Sunday, October 9, 2016

Don Wagner Fun Fact #2: Far out and far right


Seven years ago as Don Wagner sought to spring from the SOCCCD to Sacramento, OC Weekly's Matt Coker covered Wagner's base of support in this article: 

Don Wagner Kicks Off Assembly Bid With a Little Help From His Far-Out, Far-Right Friends

How far out? How far right? Read and see!


Wagner is currently a candidate for mayor of the fair city of Irvine. 

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Wednesday, October 5, 2016



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Don Wagner Fun Fact #1


Former SOCCCD trustee Don Wagner is running for mayor of Irvine. Perhaps the librarians of Irvine - and the folks who frequent them -  should check out Wagner's views about the American Library Association (ALA).

Back in 2006, as trustee Wagner led the charge to disassociate our colleges from the ALA which he characterized as "Liberal busybodies acting far outside their field of expertise."

Check out the video below to see Don in rabid action with distortions and mischaracterizations and the smug disdain many of us remember well.


By the way, if memory serves, shortly after Don's departure to Sacramento, both colleges were able to rejoin the ALA and now are members in good standing.

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Tuesday, October 4, 2016

He's baaaack! And running for mayor of Irvine!


Yes, we know, we know. Former SOCCCD trustee Don Wagner has been termed out of the Assembly and failed to jump to the State Senate and is now eyeing Irvine's mayoral seat. Oh dear. His main opponent is Mary Ann Gaido (former two time council member and Planning Commissioner) who has a strong support in the community, followed with Gang Chen and Katherine Daigle.

What to say about the prospect of Don doing to Irvine what he did in the SOCCCD?

Tune in for more in the coming days and weeks.

A line-up of failure and disgrace: Don Wagner (third from right, scowling) joins,
 among others, convicted felon  former sheriff Mike Carona (at podium); Raghu Mathur (resigned under pressure, to his right); John Williams (fired O.C. Public Administrator, to his left), Tom Fuentes (Where to start?).
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Saturday, October 1, 2016


Quake alert issued for Southern California (OC Reg)
...The southernmost end of the fault hasn’t ruptured since 1690, and has been building up stress for 326 years. Earthquakes along the San Andreas typically occur every 300 years, said Morgan Page, a geophysicist with the U.S.G.S. Earthquake Science Center....
Cal State Fullerton's Math Department Has More Problems Than Overpriced, Mandatory Textbooks (OC Weekly)
     [Alain] Bourget is the math professor whose refusal to use the required textbook for his Math 250B course, "Introduction to Linear Algebra and Differential Equations," to instead teach from one about $100 cheaper created headlines across the nation. He earned enmity from university officials but was celebrated by colleagues across the country for standing up for academic freedom while garnering the gratitude of many students who increasingly view higher education as a high-priced shakedown.
. . .
     But the thing of it is, cost was not the reason Bourget chose the book. As he says now, the fact that the Strang book was less—significantly less—than the Goode text was merely a "happy coincidence." He would have still chosen the Strang book if it were the same price or a little more expensive than the Goode book.
     "The fact that the book was cheaper was nice," Bourget says, "but the most important thing, the reason I wanted to teach it, is that it was a better book, and I don't mean a much better book, but a much, much better book."
. . .
…Down the road at UC Irvine, that school's Academic Senate, clearly reacting to Bourget's case, recommended that faculty members forgo any profits they derive from assigning their students textbooks or other course materials they've produced....
WHO GOT RICH OFF THE STUDENT DEBT CRISIS? (The Center For Investigative Reporting)

Thursday, September 29, 2016

Third Annual Banned Books Day

For the third year in a row, IVC celebrated Banned Books Week with a reading and book giveaway. Banned Books Week is sponsored by the American Library Association and celebrates our freedom to read. The IVC event has been organized by Professor Virginia Shank and IVC's librarians.



Inspired by the ALA's superhero theme, the intrepid Professor Shank made a cape. 

Quotations about censorship and the value of books were chalked on the sidewalk
from the library to the new Liberal Arts building.  Some students joined in. 

Red "I Read Banned Books" buttons were distributed to all. 

Dean Feldhus looking soulful as she reads.
Professor Shank sported a nifty open book shaved hair design.

It was admired by many.

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Roy's obituary in LA Times and Register: "we were lucky to have you while we did"

  This ran in the Sunday December 24, 2023 edition of the Los Angeles Times and the Orange County Register : July 14, 1955 - November 20, 2...