Holy crap, I wish tonight's episode of Frontline had aired on one of the main networks (because, sadly, how many people really watch PBS these days?). It was about the age of aids (it's been 25 years since the first published account of aids cases) and was remarkably good. I learned quite a bit, and I'd like to think I probably already possess an above average amount of knowledge on the subject (ok, maybe not as much as Kathy, who left for Lusaka this afternoon - there's a little shout out for you dear!). Things like current Supreme Court Justice John Roberts wrote a personal memo to President Reagan shortly before one of his first speeches on aids, and as a result Reagan downplayed medical advice that aids cannot be transmitted through casual contact and instead claimed that no one was sure and sending your kids to school with HIV positive kids would be a tough decision, one he was glad he didn't have to make. This as a reaction to specific instances of kids being harrassed out of elementary and junior high schools and at least one instance of a FL family having their house burned down. (party of family values my ass) Unlike the sappy made-for-tv version of the Reagans a few years ago, and all the slop tossed around after his death, PBS didn't shy away from criticisms of Reagan or his administration during the early years of the aids crisis. Part two airs tomorrow night, 9-11.