer.) While only touching on some of their antics, they of course left out things like all the comparisons of Reagan to Hitler, Oliver Toscani's computer created image of Reagan covered with skin lesions, and so on. (Funny thing is, some of them who took part in some of this stuff actually realize at this point what a bunch of jerks they were. But certainly not all.)
So all in all......not as bad as I expected.....but still kind of a let down.
Ignoring: QuesterJonesV, MythicCDXX, Creeping Jesus/Judas, RonPaul_Lies, Digby (and aliases), ibestupid, Holiday_Hobo, sharon_18, TilaMoo, Okie-from-Muskogee/boo321, NorCalNik, Nullifidian