1. What to make of James Franco? In last week’s cover story, Sam Anderson tried to untangle the actor–artist–writer–professional student (“The James Franco Project,” August 2). It was called, variously, “epic … this tome of an ode” by Andrew Goldstein and Emma Allen at Artinfo, “meaty, if slightly adoring” by Hillary Reinsberg at blog
2. The Harlem political landscape, dominated for the past 40 years by Representative Charlie Rangel, is undergoing a momentous change, as detailed in a feature by Chris Smith (“Knocking on Harlem’s Door,” August 2). The article (coming as it did just before the House ethics panel brought thirteen charges against Rangel last Thursday) touched off a debate about politics in Harlem. “There’s not one person who can say Harlem (and its changing demographic) will be worse off with Rangel’s departure. At this point he’s out for himself, not the party, not the city, and certainly not the people who live in his district,” said one commenter on nymag .com. Said another, “While Bloomberg, Schumer, and the Dems throw Rangel overboard, someone needs to explain to New Yorkers how the money Rangel got for the city will continue. The Post wants Charlie gone, but they have yet to tell us who can move millions of dollars from Washington to Manhattan.”
3. Andrew Goldman’s article exploring the duality of billionaire David Koch, affluent New York patron of the arts and, at least indirectly, the tea party (“The Billionaire’s Party,” August 2), touched a nerve among the online commentariat. “He may have never attended a tea party,” wrote one commenter, “but his money has funded them. It’s good business. Of course this family has done some good things with their money. But that does not outweigh the damage they are doing to our democracy.” Koch’s positive view of global warming tipped off another set of angry responses. “Unfortunately, Koch’s pollution really is heating the planet, and the consequences are grave,” wrote Brad Johnson at ThinkProgress’s
Send correspondence to: comments@nymag.com