Will Tomer
The Toledo Blade
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Past articles by Will:
Reality Winner's case highlights the need to protect whisteblowers
The prosecution of Reality Winner, a former member of the U.S. Air Force who was accused of sending news outlets a top-secret National Security Agency report on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, has highlighted the need to ensure that whistleblowers have the legal power to defend their actions in a court of law. Last Tuesday, Winner pleaded guilty to one count of violating… → Read More
Saudi Crown Prince Salman Is Not a Reformer, Just Another Despot
As Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, continues what Time Magazine described earlier this month as his “charm offensive,” Saudi-led airstrikes killed more than 20 people last week at a wedding party in northern Yemen. Women, including the bride, and children made up the bulk of the casualties. Should we pay no attention to this and other, similar incidents? After all, Prince… → Read More
House Democrats show true colors with government surveillance vote
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelois helped spearhead an effort to reauthorize a bill that allows the warrantless surveillance of American citizens. ASSOCIATED PRESS Enlarge The House of Representatives voted last week to extend the National Security Agency’s warrantless surveillance program for at least six more years. In the process, the House rejected an amendment to the law that would have… → Read More
Facebook censors speech at the request of the U.S., Israeli governments
Facebook has come under scrutiny this week after selectively deleting political accounts at the request of the U.S. and Israeli governments. ASSOCIATED PRESS Enlarge Facebook, the culturally ubiquitous social media platform with over two billion users, has come under scrutiny this week after selectively deleting political accounts at the request of the U.S. and Israeli governments. First, the… → Read More
The battle for free speech demands a new champion
Until his death earlier this year, Nat Hentoff was arguably the most prominent advocate for free speech in the U.S. Decades worth of essays, lectures, and books, including Free Speech for Me — but Not for Thee: How the American Left and Right Relentlessly Censor Each Other, established Mr. Hentoff’s reputation as a consistent and ferocious defender of this cherished right. The passing of Nat… → Read More
Cruel and unusual?
While this column has been primarily used to discuss issues regarding free speech and the First Amendment, it would be inappropriate, I think, to ignore other injustices in the dominion of civil liberties. Executions across the country continue to use methods that do not provide a humane end for condemned inmates. Even where the executions were successful, witnesses have reported that prisoners… → Read More
Why banning ‘extremist content’ isn’t as easy it sounds
Infringements on free speech are becoming familiar territory for YouTube. The company’s most recent brush with censorship, however, could be its complicated case yet. Since the Islamic State rose to power, using social media platforms to expand its reach, YouTube has begun cracking down on “extremist content.” Advertisers expressed discomfort with their ads being shown before Islamic… → Read More
Israel boycott bills pose grave threat to free speech
When it comes to free speech, one issue flies under the radar. It has been called “one of the gravest threats to free speech in the West,” and yet it probably isn’t what you think. Boycotts against Israel have increasingly become the target of legislation from states all across the country. These boycotts — frequently placed under the umbrella moniker of Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS)… → Read More
Israel boycott bills pose grave threat to free speech
When it comes to free speech, one issue flies under the radar. It has been called “one of the gravest threats to free speech in the West,” and yet it probably isn’t what you think. Boycotts against Israel have increasingly become the target of legislation from states all across the country. These boycotts — frequently placed under the umbrella moniker of Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS)… → Read More
Attic on Adams delights with its 'Danhattan'
At the Attic on Adams, a charming bar located in Uptown Toledo, customer service is the name of the game. Perhaps the clearest proof of this is the “Danhattan,” a twist on the classic Manhattan concocted by bartender Dan Phillips for a regular patron of the Attic. (Disclosure: That patron is a co-author on this piece, Phillip Kaplan.) Using blasts of orange flavors, including Orange Tiger from… → Read More
Tech giants should not be trusted with free expression
Once again, a technology giant has been accused of using its power to silence opinions it disliked or disagreed with. Prager University, a nonprofit that creates educational videos with conservative slants, has filed a lawsuit against YouTube and its parent company, Google, alleging that the company is censoring its content. PragerU claims that more than three dozen of its videos — covering… → Read More
Colleges must adapt to solve the free speech crisis
College students are halfway through the fall semester and a number of major free speech disputes have rocked campuses across the country. Students have shouted down speakers in a series of high-profile incidents, including recent examples at Columbia University and the University of Michigan. And while much of this behavior is associated with liberal students, a group of pro-Trump hecklers… → Read More
Latest Maumee Bay brew stands out thanks to fruity taste, hazy color
Maumee Bay Brewing Company has been a Toledo mainstay since 1995, making a name for itself through continuous experimentation that has resulted in outstanding beers. The latest Maumee Bay concoction, #FakeJuice, enters the brewing company’s pantheon of fantastic, innovative beers. Conceived by brewer Christopher Clarke, who was hired by Maumee Bay in January, #FakeJuice hits a series of citrusy… → Read More
Trump’s First Amendment fight emblematic of nationwide problem
In his 1945 essay “Freedom of the Park,” George Orwell wrote that “if large numbers of people believe in freedom of speech, there will be freedom of speech even if the law forbids it. But if public opinion is sluggish, inconvenient minorities will be prosecuted, even if laws exist to protect them." In the United States, Orwell’s cherished values of free speech and a free press are protected by… → Read More
Free speech threatened ... at the ACLU?
For 97 years, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has served as the First Amendment’s staunchest defender. These free speech absolutists have spent decades carrying the torch for anyone and everyone — from Native Americans to Nazis — who has been prohibited from exercising their constitutional right to free speech. But cracks are beginning to show in the armor of the storied civil… → Read More