What a difference a comma makes

摘要

There's nothing like a good spat. Spat isn't quite the right word. A spat (COD) is a petty quarrel, but this quarrel has longer legs. This Journal's esteemed editor held June's issue to be ‘straying into mildly controversial territory’, but mildly wasn't needed: this is a controversy at the heart of the NHS. Talbot-Smith et al's puncturing of Feacham et al's enthusiastic support for Kaiser Permanente was gleefully picked up by the Guardian (1 June) and must have struck a chord on high. A letter followed from Secretary of State John Reid (3 June); he was not recanting.