Later today I'll be meeting with activist, conservative and liberal, and lawyers who are preparing to fight the efforts of extortion and land grabbing by the North Carolina Railroad with a possible class-action law suit. Many North Carolinians think this doesn't affect them because they neither own property nor live beside the 317 miles of track running from Charlotte through Salisbury, Lexington, High Point, Greensboro, Burlington, Mebane, Durham, Raleigh, Garner, Goldsboro, Kinston, New Bern, Havelock, and dozens of other cities and towns before finally ending at Morehead City.

Well the fact is: If you live in North Carolina you will be responsible for paying the cost of any class action lawsuit levied against the North Carolina Railroad. You see, the North Carolina Railroad is owned and operated by the state of North Carolina so any losses incurred by the railroad are losses to the tax payers of North Carolina. Slice it, dice it, or mix it up any way you want but in the end we-the-taxpayers will pay for the current attempts of extortion currently being acted out by railroad officials including their board of directors.

A website is planned and I'll be posting on this subject a lot as the story develops. As soon as P.A.U.S.E. (Property Owners Against Unfair Selective Fee Entrapment) gets their website up and running I'll point all of you to where you can find it.

Lastly, if you have already settled with the North Carolina Railroad it might be you're owed some money back-- perhaps every dime you've paid the railroad plus interest-- and I would like to hear from you. E-mail me at idlehandsmag (AT) gmail.com and we'll try to get together. I would love to tell the story of how the railroad used lies, deceit and the threat of legal actions to extort money from you, your business or your family.

Beth has some advice for the developer of Greensboro's Centerpoint Skyscraper. Maybe Roy could build it out of these. That would really be cool!

Far freaking out, I'm rich! I'm freaking, out of this world, rich!

Check this out: I've been accepted as the artist in residence at the estate of local billionaire, Percy Walker. Don't believe me, get it straight from the horse's mouth Mister Percy! (Sorry Mister Percy, I get excited really easily, and it's not everyday a billionaire lets me move in for a month. I'll try to restrain myself while shacking-up with you and Mister Huntzberger.)

I guess this means I'll have to write some good poetry for a change. Perhaps I can give Mister Percy some Cold Dry Biscuits in return for letting me sweep his garage and wash his 38 limos by hand. I wonder if he'll let me clean the pool?

I wonder if Mister Percy has WiFi in his mansion? Imagine being able to blog from any room in the house.

You know, other than my Dear Mother and Mister Walker, no one calls me William, understand?

This post was made possible by the esteemed Percival X. Walker and billionaires like you.

More bad news for the Bush Administration and the Republicans in control of Congress; seems dozens of Federal Judges bribed their way to their appointed seats on the Federal Bench. From today's news:

"Oct. 31, 2006 | At least two dozen federal judges appointed by President Bush since 2001 made political contributions to key Republicans or to the president himself while under consideration for their judgeships, government records show. A four-month investigation of Bush-appointed judges by the Center for Investigative Reporting reveals that six appellate court judges and 18 district court judges contributed a total of more than $44,000 to politicians who were influential in their appointments. Some gave money directly to Bush after he officially nominated them. Other judges contributed to Republican campaign committees while they were under consideration for a judgeship." Read it and weep!

So tell me, what would you pay to get on the Federal payroll and who would you pay it too? Time to invoke the RICO Act. Republican Party-- just another name for the mafia.

Read It And Weep is made possible by Liars, crooks, con men, and thieves, and by readers like you.

The Continuing Adventurers of Rapid Roy
Rapid Roy In The Pokey?

Rapid Roy, the rocket boy
flew way beyond the stars.
When he came home he was grounded
for flying off too far.

What's this, our young hero grounded for flying too far away from home? Oh my, I heard his mother sent him to bed without his supper too.

The Adventurers Of Rapid Roy, The Rocket Boy have been brought to you by your math teacher, who asked us to remind you that your homework assignment is due in tomorrow morning. What's that? You haven't done your homework. Then why are you wasting your time reading Rapid Roy?

If you'd like to share the Adventures Of Rapid Roy, The Rocket Boy with your children in a child-safe setting... Well that was the link.

Rapid Roy's adventurers have been made possible with the support of BillysToyStore.com and The Winston Salem Report

Established in 1995, they're said to have one of the most successful affiliate programs in the history of the Internet, and while I can't comment on the quality of their products or their service I can say their products are affordable if you're in the market for security cameras.

What I can say is the X-10.com website is full of pop-ups. While McAfee SiteAdvisor still rates their site green they have numerous complaints from McAfee volunteers stating they spam, have excessive pop-ups, and provide bad shopping experiences.

What I can also tell you is that after three years as an X-10 affiliate I've now added X-10 to my list of Advertisers Who Never Paid Me A Dime.

X-10, as far as I'm concerned you're a has been that never was.

Ozy has outdone himself with a belated but spooky edition of the Ringing. Are you scared yet? You will be.

The Ringing Of The Bards is the poetry carnival arisen from the grave. This weekend's host will be none other than Jo Ann.

This announcement has been made possible by... Well, it could have been you.

"Woman who tinkle in dark deserve fall in hole."

Hey, don't blame me, I just post what the old geezer guru sends me. Get the latest Confuseus wisedom and wit at Confuseus.com.

This edition of Confuseus Sez was made possible with the support of The Cartoon Guide to Physics and readers like Jo Janoski.

Ever heard of alibris.com? For those who may not know, alibris.com is an online book store that specializes in used, rare, and out of print titles. They sell lots of new and used text books as well. Like their bigger competitor, Amazon.com, alibris also allows others to sell through their website. I've never bought books, nor have I knowingly sold books through alibris. I say "knowingly" because some of my titles are sold through wholesalers whose records I don't have access to so those copies could have been retailed by anyone.

Alibris.com might be a great place to buy books but as of tonight I've added Alibris.com to my list of Advertisers Who Never Paid Me A Dime because two years of advertising never sold even one used book.

So what is the point I'm trying to make with this series of articles? Stay tuned and you'll soon see.

This post was made with the support of Meblogin and Max.

Remember back when the Los Angeles Police Department caught local hospitals dumping homeless patients back onto the streets? Well this time it's the Guilford County Sheriff's Department dumping homeless patients on the street.

As one who once experienced life on the street and lived to tell it I'm not surprised, but I can only comment: How could this happen in the wealthiest nation in the world?

Link via the Sidewalk who also knows life on the street.

This post was made possible by Starship Earth and readers like you.