Mammoth Blog

On a Facebook post, former Gov. Sarah Palin puts the lie to The New York Times' assertion that "the rumor that government-sponsored 'death panels' to decide which patients were worthy of living seemed to arise from nowhere" (emphasis added by The Stiletto).

Had Times reporters Jim Rutenberg and Jackie Calmes read her commentary -- which was posted the day before their article was published -- they would have known that the death panels are real, and where to read up on the details. Palin makes a solid case that health care "reform," as originally envisioned by Democrats, would lead to rationed care and put a price tag on the value of people's lives based on their economic productivity.

Palin cites and explains the ramifications of Section 1233 ("Advance Care Planning Consultation," pages 424 to 434) of the House's proposed bill, "America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009,'' and quotes from "Principles For Allocation Of Scarce Medical Interventions" (The Lancet, January 31, 2009), a paper co-authored by one of President Obama's health care policy advisors, Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel -- whose brother, Rahm, is the president's chief of staff.

Dr. Emanuel, a bioethicist, believes that doctors and hospitals should apply a rationing scheme he calls "complete life" for such medical services as ICU beds, heart transplants and vaccines during a flu pandemic. Under this scheme, adolescents and young adults would get priority over infants and the elderly, because "they have received substantial education and parental care, investments that will be wasted without a complete life. Infants -- have not yet received these investments."

Though the paper's authors admit that their scheme is ageist, they do not even bother to discuss exceptions to their hierarchical valuation of human life. For instance, is the average 14-year old more "valuable" to society than, say, Pablo Picasso in his later years? Objectively, no -- but (s)he is valuable to a circle of family and friends, and that should be enough. Ditto Grandma, even if she isn't in Picasso's league as a world renowned artist. And so is -- too bad it doesn't go without saying -- Trig Palin. But try convincing Dr. Emanuel's fellow bioethicist, Peter Singer, who believes that the lives of animals deserve more protection than the lives of people (see second item in this link).

Believe it or not, the rationing scheme Dr. Emanuel advocates in The Lancet is a softening of his views on which lives are worth saving. Though Palin was mocked -- surprise! -- for her "death panel" analysis, it's now Dr. Emanuel who is backpedaling from an article he co-authored 13 years ago, The Washington Times reports:

"When I began working in the health policy area about 20 years ago ... I thought we would definitely have to ration care, that there was a need to make a decision and deny people care," said Dr. Emanuel ... during a phone interview. ...

He wrote [in a short article published in a bioethics journal in 1996] that "services provided to individuals who are irreversibly prevented from being or becoming participating citizens are not basic and should not be guaranteed."

"An obvious example is not guaranteeing health services to patients with dementia," he wrote in the paper published by The Hastings Center, a nonpartisan, non-profit bioethics research institute. ...

The charges of rationing, or concerns about his language in journal articles, Dr. Emanuel said, is somewhat understandable given that he was "writing really for political philosophers, and for the average person it's not what they're used to reading, even if they've had a good liberal education."

Palin can also put another notch on her belt when it comes to influencing health care "reform" -- the Senate will drop language "encouraging" doctors to initiate conversations with patients about hospice and palliative end-of-life care from its bill, The Boston Globe reports:

Senator Chuck Grassley, the Senate Finance Committee's top Republican and one of six committee members trying to hash out a bipartisan bill, said yesterday that the provision could be misinterpreted and that it will not be contained in the committee's proposed legislation. ...

Yesterday, Grassley criticized the House bill, saying there was a difference between a "simple education campaign, as some advocates want,'' and paying "physicians to advise patients about end-of-life care'' and rating doctors "based on the creation of and adherence to orders for end-of-life care.''

Public support for Obamacare and Congressional Dems has fallen another five points from just two weeks ago, with just 42 percent of U.S. voters now in favor, according to a nationwide Rasmussen telephone survey. Oh, and voters now trust Republicans more than Democrats now on health care (44 percent to 41 percent).

Palin was hardly the only one to look at the House bill and realize its implications. In a commentary posted on The Daily Beast, "thinker" Lee Siegel -- who believes "the absence of universal health care is America's burning shame" -- calls rationing end-of-life care "morally revolting":

Determining which treatments are "cost effective" at the end of a person's life and which are not is one of Obama's priorities. It's one of the principal ways he counts on saving money and making universal health care affordable.

This is the Big Brother nightmare of oppressive government that the shrewd propagandists on the right are always blathering on about. Except that this time, they could not be more right. ...

[T]he argument that fruitless tests and "senseless" procedures are bankrupting the health care system, that is an insult to the intelligence. No one knows which tests and procedures will be effective beforehand. No amount of "study" and research is going to address the particular case and the particular condition, let alone the particular, desperate, irrational will to live -- which, in animal terms, is pragmatic and rational.

The Stiletto seems to recall pundits across the political spectrum writing Palin off as irrelevant after she voluntarily stepped down from public office in July. Guess they were -- what is the word? -- wrong. source>>>

Not long after hitting what will come to be known as the greatest rescue club shot in major championship history to date, following his perma-smile posing with the gleaming Wanamaker Trophy as photographers clicked away, just minutes past hugs with family and high fives with newfound fans among the Hazeltine gallery, Yong-Eun Yang sat down before reporters and was asked what it meant to win the 91st PGA Championship.

"You never know in life," he said through an interpreter. "This might be my last win as a golfer, but it sure is a great day."

Last win as a golfer? Anyone who witnessed Yang post the low score of any player in the field (67-70) during each of the final two rounds would dispute that suggestion. The 37-year-old from Seoul, South Korea, established himself as a proficient ball striker, a competent putter and, most importantly, an impregnable competitor under pressure.

Each of these notions was enhanced by the fact that Yang earned his first major championship victory by accomplishing what no other player of this generation had before him. Trailing 14-time major winner Tiger Woods entering the final round, he not only came from behind to defeat him, he did so while going head-to-head with him in the last pairing. Prior to Yang besting his opponent by 5 strokes to earn a 3-shot victory, Woods was 14-for-14 in his career when holding or sharing the 54-hole lead at a major.

And so it should come as no surprise that in a sport that has searched for a main rival to the game's No. 1 player for years -- only to be disillusioned by the relative dearth of exploits in comparison to Woods from the likes of Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els, Vijay Singh and Sergio Garcia -- the following question will often be asked in the days and weeks following the results at Hazeltine: Will Y.E. Yang serve as the adversary we've been seeking for Tiger all these years?

In a word? No.

In nine previous starts at the same event in which Woods competed this season, Yang failed to defeat him on any occasion. Last year, in his first official season as a PGA Tour member, Yang didn't even qualify for a tournament that featured Tiger in the field, and later was relegated to Qualifying School just to keep his playing privileges.

In fact, if Yang's career is comparable to that of anyone else, it's hardly Tiger's, but Todd Hamilton's whose matches up best. Like Hamilton, Yang graduated from Q-school the year before his major win; like Hamilton, he won the Honda Classic earlier in the season; and like Hamilton, he held off a world-class player down the stretch to earn his momentous title. (In the case of the former, it was Ernie Els at the 2004 British Open.)

Yang's profile also bears a striking resemblance to those of the other three players who caught Woods from behind in a major before falling in playoffs. Bob May (2000 PGA Championship), Chris DiMarco (2005 Masters) and Rocco Mediate (2008 U.S. Open) were major-less underdogs when each battled Tiger, the only three to challenge his unprecedented mark -- a fact of which Yang was all too aware.

"I've seen throughout Tiger's career that a lot of players have folded probably on the last day when playing with him," he said. "So when I was at home or probably [at a] tournament, probably watching Tiger in the clubhouse, I'd usually try to visualize and try to bring up a mock strategy on how to win if I ever played against Tiger. But when the chance came, I sort of thought that, Hey, I could always play a good round of golf and Tiger could ... always have a bad day. And I guess today was one of those days."

There are no fluky winners at major championships, no players who back into the winner's circle without earning their way. And yet, Yang will be considered the fourth major winner to usurp the main storyline this year, following Angel Cabrera's Masters win over Kenny Perry, Lucas Glover taking the U.S. Open from Phil Mickelson and David Duval, and Stewart Cink's playoff victory to knock off 59-year-old Tom Watson in the British Open.

None of the quartet should be thought of as anything less than a deserving champion -- especially Yang, who triumphed over the game's top player in a way that had never occurred before.

Can he do it again someday? Well, Yang isn't counting on it. Asked after his victory if he would give Tiger Woods a rematch, the newest major champion responded, "Never again. I would like to stay as the guy who won over Tiger at the PGA Championship, and that's about it." source>>>

Small- and medium-sized businesses can feel the pocketbook pinch when hiring for specialty services: site design, illustration, development, and more. You probably don't have the resources?or justification?to take on these tasks in-house, but web marketplaces can help you connect to production experts. Or if your small business specializes in one of these areas, you could find new contract work by pitching yourself online.

One of these marketplace sites, Elance, connects online workers with companies in any of those creative areas and beyond. You could find copywriters or translators, administrative support, marketing experts, and even legal pros. There are so many specific areas of experience that Elance is especially suited to these often-temporary, specialized positions.

Companies with job needs post a description to Elance, stating their requirements and rough budget. A clock ticks down until their proposal deadline, similar to an eBay auction. But unlike a live-auction site, where people compete just on cost, bids can be sealed. In those cases, rates are shown only to they hiring company, keeping the site from diving towards cheap, low-quality labor. Businesses can also skip the bid process, searching for and hiring workers directly.
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Freelancers maintain profiles that explain their expertise. Plus, hiring companies provide feedback and ratings after they complete jobs, helping inform the next company that's considering a contract. Since workers can compete worldwide, you might end up paying less than rates in your local market.

Elance usually holds payments in escrow, letting companies assign and release funds based on milestone achievements. Elance keeps between 6.75% and 8.75% of the total fee, depending on how much work freelancers have completed in the past 6 months. (The more they've worked, the less they'll pay.)

While a free membership plan is available, some options add additional costs, between $10 and $40 each month. For example, paid plans let freelancers expand their profiles and bid on additional contracts each month. (The free plan is limited to a paltry three bids.) Businesses that hire the freelancers pay nothing extra.

Elance and other marketplace sites let businesses connect with contract workers--or even other businesses--worldwide. Take a look if you need to hire for temporary jobs or your service-based company is looking for other ways to add clients. source>>>

A US widow is auctioning off the burial plot occupied by her late husband above that of film legend Marilyn Monroe, the Los Angeles Times newspaper says.

"Spend eternity directly above Marilyn Monroe", says the ad placed on eBay by Elsie Poncher of Beverly Hills.

Bidding opened at $500,000 (£303,000), and had reached $700,000 by Sunday.

Mrs Poncher said she will be "vacating" the remains of her husband "to make room for a new resident" at LA's exclusive Westwood Village cemetery.

The widow told the LA Times that she hoped to make enough money to pay off the $1.6m mortgage on her Beverly Hills mansion.

"I can't be more honest than that," she said. "I want to leave it free and clear for my kids."

The cemetery is the final resting place of many celebrities, including Dean Martin, Roy Orbison, Truman Capote, and most recently Farrah Fawcett.

Playboy magnate Hugh Hefner bought the crypt beside Monroe in 1992.

But Mrs Poncher is selling the chance to reserve a "place in eternity" directly above the Hollywood sex symbol, telling the LA Times that her own husband was placed face down in his crypt on top of the actress, in keeping with his dying wish.

Richard Poncher - who died 23 years ago at the age of 81 - was said to be a successful businessman who worked hard, spent lavishly, and knew "all the gangsters" of LA.

Mrs Poncher said he bought two burial plots from Joe DiMaggio during the US baseball legend's 1954 divorce from Monroe.

Monroe died in 1962, aged 36.

Mrs Poncher says her husband's remains will be moved over one spot into the crypt intended for her, while she will be cremated when the time comes. source>>>

The unreleased Model 2+ ultramobile computer from defunct PC maker OQO is getting plenty of attention on eBay, presumably for its value to collectors.

Bids for the fully functional, pocket-sized PCs have gone past US$4,500 in multiple eBay auctions. That is nearly four times the original price of the devices.

One individual had bid $5,000 for one of the ultramobile PCs as of Thursday, after 26 bids, with four days left until the auction ends. An earlier auction ended with the bidder paying $4,500 for a Model 2+.

The auctions come just months after OQO was forced to shut down after failing to find a buyer. The company unveiled the Model 2+ just a few months earlier at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. It was considered ahead of its time, and Intel ferried the device around the show floor, showing it in multiple demonstrations to build excitement around the Intel Atom processor family for mobile devices.

OQO gained a reputation as one of the few companies to offer handheld computers with full PC functionality. Known for innovative features and cutting-edge designs, the company introduced its first product, the OQO Model 01, in 2004. Though highly anticipated, the OQO devices were too expensive to attract many buyers at the time.

OQO announced that the Model 2+ would ship midyear with prices starting at $999. The company started taking orders but ceased operations before the device shipped.

Based on an Intel Atom Z-series processor running at 1.86GHz, the Model 2+ weighed less than 1 pound and came pre-loaded with the Windows Vista OS. Some of its features included a 5-inch-wide OLED (organic light-emitting diode) touch screen, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless networking. It also included a Qualcomm Gobi chipset for mobile broadband connectivity through networks based on the CDMA2000, EV-DO (Evolution-Data Optimized) and HSPA (High Speed Packet Access) protocols.

But this week, questions lingered among OQO fans: Were the Model 2+ devices on auction for real, and why would someone pay such a high price for one? In a message board on OQOtalk, a forum dedicated to OQO device users, some said the unit for sale might be one of a few prototypes that were released by the company, and the OLED touch screen made the device worth it

"Obviously $4,000 is worth it for the only one of its kind," wrote a poster going by the name Zorg. "I don't see how you could dispute that."

But others questioned the craze around the device, saying the initial euphoria would ultimately die down. "I have been wondering why I would do something like that - is the extra functionality really important over what I currently have or would it just be cool to have such a rare device?" wrote a poster going by the name of Marovada.

A highly skeptical poster, Intfan, wrote that the price was too high and that it would be better to wait until it was relisted at a lower price. source>>>

Up for grabs is the title of Motors Master, an eBay Motors shopping spree, and a trip to Las Vegas to attend the 2009 SEMA show through eBay Motors' 2009 Motors Master Contest.

The contest contains four categories--muscle cars, tuners, off-road vehicles, and motorcycles--and eBay will choose one winner from each category to receive a trip to SEMA in Sin City and a $2500 eBay Motors shopping spree.

"We encourage anyone who loves wheels, engines, spoilers, instrument panels, or any other add-on to send us a video and tell us why they should be a 2009 Motors Master," said the director of parts and accessories for eBay Motors, Famous Rhoades.

"eBay Motors offers the widest selection of parts and accessories anywhere, and we are excited to see the passion from our community come to life through this contest."

Entrants need to record and submit a short video about their favorite car, truck, or motorcycle project and explain why they're the best do-it-yourself project expert for the category. The videos will be judged by the public and a panel of celebrity judges. eBay Motors users that rate the videos will be entered to win a $1000 eBay gift certificate.

2009 Motors Master entries must be submitted by August 31 with voting continuing until September 14. Ten finalists will be selected from each category and the celebrity judges will choose one grand prize winner from each category in early October.

If you're a true gearhead, head over to the eBay Motors 2009 Motors Master Contest page and submit a video. source>>>

The eBay selling tips group is open to the public. Free to join for all facebook members. Providing a place for eBay sellers to unite, share a tip or two and to exchange eBay selling stratgies.

The group also contains buyers browsing the many sellers in the group. Taking a look at their wares and learning a bit more about each seller.

The eBay selling tips group is a safe haven that frowns upon spamming and negativity. Another drama free zone which makes it enjoyable to share your wares while posting a link to your eBay store. source>>>

An unemployed Arkansas woman offering the opportunity to name her seventh child to the highest bidder on eBay says she lost nearly $15,000 when the Web site removed her first three auction attempts.

Lavonne Drummond, 36, told FOXNews.com that eBay removed her first auction -- which she claimed garnered an offer of $15,000 from an unknown bidder -- because "sellers are not permitted to solicit donations," according to an e-mail the Internet marketplace sent to the expectant mother.

Distraught but determined, Drummond said she posted the auction again the following day, only to see it removed, this time due to eBay's policy of prohibiting auctions that promote "giveaways, lotteries, sweepstakes, random drawing, raffles, contests or prizes," according to the company. That auction received no bids, Drummond said.

A third auction Drummond posted on Aug. 10 solicited a top bid of $510.99, she said, but that too was removed because an actual "item" was not offered for sale.

Drummond, of Smackover, Ark., was allowed to keep her fourth auction on the site following an inquiry by FOXNews.com, but she still feels cheated out of nearly $15,000 -- money she says could buy her a new car or put a serious dent in her past-due bills.

"I am super disappointed," Drummond said. "I have bills mounting, my car broke down yesterday. And being disappointed took a lot of wind out of me, a lot of energy out of me."

In a statement to FOXNews.com on Thursday, eBay congratulated Drummond on the upcoming birth of her child, but it also defended its decisions.

"Her original listing was removed because it didn't comply with our policies and it would be premature for us to comment on the current listing which hasn't yet completed," the statement said.

Drummond -- whose children are 19, 16, 14, 3, 2 and 1 -- is due to deliver her seventh child on Sept. 16. She said the idea to sell the first name of the child, her second son, "just came" to her while thinking of ways out of her financial funk. When her eldest children saw the initial auction shuttered, along with the $15,000 bid, they were beyond deflated.

"My children were so crushed," Drummond said. "[They] were really counting on some type of resolution. I was just praying for a miracle."

At first, eBay declined to provide details as to why the first three auctions were removed, a spokesperson told FOXNews.com the company was working with the seller to get the listing reposted. A day later, Drummond's fourth and final auction was active on the site.

As of late Thursday, Drummond's latest auction had received a bid of $202.50. And with five days remaining, she's doubtful the mystery bidder who put up $15,000 earlier this month will return.

"When I saw [the first auction] pulled, I knew it wasn't going to do that again the next time," Drummond said. "The sensation had died down. When they pulled that, it was like my last hope. I was really hurt, mainly because I felt like I failed."

Drummond, who has not contacted an attorney due to cost concerns, said she'll honor any name the top bidder chooses and will consider allowing that individual supervised visits with her child.

"You can name him after a loved one, a departed one, or anny grate [sic] boy name!" the ad reads. "I am really looking to get around 20-25 thousand for a new car that fit my BIG family."

Drummond said she currently drives a 2000 Dodge Caravan.

Drummond isn't the first person to try to sell naming rights of unborn babies online. In 2001, a New York couple posted an online auction on Yahoo and eBay to sell the right to name their child to a corporation for a minimum bid of $500,000. The child was later named Zane due to a lack of bidders.

A year later, a Florida couple placed a "Name Our Baby" advertisement on eBay after they couldn't pick a name themselves.

Drummond, meanwhile, said she feels eBay "definitely" cost her family $15,000, but she's trying to stay positive for her unborn and, so far, unnamed son.

"I'm ready to have the baby," she said. "I'm still praying that someone out there will take mercy and make a huge difference for my family."
source>>>

-- Jeff Gordon was one sore driver before Sunday's CARFAX 400 at Michigan International Speedway.

He took a wicked lick at Watkins Glen last weekend, slamming into Sam Hornish Jr.'s spinning Dodge during the Cup race there.

Gordon rebounded at MIS, finishing second in his Chevy to Brian Vickers, and claiming second place in Cup points.

He shrugged off his back problem, focusing on his good result and solid year.

"My back is fine," said Gordon, who has had problems with it all season. "We're having a great year. We're showing that we're strong, a great team."

Gordon, 38, wants more this year -- a fourth Cup championship.

"I'd just like to have a few more bonus points going into the Chase, a little bit more momentum," he said. "This certainly is going to help towards the momentum if we can go to Bristol next week and keep putting a strong finish out there. That's going to mean as much to me as anything."

BUSCH BOUNCED: Penske Racing's Kurt Busch didn't have much luck at MIS on Sunday.

Roger Penske's driver started sixth in the CARFAX 400 and was running in the top 10 on Lap 122 when he made contact with David Ragan (Roush Fenway Racing) in Turn 4 and suffered major damage to the nose of his No. 2 Dodge.

Busch's car was forced to the garage, where a dozen crew members worked to replace the front end. Busch was credited with finishing 36th.

PRICES CUT: Racing will be cheaper for fans at MIS next year.

The track announced sweeping cuts in ticket prices, up to 63% in some cases.

The reductions come as the track attempts to cure sagging attendance. Sunday's race drew about 100,000. The speedway holds 132,000.

A general admission seat in 2010 will cost $25, and reserved seats will start at $35. source>>>

Forget about who went to Victory Lane or what drivers are still in the hunt for a spot within the Chase. The two biggest stories to come out of the Michigan weekend centered on arguably the two biggest names in the sport -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kyle Busch.

While Brian Vickers' win in Sunday's CARFAX 400 deserves note and NASCAR's championship picture became a little more clear -- or fuzzier depending how you look at it -- Junior and Shrub were the center of attention.

Earnhardt's comments that NASCAR needs to work on the Sprint Cup car to make the racing more exciting sparked a controversy that once again put the sport's most popular driver in the spotlight for reasons not related to winning a race or even posting a good finish.

Mired way out of contention for a Chase spot and still struggling to find a way to be competitive on a regular basis, Earnhardt told reporters he's frustrated with the Cup car and NASCAR's resistance to changing it.

Junior even reached out to the media to help spread his perceived need to make modifications.

"The media could address it a little stronger, and I think the drivers could be a little more vocal about it, and I think NASCAR could ... probably be a little more urgent in improving our product," Earnhardt Jr. said. "The ultimate result is create exciting racing that the fans will enjoy, that the drivers enjoy, so everyone is happy. That should be our quest always, even when things are good.

"I feel like, especially right now, we need to really really try to turn over every stone, and that includes where we are with the COT and where we feel like its development is and where we feel like its future goes and where we feel like this car goes, how it evolves."

NASCAR's response drew chuckles from many inside the garage area when the sanctioning body's president Mike Helton addressed Earnhardt's comments with a bit of a barb thrown in for good measure.

"The way I read his statements were more broad," Helton said, referring to Earnhardt's cry to liven up the sport. "His expression ... that we need to be working on things to make the sport better in general, I agree with that. As it comes to the car, he and his team in particular, there's some frustration there that contribute to his comments."

I'd say being winless since June of last year and with only three top 10 finishes this season before Sunday's fuel strategy-induced third, calling Earnhardt frustrated is a fair assessment.

Crying about the car however is no way for Earnhardt to gain any sympathy from the growing legions of NASCAR followers who believe his best days are behind him and that without his famous last name, Junior would be an afterthought in the sport today.

The best advice I could offer would come from a popular Rihanna hit of a few years ago, Shut up and Drive.

Come to think of it, that could also apply to Busch's antics after Saturday's Nationwide

After battling with Vickers for the win in the CARFAX 250 in the closing laps, Busch was furious when the two made contact, which opened the door for third-place Brad Keselowski to swoop in and steal a last circuit victory.

Busch confronted his opponent on pit road after the race ended, sticking his head into Vickers' car to voice his displeasure in what was described as a performance not suitable for many family members' ears.

"I'm sure I'm complaining and I'm whining and I'm a crybaby, but that's uncalled for," Busch said in his postrace interview. "That's just stupid. I would have ran my own line instead of giving it to the third-place car and battle it out between the top two who deserved to win and deserved to battle the race out at the end. [Keselowski] didn't deserve to win."

The two were forced to sit uncomfortably next to each other in the top three finisher media session that followed the race with Vickers finally confronting the situation.

"Kyle, if you're going to be upset about that, I mean, I'm sorry," he said turning to Busch, who sat staring straight ahead. "That's my job, to try to win the race. If anyone else disagrees, if anyone else thinks I should have just rolled out of it and let Kyle win, then please raise your hand."

For the record no one did, including me.

Last time I checked winning the race was the goal of this sport and Busch of all people should understand that, especially on the last lap, hard racing is the name of the game.

As was the case the week before when he complained about Marcos Ambrose's move at Watkins Glen that won the Nationwide Series race, if the tables were turned Busch would have done the exact same thing.

Neither of the moves Ambrose or Vickers used could be considered dirty or rough driving. And while aggressive when he needs to be, I wouldn't consider Busch to be a dirty driver by any means.

However when the tables are turned he has shown on a consistent basis he can't handle it.

It's an act that despite his incredible talent continues to polarize fans, with what seems like a growing segment that dislike Busch.

Comments like Saturday won't change that perception anytime soon.

Earnhardt and Busch though both move the needle in NASCAR Nation, for better or worse. They proved it again this weekend in Michigan by stealing the spotlight from even the most compelling on-track stories. source>>>

Dodge's president and CEO said Sunday that while his company has no plans to expand its participation, it is committed to remaining in stock car racing.

?We intend to remain in NASCAR for the foreseeable future,?? Mike Accavitti told a group of reporters before Sunday?s Carfax 400 at Michigan International Speedway. Dodge, emerging from bankruptcy protection, works with Richard Petty Motorsports and Penske Racing, which field seven Sprint Cup teams. The company once provided support to about twice that many.

Accavitti said Dodge tried backing more teams in the past, but it spread resources too thin. At its current level of support, Dodge has two drivers - Kurt Busch and Kasey Kahne - in solid contention to make NASCAR's 10-race playoff Chase.

"You really only need (about) three good drivers - good cars, I should say, good teams - and that would be sufficient for us," Accavitti said. "We'll strike the appropriate balance where we can have a good Sunday afternoon for our Dodge fans."

After receiving U.S. government aid, Dodge's financially troubled parent company, Chrysler, has emerged from bankruptcy protection with new management controlled by Italian automaker Fiat Group SpA.

?We have to act like the organization that we are - smaller and more nimble.??

And while Dodge's ongoing support won't be on the same scale as that provided by Ford, GM or Toyota, Accavitti sought to quell a new round of rumors that Dodge was leaving stock car racing's top level.

"We want to continue to talk to the fans in NASCAR, and we want to continue to provide them with good performance and exciting days at the races, which is what the Dodge drivers have been doing for us this year," Accavitti said.

Accavitti also confirmed reports that payments Dodge owed the Petty team were delayed. But he attributed the issue to procedural issues related to Chrysler's bankruptcy and said it has been resolved.

"The check is in the mail", he said.

Kahne confirmed that he recently did a photo shoot for sponsor Budweiser with a Toyota in the background, adding to speculation that the Petty team would not be back with Dodge next year.

"I didn't see that photo," Accavitti said, joking. "Maybe my filter blocks that out on my computer."

Brian Vickers survived another Michigan International Speedway fuel strategy race on Sunday scoring his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win since 2006 with a victory in the CARFAX 400.

Vickers was able to stretch his final fuel load to win his first Sprint Cup race since 2006 and give Toyota its first-ever win at MIS.

The Team Red Bull Racing driver scored his second career win and first for the Toyota team.

Jimmie Johnson was the leader as the laps wound down but ran out of fuel with three laps to go to hand the lead over the Vickers.

With Jeff Gordon on his heels, Vickers was able to conserve enough of his fuel supply to cross the finish line first.

"Nail-biting is not [even] the word for it," Vickers said. "There was part of me that was terrified because I knew we could run out, but there was a part of me that was excited ... because I really felt like we had the fuel to get to the end."

Vickers, who won his sixth pole of the year on Friday, was finally able to pull off a victory for Team Red Bull.

"We've gone through so many pains and so many down times together," Vickers said. "You couldn't ask for a better day than that."

For the second straight Michigan race, Johnson ran out of fuel in the closing laps while leading.

"It's a little too risky for us to even try it," Johnson said. "I was running half-throttle for probably 60 laps trying to conserve gas."

Gordon was second with Dale Earnhardt, Jr., who had enough fuel and was charging hard through the field, third.

It was Earnhardt's best finish since he came home second at Talladega last April.

"I don't want to get too excited," Earnhardt said. "We want to be up front every week."

Carl Edwards and Sam Hornish, Jr. rounded out the top five.

Casey Mears, Joey Logano, Clint Bowyer, David Reutimann and Denny Hamlin completed the first 10 finishers.

Mark Martin, who won the June Michigan race on fuel strategy, ran out of fuel on the final laps and finished 31st. That dropped him to 12th in the Sprint Cup Series point standings while Vickers's win moved him to 13th, now only twelve points out of the final Chase transfer spot.

The Sprint Cup Series now heads to Bristol Motor Speedway next Saturday night for the Sharpie 500. source>>>

It's Bob Dylan's fault. He titled his 31st album Love and Theft, so that's the name picked when Music Row's newest trio of singer-songwriters started making the rounds in Nashville with their three-song showcase. At ASCAP, the performing rights organization, listeners began calling labels to say, "You've gotta hear this band."

When the trio stopped in the office of Lyric Street/Carolwood Records, A&R chief Doug Howard right off the bat declared, "You should have never made it to my office. You should have already been signed. Please don't play for anyone else." The label quickly signed Love and Theft to its roster.

After Taylor Swift heard the band in 2008, she brought them on board as an opening act for her concert tour. Audiences were swept away by their soaring harmonies and onstage charisma. Fans stood in line for as long as three hours for an autograph.

Love and Theft members Stephen Barker Liles, Eric Gunderson and Brian Bandas were well-mannered, handsome and some of the nicest young men ever to come into my kitchen for CMT's Southern Fried Flicks. Each member sings lead and each member adds harmony. They rehearsed for six months before singing for anyone else. All for one, all for two and all for three. But there's only one "Hey Stephen," and he's the one Taylor Swift wrote the song about.

Stephen grew up in Palm Harbor, Fla., where he was exposed to the contemporary Christian music of Michael W. Smith and the gospel music of Elvis. As a teen, his musical tastes expanded to include Johnny Cash, Tim McGraw and George Strait. Taylor Swift's song, "Hey Stephen," is featured on her Fearless album. If you ever meet him, you'll understand.

"Taylor is the nicest girl, and her family is as nice as can be," he says. "Yeah, we still talk, but she's so busy and we are so busy."

Eric is from Charlotte, N.C. Knowing he must love NASCAR, I asked and, of course, he loves it big time. Not only that, his granddad, a preacher who played bluegrass banjo, was the chaplain at the race track in Charlotte. With young Eric by his side, he held hands with all the drivers and prayed before and after every race. It was Eric's granddad who led the great Dale Earnhardt to the Lord. "Dale was a Christian," Eric said. In my heart, I knew that.

Growing up in Austin, Texas, Brian was surrounded by music from birth. His grandfather and uncle were jazz musicians. He started playing piano after hearing Michael W. Smith. During his second year of college, he was playing music on Tuesday nights and wearing his basketball warm-ups. His parents talked with him about his options in life, and he jumped at their mention of Nashville, taking off on what he viewed as an adventure and a life calling.

Earlier this year, they released "Runaway" as their first single. ABC selected the title track of their upcoming album, World Wide Open, as the featured song in its marketing campaign for two of the network's daytime dramas, All My Children and One Life to Live.

They've spent most of this year visiting radio stations. Carolwood Records, part of the Disney Music Group, will release their debut album on Aug. 25.
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Light the firecrackers. The charts are moving again. At least for this week. Sugarland vaults into No. 1 on Billboard's country album rankings with the concert recording, Live on the Inside, and Taylor Swift's "You Belong With Me" arrives at the top of the country songs chart after a 17-week trek.

Sugarland's first-week sales total, according to the Nielsen SoundScan report, was just under 76,000 copies.

But wait, there's more! Reba (as in McEntire, of course) has the week's highest debuting song, "Consider Me Gone," which rolls in at No. 51.

Gloriana also makes a big splash. The group's self-titled collection enters the albums list at an inspiring No. 2.

The week's other new CDs are the Zac Brown Band's EP, Live From Bonnaroo (No. 20), Mac McAnally's Down by the River (No. 56) and Steve Azar's Slide On Over (No. 57).

In addition to Reba's, the first-time charting songs are Easton Corbin's "A Little More Country Than That" (No. 56), Mallary Hope's "Love Lives On" (No. 57) and George Strait's "Twang" (No. 58).

Albums returning to action include the multiple-artist package Country Love Songs (No. 44), Old Crow Medicine Show's Tennessee Pusher (No. 70), Hank Williams' The Unreleased Recordings: Gospel Keepsakes (No. 73) and Caitlin & Will's self-titled EP (No. 74).

Following Sugarland and Gloriana in the Top 5 albums bloc are Swift's Fearless, the Zac Brown Band's The Foundation and the soundtrack to Hannah Montana: The Movie, in that order.

Songs No. 2 through No. 5 are Darius Rucker's "Alright," Billy Currington's "People Are Crazy," Jason Aldean's "Big Green Tractor" and Rascal Flatts' "Summer Nights." source>>>

You may recognize Jace Everett's name from 2005 when he released a self-titled country album, but now he's back in the news for the theme song to HBO's most watched series, True Blood. The song, "Bad Things," appeared on his self-titled debut album released in 2005 on Sony Music Nashville's Epic imprint, but it fell short at country radio. However, it fits in perfectly with the menacing opening sequence to True Blood, a drama/thriller about what the world would look like if vampires really did exist and decided to make their presence known. The sequence has been nominated for an Emmy and has resulted in around 10,000 hits per day on Everett's MySpace page.

Spurred on by the new found success of "Bad Things," Everett's latest release, Red Revelations, came out on Weston Boys records in June and includes 11 brand new songs, along with the original recording of the True Blood theme. Everett recently talked to CMT.com about getting second chances in the music business, the True Blood phenomenon and how his new album was partially inspired by the show.

CMT: I remember seeing you three years ago at CMA fest and hearing "Bad Things" then, but now you're back. What happened in between then and now?

Everett: Very little in some ways. ... I got dropped by Sony about a month after my record came out. It was the Sony/BMG merger, and a lot of the Sony staff got blown out. Myself and about 12 other artists got dropped all in one day. So that was a little shocking and threw me off for a little while, but I just kept writing and wound up making a live-in-the-studio acoustic record that I went and toured the U.K. with in 2007. I got to tour with Guy Clark and with some other folks. It was kind of a bluesy, country blues record.

Then in 2008, I was still writing songs and playing bass in bands, and the True Blood thing came up on the radar. I was playing bass for Trent Willmon because he's a buddy of mine and I play bass, and I was able to get some things worked out to where I could begin to go make a new record. So that's what I've done with this Red Revelations record. It's definitely been a game-changer, but you know, I was in the game the whole time.

What did you think the first time you saw the True Blood opening sequence with your song behind it?

Man, I freaked. They actually asked me to do a couple of different versions of the song that weren't as country. Of course, country radio didn't think there was anything country in that song [in 2005]. So I did a couple different versions of that song, but they kept going back to the old record. Digital Kitchen did those opening credits, and I thought it was great. They just got nominated for an Emmy, so it's apparently not just my opinion. The song helps the images, but the images help the song just as much. I think they did a phenomenal job.

Since "Bad Things" has become more popular, has it led you to write more songs like that?

I've always written songs like that. In some ways, "Bad Things" is a little bit of a novelty song. People think of it as this dark, brooding thing, and it's really not that melodramatic. It's supposed to have some degree of humor in it. I think Alan Ball [True Blood's producer] picked up on that because if you watch True Blood, yeah, it's about vampires, but it's also funny as hell at times. He likes that black humor -- that darkness mixed with funny -- and so do I.

So I have always written that way. I write really country stuff, I write really pop stuff and I write really rock stuff. I've always written all kinds of songs. I write songs with my son these days that are kind of Queen-esque because he digs that. It's like a chef. You don't expect a chef to make only marinara sauce. It would be a pretty boring restaurant if you only make one thing, and that's the way I feel about music, I like doing it all.

With Red Revelations, do you feel like a different kind of an artist than you were with Sony?

Yeah, I think I'm really being myself a lot more. When I came to town in 2001, I had just gone through a very difficult divorce and some different personal drama, and I came to town looking to have an Americana kind of career. That's what I listen to and that's what I naturally do, but then a major label came and offered me a deal, MCA. So I said 'Well, OK, that sounds like a good idea.' And then I wound up getting bounced over to Sony, so you know, I was just going with the flow and probably acquiesced a little too often and a little too deeply on a few things, but I'm still proud. I think we did good work with that record, and I enjoyed it for the most part, but I'm definitely able to have more freedom now. There's not even any thought towards 'How are we gonna get this on radio?' That's not even part of the equation.

I hear a lot of blues influence on the CD. What draws you to it?

I don't know. I've just always dug that stuff. The things that I always liked were never the things that were on the radio necessarily. And I still love a good pop tune. I mean, I've written some, I've had a No. 1 radio hit as a songwriter [Josh Turner's "Your Man," co-written with Chris DuBois and Chris Stapleton]. I still like popular music. But I also really like stuff that's a little more out there -- whether it's country stuff, rock 'n' roll stuff or it's rockabilly, there's just something about it.

[The album is] kind of a film noir thing. It's more cinematic music. And, heck, I've got the theme song to the most popular show on HBO since The Sopranos, and I figure ... that I can maybe parlay that into something else in the film and TV world, so I just went with those instincts and made the record.

How much of the record was inspired by the show?

There are two songs that are directly inspired by the show. But you don't have to know that to enjoy the songs. One is called "Burn for You," which is actually the most popular song off the record so far, according to digital downloads. And for that song, the lyric got inspired by an episode in the first season where the vampire Bill actually walks out into the sunlight to try and save his human girl, Sookie, and he catches on fire. And I was just thinking about all the melodramatic pledges that you make to a lover, and I took it one step further. I mean, the guy is basically willing to die, go to hell and stay till the end of the world. The other song is "Damned If I Do," which could be taken as a vampire-meets-human love song pretty easily, but again, you don't have to know that for the song to work, I hope.

Do you think True Blood has given you a second chance?

Oh, there's no question. The writing was on the wall. I was about to figure out another path and maybe still make music, but I wasn't gonna be able to make a living at it. The business has gotten really tough. Even guys that have been stars at some point are struggling. The record companies are closing everywhere, publishers closing down. It's tough right now. So this was absolutely ... I'm born again, you know what I mean? The vampires brought me back from the dead.

And second chances don't seem to happen that much anymore.

They don't. That's what this country has always been about -- second, third and fourth chances. I still think you can have them, but the way the economy has been here lately, you're lucky if you get a second chance. So I'm trying to take full advantage of it. source>>>