On the war in Gaza:

The number of civilians killed in this war is horrific, but to blame it all on the government of Israel is to  to see only half of the conflict. Every civilian killed bolsters the position of Hamas. Hamas has intentionally embedded itself into the population, knowing that civilians will be killed. For every civilian killed by an Israeli soldier, a Hamas fighter has pulled the trigger remotely.  If Hamas can win, then the dead will have served their purpose.  After the Vietnam war a North Vietnamese general was asked if the one million deaths suffered by the north was worth it. His response was;"We won." That is all that matters.

I have watched some of the students protesting the American position on this war. It reminded me of my college days in the 60"s. The anti war riots destroyed a lot of property and disrupted college campuses. This issue was a bit different because we were protesting being drafted to go fight against a people we did not hate over an issue manufactured by a few powerful men. But the direct result of those riots was that Ronald Reagan got elected as governor of California, and he made it his mission in life to create the university system that we have today. You can thank him for the tuition that only the wealthy can afford. My student loan for five years of college was $500.

You students should make your voices heard at the ballot box. You should have taken all the money you spent at REI on tents and shade structures and camp stoves and given it to a NGO to provide for the civilians that don't have any of that stuff.