Gomers -- What's going wrong

OVERBOARD: Hate speech seems increasingly common in today's political environment, and some examples are worse than others. After performing his song, “We Don't Apologize For America,” during his recent concert at the Iowa State Fair, Hank Williams Jr. took a swipe at President Obama, telling the crowd: “We've got a Muslim president who hates farming, hates the military, hates the U.S. and we hate him.” Regardless of your political leanings, that's a lot of hate-baiting.

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MORE RAIN BUT NOT ENOUGH: We've been getting more rain lately in the Cedar Rapids/Iowa City, yet more of Iowa - 67 percent - is in extreme drought conditions, reports the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That's up from 62 percent the previous year. Rainfall is still spotty and sparse.

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PARTY RATINGS PLOT? The Princeton Review's annual “best party school” ranks The University of Iowa, a perennial top 10 member, No. 2, up two slots from last year. The ratings are based on surveys of students. We wonder if there's an underground movement to push the UI to No. 1 and distract from the school's many academic qualities.

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