Optum Pro Cycling Gets On Diamondback

Hugely successful pro cycling team Optum Pro Cycling powered by Kelly Benefit Strategies will be riding the Diamondback Podium Equipe bike during the 2014 season it was announced on Jan. 7 at the Diamondback headquarters in Kent, WA. The team has also reached an agreement with Mt. Borah, a Wisconsin designer and manufacturer of high quality cycling clothing as a sponsor. This summer cycling superstars like Jade Wilcoxson, Jesse Anthony, Tom Zirbel, Alex Candelario, Joelle Numainville, Leah Kirchmann, Brianna Walle, Denise Ramsden and others will be in the saddle on Diamondbacks and wearing Mt. Borah togs.

 
Dual national champion Jade Wilcoxson.
 
Second-year all-rounder Brianna Walle


Dual Canadian Champion Joelle Numainville

  Young Canadian star Denise Ramsden

YOU MUST REGISTER

Command Sergeant Major Jeff Mellinger retired in 2011 as the last US military draftee remaining in service. Drafted in 1972, he spent 39 years as a soldier. All remaining members of the US military are volunteers. Nonetheless, even today males in the US between 18 and 26 years of age are required to register with the Selective Service System, just in case the federal government needs some involuntary cannon fodder. This is true not only for US citizens, but also for immigrants, documented and undocumented, residing in the US and its territories. This means that any undocumented alien in the age group that has not registered for the draft is a felon, subject to a fine of up to $250,000 or 5 years imprisonment or both. The last person indicted for this felony was Terry Kuelper, on January 23, 1986. The charge was later withdrawn before trial. Nine individuals have actually spent time behind bars for failure to register, the longest being for 6 months. As of tomorrow it will be exactly 28 years since anyone has been prosecuted for failing to register with the Selective Service System.

 ATTENTION, UNDOCUMENTED MALES ; IMMIGRANT SERVICING GROUPS!

 Selective Service does not collect any information which would indicate whether or not you are undocumented. You want to protect yourself for future U.S. citizenship and other government benefits and programs by registering with Selective Service. Do it today. If you are a man ages 18 through 25 and living in the U.S., then you must register with Selective Service. It’s the law. According to law, a man must register with Selective Service within 30 days of his 18th birthday. Selective Service will accept late registrations but not after a man has reached age 26. You may be denied benefits or a job if you have not registered. You can register at any U.S. Post Office and do not need a social security number. When you do obtain a social security number, let Selective Service know. Provide a copy of your new social security number card; being sure to include your complete name, date of birth, Selective Service registration number, and current mailing address; and mail to the Selective Service System, P.O. Box 94636, Palatine, IL 60094-4636. If you have a social security number, you can register online (click here). It's quick and easy.

Then there's this, provided by "Things That Cost More Than Space Exploration":

 If you are an American male, chances are that at some point you had to register with the US Selective Service System. For those of you not familiar with it, the Selective Service System is, in their own words, “a small, independent federal agency [that] is America’s only proven and time-tested hedge against underestimating the number of active duty and reserve component personnel needed in a conflict.” (I like that the agency also describes itself as “the last link between society at large and today’s all-volunteer Armed Forces,” which sounds like the copy on the back of a post-apocalyptic novel.) That’s right: they are the ones who run the draft. Despite the fact that US law at present does not actually permit the government to run a draft, and the fact that no draft has been held since 1973, Selective Services nevertheless collects and keeps information on all male US Citizens between the ages of 18-25, just in case. (Women, who have experienced some significant expansions in their role in the US Armed Services in recent years, are not required to register). According to the General Accountability Office, as of 2012 the US Department of Defense had “not reevaluated requirements for the Selective Service System since 1994”—a time period in which several wars were fought without the need for a draft. The GAO report goes on to point out several reasons why the agency is not needed in the modern era, even should there ever be a need for another draft. Nevertheless, the Selective Service System’s budget in fiscal year 2012 was $24 million.

Fed Big Wig Admits Ignorance

William Dudley, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, admitted in a forum in Mexico that Fed honchos really don't understand how QE works, according to this article by Reuters. The initial monthly purchase of $85 billion in Treasuries and mortgage bonds, now reduced to $75 billion, may affect the portfolios of private investors or just send a signal. The real signal is that the Fed has only a limited range of therapy for the condition it has created itself.

Presidential Plastic Watch

Serial philanderer Bill Clinton may have been the first to US president to adorn his wrist with a non-metallic timepiece but the currently most powerful man on earth stalks the links with an inexpensive plastic watch, too.
  According to this source BHO has been wearing one kind or another of cheap wristwatch for some time. What are we to make of this? Does this demonstrate that the fellow is a "man of the people"? Or that he isn't big on watches to begin with? Or that he really isn't a very classy guy?

Four Missing Cyclists Found In California Mountains

According to the Associated Press:

ALTADENA, Calif.—Four mountain bikers missing overnight in the San Gabriel Mountains near Los Angeles have been found safe.
Los Angeles County sheriff's Lt. Angela Shepherd says the men were found around 8:30 a.m. Monday after spending a night in the chilly Angeles National Forest. She says they were uninjured.
The men began their ride from Mount Wilson to Pasadena on Sunday morning but failed to return in the afternoon as planned.
Sheriff's Sgt. David Shoemaker tells City News Service that the four—cousins between the ages of 28 and 38—had no phone contact and weren't dressed for a night in which temperatures dropped into the 40s.

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In the background are the San Gabriel Mountains, in the foreground is Santa Anita Park, a horse-racing venue with an attendance of thousands several days a week. Is it even possible to imagine the suffering of these four, lost in the remote mountains without cell phones while temperatures plummeted into the 40s.  Being cyclists, and non-smokers, these intrepids couldn't have had matches or a lighter to make a little campfire.  We don't know if the cyclists were wearing typical bike clothing or duds more adapted to the frigid conditions in December SoCal but no doubt they were very uncomfortable. There might be an exciting article in Outdoor when these guys get released from medical care.  Or maybe a TV series on A &E.

It turns out that the guys actually did have a fire going according to this L.A. Times story.  They were confused by the various trails in the neighborhood. Kind of like being lost in downtown Milwaukee.

Who Speaks For Poverty?

In the mid-nineteenth century Charles Dickens, who had gone through some hard times as a child due to his father's business reversals, made a good living writing books like "Oliver Twist" and stories like "A Christmas Carol" that endure today as descriptions of the economic injustice of Victorian society.  Other writers have carried on the tradition, Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle" wasn't meant to be an exposure of unsanitary conditions in the meat packing industry but was instead an attempt to draw attention to the dangerous and unrewarding life of the immigrant labor force. Sinclair himself was already a successful author and became a candidate for California governor.  B. Traven, the mystery man that penned stories like The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, specialized in depicting the life of the underclass. Barbara Ehrenreich, a Phd. in cell biology, worked low-wage jobs to gather material for her 2001 book, Nickel and Dimed, On (Not) Getting Along In America, an expose' of the deplorable life of the working poor.

The point is that the poverty mitigation industry is staffed by fairly affluent people. Those who seem most dedicated to alleviating the purported suffering of the poor could be seen as exploiting their condition. What do the poor themselves have to say?

We're in an age where literally anybody can distribute information to a world-wide audience, just as I'm doing at this moment.  And for free. Almost all public libraries in the US have free computer internet access. Stroll into any library and you'll see computers manned by apparently financially disadvantaged users.  Otherwise they'd be using the fairly reasonably priced home access with what are now cheap PCs. Continue your stroll among these users and glance at their screens.  They're playing games, looking at Facebook, watching movies, etc.  Sign up for a computer yourself and see if you can find a blog written by an actual poor person. I found one, a homeless Arsperger's Syndrome victim in San Diego. On the other hand, there's a mountain of pixelated material authored and refereed by individuals whose occupation is pointing out poverty, its causes and remedies. These individuals are not poor, however. Of course, this phenomenon doesn't just take place in computer world. The mastodon media, too, and the political cesspool, are consumed with passion for the plight of the poor. How about some commentary from the poor themselves.

Optum Pro Cycling Ladies Team Adds Some New Personnel

Press release from Optum Pro Cycling:

 Orange and Black Bolsters 2014 Women's Roster With New Signings, New Directorship December 5th | Minneapolis, MN

 Optum Pro Cycling presented by Kelly Benefit Strategies announced the 2014 roster for its women's program, with several new additions to a team with four current reigning national champions. Amber Pierce, formerly of Team Pasta Zara, and Maura Kinsella, formerly of Team NOW and Novartis for MS, round out an 11-woman roster that retains its key elements from 2013. US Road National Champion Jade Wilcoxson, Canadian Road Race and Time Trial Champion Joelle Numainville, Canadian Criterium National Champion Leah Kirchmann, and New Zealand Road Race National Champion Courteney Lowe all return. Also returning for '14 are Denise Ramsden (2012 Canadian Road Race Champion), Lauren Hall, Brianna Walle, Janel Holcomb (2011 NRC Champion), and Annie Ewart. "It's with great pleasure that we welcome Amber and Maura into our program for 2014," said Performance Director Jonas Carney. "Amber has extensive

European experience and will immediately contribute critical veteran leadership on the road, while Maura is an explosive young talent and an excellent fit on a
 
team already stocked with star power." The team also brings in all-new leadership for 2014 – Kevin Field, formerly Sports Director at Team SpiderTech, brings a decade of directing experience to the table; it will be the first time Field has directed a women's program. He will be assisted by Pat McCarty, recently retired from the pro circuit from Bissell Pro Cycling. The duo brings invaluable international experience and leadership, and will focus on building the team's significant palmares. "Our new director Kevin Field is an old friend and has lots of experience directing in Europe for Team SpiderTech and Trek-Livestrong," said Carney. "In addition, our new assistant director Pat McCarty is a decorated cyclist in his own right, and brings further insight and knowledge to the team. It is great to have them join our family." Field, a native of Ottawa, Canada, is pleased to once again be directing his home country's top talent on the bike, flanked by some of the US' and New Zealand's fastest women. "It's wonderful coming into a program that isn't in a rebuilding phase, but one that's looking to improve upon its already significant accomplishments. I'm excited and honored to accept management duties for the women's program alongside so many old friends and great colleagues," said Field. "What Joelle and Leah were able to accomplish at the Canadian National Championships this past season was incredible; sweeping the road titles. As a Canadian, I was humbled and proud of their performance. To have them complimented by riders like Jade Wilcoxson, with what she has done in such a short period as a professional, means we will have quite an arsenal in 2014." The lineup represents Performance Director Jonas Carney's emphasis on bringing in well-rounded athletes with a variety of complimentary personalities and skills. "We're not a group of individuals wearing the same colors. We're a team and a family. Before we bring new personnel onboard we make sure that they're not only going to fit in with our system, but improve it," said Carney. "Ultimately we hire people that are proud to represent Optum and our other partners as both bike racers and brand ambassadors." The team aims to retain all five of their national championship titles, earn an invitation to the inaugural Tour of Britain (UCI 2.1), and return to the World Team Time Trial Championships in 2014. They finished 8th in the event in Florence in their first ever TTT event together; they consider a top five in this discipline a major goal for 2014's world championship in Ponferrada, Spain.