Today is January 26th. On this date in 1837, Michigan became the 26th state to join the United States. Fast forward to this year, and “them people is living in ‘Mad Max’ times,” according to noted scholar Moe Syzlak. Also, on this date in 1969, after days of flooding and landslides, California was declared a disaster area. And nothing has changed since, amiright? Eh? Hey they can’t all be gems. These are my jokes, and I stand by them. Links!

Marine’s career threatened by controversial rules of engagement | Washington Examiner
“Waddell is just one of hundreds of cases of troops who have suffered under stringent rules of engagement, said Jeff Addicott, a former senior legal adviser to U.S. Army Special Forces.”

Reuters’ hit on Rubio contains errors | Matt Lewis
“Reuters is out with a tough story on Sen. Marco Rubio today, arguing that, the senator ‘has had significant financial problems that could keep him from passing any vetting process as a potential vice presidential choice…’ Unfortunately, it appears many of the facts are either wrong or exaggerated. By my count, there were at least 7 errors or exaggerations”

Fast and Furious: Issa calls for second prosecutor to testify | Hot Air
“Undaunted – and perhaps even spurred on – by recent charged developments, Rep. Darrell Issa, chair of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, today demanded that the Department of Justice make a key federal prosecutor available to testify before his Committee as a part of its investigation into the lethal gun-running program Operation Fast and Furious.”

Think Progress Scrubs Troubling Rhetoric from Website | Weekly Standard
“With the Center for American Progress’s Think Progress blog under scrutiny for publishing what some would consider borderline anti-Semitic content, it would seem likely that bloggers over there might be careful about the content.”

Today’s word of the day comes from Wordsmith.org.
sybarite (SIB-uh-ryt): noun A person devoted to luxury and pleasure.