r/mountlaketerrace

In Mountlake Terrace, on 216th, between 44th and 48th, there is a really nice self-service bakery cart with some excellent items. Katie is very nice. Enjoy some sweets.

Join us in a discussion about the book "Democracy for Realists: Why Elections Do Not Produce Responsive Government" by Christopher Achen and Larry Bartels at Around the Table Board Game Pub on June 8th from 6PM-8PM.

For anyone interested in joining, this book is available for free as a PDF.

Sign up on meetup if you are interested!

https://www.meetup.com/snohomish-county-intellectually-curious-book-club/events/314770536/

Book Description:

Democracy for Realists assails the romantic folk-theory at the heart of contemporary thinking about democratic politics and government, and offers a provocative alternative view grounded in the actual human nature of democratic citizens.

Christopher Achen and Larry Bartels deploy a wealth of social-scientific evidence, including ingenious original analyses of topics ranging from abortion politics and budget deficits to the Great Depression and shark attacks, to show that the familiar ideal of thoughtful citizens steering the ship of state from the voting booth is fundamentally misguided. They demonstrate that voters―even those who are well informed and politically engaged―mostly choose parties and candidates on the basis of social identities and partisan loyalties, not political issues.

They also show that voters adjust their policy views and even their perceptions of basic matters of fact to match those loyalties. When parties are roughly evenly matched, elections often turn on irrelevant or misleading considerations such as economic spurts or downturns beyond the incumbents' control; the outcomes are essentially random. Thus, voters do not control the course of public policy, even indirectly.Achen and Bartels argue that democratic theory needs to be founded on identity groups and political parties, not on the preferences of individual voters.

Democracy for Realists provides a powerful challenge to conventional thinking, pointing the way toward a fundamentally different understanding of the realities and potential of democratic government.

hey! i am hosting an open-ended art night at The Evergreen Bottleshop in Mountlake Terrace. if you're trying to meet new people and build some community, this is going to the be spot for you! we're going to be messing around with liquid watercolor using some unusual tool and material combinations to create some funky art. we'll play games, ask each other silly questions and be inspired by each other. The Evergreen is also hosting their first vinyl night at the same time, so bring something you want to listen to or pick something out from their collection! it's going to be a very groovy night. sign up here - Craft Around & Find Out, Wednesday, August 12th

see ya there!!!