Request denied

A weird old story, an issue that literally got more controversial during the day as I was writing about it, and a hero you've likely never heard of. Also, 7 other things worth your time.

Let’s start today with a more amusing story than yesterday — but with a twist. I hesitated because it’s older even than the saga of Julia Sand. But, we can connect it to the present.

It’s about a young Army officer in the 19th century who was assigned, and not happy about it, to fill two jobs at the same time.

On the one hand, he was given command of a …