Monday , 8 January 2024

karololesiak

Karol Olesiak is a poet, writer, and activist. He is a graduate of Eugene Lang Liberal Arts College at The New School and an MFA from The University of San Francisco. As a Navy sailor, he commissioned the USS Ronald Reagan, navigated the straits of Magellan, and served in the Persian Gulf. In 2011 Karol headlined The Bowery Poetry Club in New York. That same year he became a staunch supporter of The Occupy Wall Street Movement and became entrenched in the Occupy network of affinity groups. Karol was one of the founders of www.soldiersforthecause.org. He became an antiwar activist in 2010 and has written many political essays. He has been translated into Spanish. Karol's poetry has been incorporated into cinematography and sound art.

Predatory Education

When the GI bill changed in July of 2008 to the post 9/11 it created an exponential increase in the amount of money available to veterans. I went to school on a yellow ribbon scholarship on the post 9/11 GI bill and, quite frankly, I felt somewhat guilty about the amount of money that the government was spending on me. …

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Predatory Banking Targets Veterans

It is a well known fact that the recruiting practices of the military target the lowest economic dregs of our society. Once in the military they are also targeted by banking institutions. Outside of every stateside base there is a check cashing place that will charge the equivalent in interest that one could get from a speak easy loan shark. …

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Class is the New Race

  The first question the media asked when the Occupy Wall St. Movement started budding at the end of September was the racial demographic of the protesters. As if the litmus test for the legitimacy of an issue is the amount of minorities involved. This has become a real problem especially with so called liberal circles because we have been …

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The Unknown Soldier

On this day meant to commemorate veterans young and old, it is imperative  that we do not let the recent improper disposal of veterans’ ashes in Virginia sully the unknown soldier’s symbolism. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was first erected in France as a monument to the unnamed fallen. Today one exists in almost every country in the world. With the onset of forensic science, the …

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Veterans Affairs Closes Its Doors

Have you ever heard of a governmental organization closing its doors? Not answering its phones? That is exactly  what I observed this summer with the Philadelphia VA. In the spring I had received a letter from the VA informing of their intentions of recruiting me.   Unfortunately, this all amounted to nothing and when I called the VA (over and over again) the number …

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No Honor in Hurting Unarmed Civilians

Currently this video has over two and a half million hits. If this is not proof of the emotional power that a veteran in support of the Occupation can garner I don’t know what is. Most of us don’t claim to be any more honorable than anyone else. It is other people’s expectation of our honor that makes us go …

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Phillip Spooner: Equality Maine

Philip Spooner is a WWII vet and a born and bred republican. His speech on gay marriage became an Internet sensation. When veterans speak in this country people listen. It’s a responsibility never to be taken lightly. Good morning, committee. My name is Phillip Spooner and I live …in Biddeford. I am 86 years old, a lifetime Republican, and an active …

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The Sacred Freedom of Speech

The article linked below references the Vancouver riots and how police around the world mishandle crowds by preempting violence. Dr. Clifford Scott is the world’s foremost expert on crowd psychology. His abridged point is that the moment police start to treat the crowd made up of different individuals as a mob, it becomes a mob. The interviewer misses the point …

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Obama’s Jobs Plan

When President Obama and J.P. Morgan introduced the 100,000 Jobs Mission I was extremely excited because I was planning to propose to my girlfriend soon and the idea of career opportunities would make that possible. (I’ve since proposed in light of the fact that I don’t have a job). I immediately called the J.P. Morgan recruiters and sent over my resume. …

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The Death of Democracy

As the imminent fall of the birthplace of democracy looms on the world stage, it is important to keep in mind that it was not democracy that orchestrated its crash. It was the neoliberal banking practices perpetuated by the belief in hyper-capitalism as a world end game. That, due to the end of the Cold War, the West’s victory, and …

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