Texas

Journalists often unwittingly collude with this strategy, by quoting made-up phrases and fact-free medical claims in the course of statehouse reporting. In an effort to be balanced, they may also quote a women’s health advocate, who disputes the claims made by the anti-choice politician, giving both the true statement and the untrue statement equal weight, leaving readers to decide what is true and what is not – an increasingly difficult task, under the circumstances. In the course of the bill’s route through the legislative process, propaganda and medically inaccurate claims are amplified into mainstream conversation, all of which undermines the ideals of informed consent and evidence-based care. … [Read more...] about How Politicians Force Doctors to Lie to Women

On Monday, the Congressional Budget Office released its estimate of the effect enacting the American Health Care Act, also known as Trumpcare, would have on the budget and access to health care. The CBO estimates that despite the massive tax cuts Trumpcare would give to the wealthy, it would result in a net reduction of the deficit of $337 billion over the next eight years – primarily by eliminating the Obamacare subsidies that enabled middle-income people to afford individual health plans and slashing funding for Medicaid. That would result in 14 million more people lacking insurance next year than would if Obamacare remained in place; that number would rise to 24 million within the decade. … [Read more...] about Trumpcare Would Be a Disaster for Planned Parenthood, and Therefore Poor Women

Perry Mason (HBO, June 21st)Since debuting in 1931, Erle Stanley Gardner’s crime-solving defense attorney has appeared in more than 80 novels, a radio show, a handful of movies, and a couple of TV shows, most famously a long-running series starring Raymond Burr. This new HBO series takes the character back to his roots as a lawyer in 1932 Los Angeles, a city teeming with crime and intrigue. Originally conceived as a vehicle for Robert Downey Jr. (who remains on board as an executive producer), it now stars The Americans’ Matthew Rhys, in a role that promises nearly as much danger as his previous show, but, sadly, fewer opportunities to wear wigs. John Lithgow, Tatiana Maslany, and Juliet Rylance round out the all-star cast. … [Read more...] about Best Movies/TV to Stream in June: ‘Perry Mason,’ New Spike Lee, Serial-Killer True Crime

“In these challenging and uncertain times, it’s heartening to see institutions like XTR Film Society, Wavelength Productions and Park Pictures working together to support the documentary field and ensure that courageous storytelling continues to thrive. For our team, this grant couldn’t have come at a more critical time as we work hard to keep our post-production team intact and ensure excellence in our filmmaking, said filmmaker Julia Bacha. … [Read more...] about Keep The Lights On COVID-19 Doc Fund Distributes Grants To 15 Feature Directors

We got a hold of this video from a Vanilla Ice concert that went down at La Hacienda Event Center in Odessa, Texas back in October. The person who shot this video tells us the incident happened near the end of the show ... when Vanilla brought a bunch of fans up onstage. … [Read more...] about Vanilla Ice Fan Tumbles Off Stage During Concert Trying to Snap Photo