The Invincible Iron Man 1966

• Where do I get one of those suits? Why settle for an electric car that you charge from any old outlet when you can have a rocket powered, beam emitting suit of armor? I wonder if he's got international adapters for that thing?

Shiny!

• Can you hear me now? You've got to love the visual sound effects. Zitt! It's not just a zit but a zitt, watch out, it might squirt something deadly! Wok! Watch out for flying woks! Bong! Well, now that would be quite a smoke. The one I like most though is Fwoof! It sounds downright fluffy. It's also interesting how Clank! and Ring! came out sounding like the same glub.

• Upgrades and more upgrades! He upgrades suit 3-4 times in 13 episodes: switching to a less clunky (and less blinding) suit by episode 2, having another utterly destroyed by an enemy later on, building a brand new one to save his pal Happy Hogan (who happened to be posing as him, etc. The iron suits rusted, yuck! He got challenged by a Titanium Man. He really should have built one of adamantium or vibranium, or a layer of each, or something.

• Politicians will be politicians. Isn't it comforting to know that politicians weren't any smarter way back when? Congressman What'sHisFace keeps demanding Tony Stark to appear before Congress to reveal the secrets of Ironman's armor. Because, you know, telling a bunch of politicians -- and whoever else might be lurking around -- will ensure that the country remains safe. Safe from who? Ironman, an independent agent who -- although constantly fighting on the side of good -- might, by some extremely remote possibility, turn on the country at any time? From the bad guys continually trying to take over or destroy the world who would love the increased opportunities to steal said armor secrets?

Unfortunately, Amazon doesn't seem to have a completr set of these available, but if you're nearly as old-fashioned as Al Bundy and you still have a working VCR (but sadly no Betamax), individual episodes are on VHS.

Episodes 2 & 5: The Death of Tony Stark & The Crimson Dynamo

Episodes 7 & 9: If I Die, Let it Be with Honor and The Other Iron Man

You'll have to find  the rest yourself.

• Episode 1: Double Disaster, Enter Happy Hogan, Of Ice and Men
• Episode 2: The Death of Tony Stark, The Hands of the Mandarin, The Origin of The Mandarin
• Episode 3: Ultimo, Ultimo Lives, Crescendo
• Episode 4: The Mandarin's Revenge, The Mandarin's Death Ray, No One Escapes the Mandarin
• Episode 5: Crimson Dynamo, The Crimson Dynamo Strikes, Captured
• Episode 6: Enter Hawkeye, So Spins the Web, Triple Jeopardy
• Episode 7: If I Die, Let It Be With Honor; Fight On, For A World Is Watching; What Price Victory?
• Episode 8: The Moleman [sic] Strikes, The Dragon of Flames, Decision Under the Earth
• Episode 9: The Other Iron Man, Death Duel, Into The Jaws of the Death
• Episode 10: Cliffs of Doom, The False Captain America, The Unmasking
• Episode 11: My Life For Yours, Black Knight's Gambit, Menace of the Monster
• Episode 12: Dream Master, If A Man Be Mad, Duel In Space
• Episode 13: The Beauty and the Armor, Peril in Space, As A City Watches

Texas mails (un)dead people

Texas tried to purge its voter rolls by sending mail to potentially dead people. A judge temporarily blocked the effort after 4 voters filed a lawsuit. How do you suppose those letters went?

Dear Sir or Madam,

We think you might be dead. If you're not, please give us a holler and thank goodness we haven't lost a taxpayer. If we don't hear from you in 30 days, whether you receive this letter or not, and whether we receive your reply or not, or whether we decide to "lose" your reply, then you won't be able to vote anymore.

If you really are dead, so sorry for disturbing you. We will forward all tax inquiries to your surviving relatives. And you still won't be able to vote anymore.

Regards,
Your friendly neighborhood government agency

Hey Texas, don't you have bigger problems like drought and stuff?

For more on the whole debacle, try reading here.

Akin's an idiot, but not the only problem

Can we get a dunce cap on this guy?

Unfortunately, not funny or ridiculous, but outrageous and sad.

Oh, no, he didn't! "Legitimate rape" versus "forcible rape"? Can you imagine a smug rapist representing himself in court: "Your honor, yeah, I did slip her a mickey and do her when she was out, but see, it was legitimate rape. Now what about putting her dad in prison for beating me up? So what if she was only 10? I have rights, you know." Or how about  a serial rapist saying, "That kid can't be mine. You can't make babies with forcible rape. Womens' bodies know how to get rid of that stuff."

U.S. Rep Todd Akin, a shining example of the American educational system, NOT.

But check out this article on why Akin is not a isolated case of politicians against women.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/21/opinion/granderson-gop-rape-abortion/index.html