Entries by Jeffrey Ian Ross

Democracy blindness: On being misinformed about democracy or ignoring its principles when the outcome does not go your way

The recent election demonstrated that many Americans either don’t understand how elections work, or don’t really care. Shortly after the polls closed, many Americans either unhappy with the projected outcome of the electoral race protested, and contrary to their state’s laws suggested that the vote counting be stopped or continued. Some, despite the evidence of […]

Enabling new ways of using urban pubic space during the COVID-19 pandemic

Shortly after the spring COVID-19 lockdown, my neighborhood in Washington DC resembled a ghost town. Bars, restaurants, and other retail stores started shutting down, while businesses, government offices, public libraries, schools, and parks were temporarily closed. At night it was eerie. The silence was punctuated by occasional sounds of ambulances or fire truck sirens taking […]

Trump gets COVID-19 and the world goes crazy

This past week we learned that not only did Hope Hicks, President Donald Trump’s former trusted advisor contract COVID-19, but so did Trump and many of the people whom he closely associated with during a recent Rose Garden ceremony. Predictably lots of people from the drunk at the end of the bar, to the army […]