A Clockwork Orange

Oh, Wilbur: MCOKER@OCWEEKLY.COM

Posted Oct. 25, 7:30 p.m.
Back in the saddle again

SHOW OF HORSE
Progressive agitator Duane Roberts of Garden Grove is making hay out of the horses who showed up at an Oct. 22 protest against Santa Ana Police brutality. Actually, what chafes Roberts' chaps is the number of horses -- a dozen -- and what was on the backs of them -- 12 riot-geared Santa Ana cops.

He recounts the whole episode here, but he basically contends that 12 mounted units is an excessive show of force for 22 marchers engaging in their constitutionally guaranteed right to protest. At least, we believe public protesting is still protected; as members of the U.S. media, we haven't been paying much attention to which constitutional rights are in and which are out in these Patriot Act times -- so we just ignore all of 'em. Say, maybe our pals at Fox News can clue us in; they seem to have all the answers.

Meanwhile, according to Far-Far-Far-From Fox News' Roberts:

"When one demonstrator asked a Santa Ana Police sergeant why the equestrian unit had been positioned on a public sidewalk, he responded by saying 'they' didn't want anybody walking up the stairs. He did say, however, that people could use what space was available on the sidewalk in front of the horses."

So, see, that's reasonable. Just walk right between -- WHOA, BOY! -- that phalanx of equines -- EASY THERE, FELLA -- adorned with shield-and-helmeted, baton-twirling coppers.

Before you brand Roberts a malcontent, he did sign off with some positive press for Santa Ana's finest:

"Despite the bizarre deployment of a hoof detail, Santa Ana Police appeared to have behaved more professionally and with much greater restraint at this anti-police brutality protest than they did last year."

Four got popped at that demo. No one wound up in the poky after this latest march.

MEDIA ELITISM? YOU'RE SOAKING IN IT
Our It's News to Us box has pointed you to some recent examples of White House neocons eating their own as Rove blames Libby, Libby blames Rove and everybody blames Cheney for Plamegate. There's also all the Right vs. Right fuss over Harriet Miers and Tom DeLay and even, ever so gently, that little dustup in Iraq. There was even a strange report about Dubnuts being all depressed by the Second Term Blues and blaming everyone around him without think that perhaps someone else might be worthy of scorn.

But it turns out conservative pundits, bloggers and blowhards -- that about covers it, no? -- have been going at one another lately as well. Eric Alterman has a great piece on the Center for American Progress site about all these voices from the Right, who've harped on and on for years about "media elites," not batting an eyelash at their own elitism. Within that piece is a passage on a couple commentators going right toe to right toe -- and one pugilist just so happens to be Irvine's favorite conservative lawyer/law professor/columnist/right-wing radio henchman:

One of the more entertaining battles has been waged between bloggerHugh Hewitt (pro-Miers) and theNational Review'sJonah Goldberg (anti-Miers), who have taken to comparing resumes to prove that they would recognize a member of the hated "elite" if it snuck up and bit one of them on the behind. As Goldberg wrote of Hewitt onNRO's The Corner, "Ah yes, those Harvard alum, Coif-ordered, presidential library-building, appeals court clerking, Justice Department working, three-time-Emmy-award-winning, NEH-counseling, PBS-hosting men of the people really have us National Review aristocrats dead to rights." Hewitt's bizarre rejoinder: Goldberg "suggests that I too am an elitist, never realizing that an Ohio-born and raised Cleveland Indians and Browns fan cannot be an elitist. Further, my argument has been with the Bos-Wash Axis of Elitism, and not an argument about snobbery."

Fellas, fellas, where is the love?

As always, Clockwork's gotta solution: you're both douche bags. How's that? Feel better?

GOOF TROOP
Our current Best of OC issue, on stands now, includes an item under the Best of Lake Forest on the ripping Etnies Skate Park, but that notice was originally followed by another previewing the since-concluded second annual GvR of Skateboarding, which pitted pro skaters with regular stances against those who skate "goofy foot." Alas, that chuck of text wound up on the virtual cutting-room floor. So we feel ashamed and duty-bound to at least let you know who won, The Skateboard Magazine's Goofy Team or Thrasher Mag's Regular Team . . .

Go, Goofy!

If you missed all the action or caught it and want to see it again, the GvR of Skateboarding will be shown on Fuel TV. Check etnies.com for show times.

ROGER (EBERT) & ME
If you've always wanted to see the latest Hollywood has to offer before the masses -- with the added bonus of getting to let the directors, producers and screenwriters know what you thought of their, ahem, art -- UC Irvine Extension's popular six-week Sneak Previews with Michael Berlin film series is now taking registrants.

Fall 2004's sneaks included Hotel Rwanda, Kinsey and Les Choristes, while the year before's had The Cooler, In America and Girl with a Pearl Earring. And these were the theatrical-length screenings, no extended trailers or making-of B.S.