Jaime Welton

1 week ago | mercurynews.com | Jaime Welton

Trump adminstrationneeds lesson in integrityFlag Day and the 250th birthday of the U.S. Army are moments when we can be proud, as well as humbled, to live in the United States. This country offers us magnificent ideals to live up to, yet has a past that teaches hard lessons about doing what is right by all people who live in this great nation.

1 week ago | mercurynews.com | Jaime Welton

Phonics alone won’tget kids readingDenise Amos says that California districts encourage students to memorize words, and believes they should instead be using phonics. As a former reading specialist, I know that both phonics and memorization, “sight words,” are needed. If there were one system that worked, we’d all be using it. One system alone doesn’t work. It’s like losing weight — you need both exercise and diet.

1 week ago | mercurynews.com | Jaime Welton

Story sold magnitudeof rallies shortThe words “more than” were doing a lot of work. The story indicated that more than 50 protests were planned in the Bay Area, then only listed the totals from San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland, Walnut Creek, Palo Alto, Hayward and Dublin, which added up to more than 140,000 in those cities alone. Fremont was estimated to have between 3,500-4,000 people. And there were 40-plus more protest venues that weren’t accounted for in the article.

1 week ago | mercurynews.com | Jaime Welton

Hard work of changeremains after marchesMy wife and I joined thousands of our neighbors for the San Jose No Kings march last Saturday. We left feeling a little lighter, having been surrounded by so many folks who share our current distress with our country’s direction. However, while events like this are important as public statements and for helping us feel like we’re “doing something,” I reflect that Kamala Harris won the district by 20 points. The risk is that we are talking to ourselves.

1 week ago | mercurynews.com | Jaime Welton

Military serves thepeople, not the presidentAs a veteran of the Marines, I took an oath to defend the Constitution. Today, I see that oath under threat — not from foreign enemies, but from rising authoritarianism at home. Peaceful protesters are being met with force. Marines are being treated as tools of political intimidation. Meanwhile, the same leaders who are cutting Veterans Affairs dare to call themselves pro-veteran. I didn’t serve for a president.