Jonathan Taylor writes:

In 1966, a five-part [correction: four-part, as correctly stated in today's subsequent Back Issues post] Annals of Legislation piece by Richard Harris in The New Yorker chronicled "the long, legislative, and anti-legislative activity which preceded the achievement of 'medical care...a basic human right' certainly in a country whose people had not only been 'ill fed, ill housed' but also ill," in the words of the Kirkus review of the book version of the series, A Sacred Trust.

Kirkus continues:

The fight went on for more than three decades from the time when the A.M.A., a monolithic obstruction in the body politic, determined to keep "public health in private hands," spent fifty million dollars opposing what ultimately would result in Medicare. This traces the whole unhealthy history of A.M.A. political power ploys, first in the hands of that demagogic blowfish, Dr. Fishbein, then in those of a p.r. organization, down through all the administrations and bills, submitted and defeated, on Capitol Hill.

Jonathan Taylor writes:

Yves Smith of Naked Capitalism posts her article on Wall Street culture, "Indefensible Men," from the December 2009 issue of the revived Baffler, whose slowness or reluctance to post many of its articles have helped it make so much less of a splash than it would have, given contributors including Matt Taibbi, Naomi Klein, Lydia Millett and Michael Lind. (Yves Smith link via Matthew Yglesias, who notes in particular the handsome Niebuhr epigraph.)

I received, nth-hand, an e-mail sent out by a (continued)

Pollux writes:

On the New Yorker site, Richard Brody talks about movies to watch on St. Patrick’s Day for the feature called “The Front Row.”

Brody recommends a movie called Rocky Road to Dublin (1967). A documentary by Peter Lennon, the re-released film includes some goodies and extras for your visual enjoyment. (continued)

Pollux writes:

The Talk of the Town for the March 25, 1933 issue of The New Yorker offers this St. Patrick’s Day-themed anecdote. An “observant and conscientious gentleman,” glancing at the storefront of Altman’s on Fifth Avenue, sees an array of dresses, none of which are green-colored.

Of the dresses, “fully half of which were orange.” The gentleman calls Altman’s and gets in touch with the stylist. The stylist is grateful for the gentleman’s call.

That very night, “the display had been changed to include a liberal sprinkling of emerald…”

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! (continued)