Gomers: What's going wrong

Gazette Editorial Board

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WET ICE: Boo to the extended drizzle that rudely drenched the Cedar Rapids Fire and Ice festival and other outdoor area events on Dec. 3. Perhaps Mother Nature was playing a nasty trick of payback for all that nice weather she delivered most of this fall.

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PROTESTERS OUT OF LINE: On Dec. 3, about 50 Iowans in support of the national Occupy Wall Street movement descended on Cedar Rapids' Cherry Building. Occupy Iowa Alliance members with drums and signs picketed the building where AirCover Integrated Solutions Corp. recently leased space to manufacture small surveillance drones for use in public safety emergencies. The protesters say the company's product will be used to invade citizens' privacy. But their actions this day also were disruptive for other businesses located in the building as owners conducted their Very Cherry Holiday event for customers. Police eventually asked protesters to move across the street, and they complied. Too bad they didn't think of that courtesy on their own. Upholding free speech rights is important. But using a constitutionally protected privilege to trample others' rights is wrong and diminishes protesters' message.

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