Free Republic

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – Something stinks in upper Manhattan. Residents claim skunks have invaded Inwood and Washington Heights, roaming the streets surrounding Fort Tryon Park and stinking up the neighborhood. “I tell my friends down in midtown or Hells Kitchen that there’s a skunk problem up here and they don’t believe it,” resident Mark Bailey said. “They’re in front of every building…they’re not just in the parks, they’re all over.” [...]

So, is there a hard and fast number to define the middle class?United States government, you wanna help us out here? No? Not really?Well, at least there's an official poverty line. In 2007, it was an annual income under $20,650 for a family of four.As for middle class, well, the Congressional Research Service issued a report last year pegging middle class income as between $19,000 a year and $91,000 a year.But even the specialist in quantitative economics who put together that study said there is no consensus or official government definition.So we decided to ask around. First up; Brookings Institution...

Diabetes May Be Disorder Of Upper Intestine: Surgery May Correct ItGrowing evidence shows that surgery may effectively cure Type 2 diabetes -- an approach that not only may change the way the disease is treated, but that introduces a new way of thinking about diabetes. (Credit: iStockphoto/Jacob Wackerhausen) ScienceDaily (Mar. 6, 2008) — Growing evidence shows that surgery may effectively cure Type 2 diabetes — an approach that not only may change the way the disease is treated, but that introduces a new way of thinking about diabetes. A new article — published in a special supplement to the February...

Mystery of the Missing Heat: Upper ocean has cooled slightly in recent years, despite warming climate Sid Perkins Between 2003 and 2005, the top layers of the world's oceans cooled slightly, but scientists aren't sure where the heat went. According to climate data gathered worldwide, 2003, 2004, and 2005 are three of the five warmest years since reliable record keeping of global air temperatures began more than a century ago. However, oceanographic surveys suggest that on average, the upper 750 meters of the world's ice-free oceans cooled about 0.03°C during that 3-year period. This cooling reverses an oceanic-warming trend observed...

This is one of the better pictures of the Upper Falls I could find. The Upper Falls don't get nearly the publicity or the views of the Lower Falls, but they are very dramatic. Because they don't get the publicity, they also don't get as much coverage by professional photographers, so a lot of the images on the Web are digital and don't really capture their beauty. Note the people on the edge-of-the-falls overlook for scale.

Where were John Gosek’s friends? by Vincent R. Caravan Shades of Bill Clinton! Who would ever believe Oswego County would have a sexual scandal to equal — or surpass — the escapades of our recent president, whose extra-marital sexual experiences would be aired for the whole world to know. The recent arrest of Oswego Mayor John Gosek and his ultimate resignation — on a proportionate basis — received as much notoriety as Clinton’s indiscretions. Mr. Gosek’s accusers were not as forgiving, however. The most notable difference is in the outcome. Mr. Clinton was allowed to stay in office and outlast...