As the Christmas period grows ever closer YBF has a few recommendations for books you could buy your family or friends, maybe even ask for yourself as a present from Santa!
Baa Baa Rainbow Sheep is a witty compilation of absurd examples of political correctness. It takes a look behind some of the headlines you will remember tracing the stories in some detail.
The Campaign Against Political Correctness is a web-based organization committed to revealing the irrational lengths to which the government goes in the name of political correctness. Citing such examples as the prohibition of children celebrating Christmas in school lest it offend another child, founders John and Laura Midgeley, started their London based non-partisan organization to combat the harms they saw inflicted on society in the name of political correctness and to promote a more reasonable approach to society.
John and Laura Midgeley appear on tv shows and talk radio, such as as ITV’s This Morning and the BBC Radio to present their material. Their website also features an anti-PC petition to sign, and how to receive an info pack or become a member and support the campaign.
Links to top news stories of political correctness are filed under the headers of “Recent,” “Ridiculous,” and “Damaging” on their website, providing evidence of the irrational course of advocates of a politically correct society are taking Britain.
The website also provides links to books and literature on the origins, tenets, and flaws of political correctness as well as the famous “Politically Correct Scrapbooks.”
Last year YBF’s Chief Executive, Donal Blaney, spotted a great website called RateMyProfessors.com. The site is primarily an American site so that students can rate their professors whilst at college.
However…
If you go to the left hand side of the front page of the website and click on the drop down bar under where it says ‘Find a professor’ you can select England. If you search through the different counties and universities there are plenty of lecturers based in England that you may know and therefore can rate!
The categories you can rate include the following:
Easiness
Helpfulness
Clarity
Interest level prior to attending class
Textbook use
Textbook used (if you know it)
Grade
Attendance
Prof Status (whether they are still teaching or not)
Appearance (just for fun)
Class
and Comments
By finally clicking on ‘Rate This Professor’ your rating will be submitted!
One of the strongest forums of freespeech and conservative thought comes from the blogosphere. With opinions and views spread across the spectrum of political thought, often blogs are the best place to look for true grassroots feelings about a situation or event in politics.
If you have recently set up a blog or have been writing a blog that you think we here at YBF don’t know about and our readers may also be interested in then please let us know. Email YBF’s Director of Operations at steven@ybf.org.uk and YBF will post a list of new blogs or ones you may not have heard of each week so you can find the ones of interest to you.
This is the new cinema advert from the TaxPayers’ Alliance – the first cinema advert from a UK political campaign in almost a decade. As well as highlighting the huge cost of the EU to ordinary taxpayers and consumers, it promotes the new TPA book “Ten Years On”, which you can order FREE at www.greatEUdebate.com
The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) is the UK’s first original free-market think tank.A registered educational and research charity based in London, the IEA was first conceived after founder Antony Fisher read a summary of F.A. Hayek’s Road to Serfdom in an issue of Reader’s Digest.After speaking with Hayek, who advised him to avoid politics in favor of intellectuals, and publishing his own book, The Case for Freedom,the IEA was born with Fisher as director in 1955.
Today the mission of the IEA remains what is first was: “to improve understanding of the fundamental institutions of a free society by analyzing and expounding the role of markets in solving economic and social problems.”
To this end, the IEA conducts highly principled research and publishing of books and a quarterly journal on such topics as Development, Economic Theory, Education, Environment and Transport, Ethics, The European Union, Fiscal Policy, Industry and Privatization, International Policy, Labour, Monetary Policy, Regulation, Trade and Welfare.While most of the authors are commissioned, some IEA staff does research and writing as well. IEA publications are distributed and sold throughout the world and have been reprinted and translated into over twenty five languages.
The IEA also hosts conferences, seminars, lectures, and working lunches and discussion of its themes.Recent events have included the book launch “Good Money” and discussion, “Getting To Grips With Public Sector Pensions,” and “Economic Issues for Christians in the Modern World.”
The student outreach programme is another way the IAE works to accomplish its mission. While many of IEA’s books are mandatory reading at universities and colleges, the IEA often holds special seminars and lectures for students in Westminster. Furthermore, scholarship money is available for the annual Political Economy Conference and Annual State of the Economy Conference so that students and teachers go can free of charge. There are also events for post-graduate students, and the annual Student Essay Competition for students under the ages of 18.
Founded in 2002, the Conservative History Group is dedicated to promoting debate, knowledge, discussion, and understanding of the Conservative Party’s origins and history.The Group hosts regular meeting featuring prominent Conservative speakers as well as publishes articles and a blog focused on Conservative figures.
Recent meetings included Simon Heffer and Nicholas Hillman speaking on “Rivers of Blood: 40 Years On” and Fion Hague speaking on “Lloyd George and His Women” in the Thatcher Room of the Portcullis House.In April, David Davis MP delivered “The Wilberforce Lecture” to the Group.
The Group also publishes the Conservative Home Journal, a bi-annual publication with articles, interviews, and book reviews on major and lesser well known Conservative figures.Recent publications have included an Interview with John Charmley, an article by Helen Szamuely titled “What are we to make of Sir Edward Heath?” and an article by Scott Kelly titled “Guilty Men & the 1945 Election.”
To join the Conservative History Group and become a member, which comes with a subscription to the journal, simply send a cheque for £15 to:
Conservative History Group
PO Box 279
Tunbridge Wells
Kent TN2 4WJ
A separate subscription to the Journal is 15 per annum, or the Journals can be ordered separately on their website.
Not too long ago YBF went up to Nottingham University to give the Conservative Future branch there some Media Train YBF style. Whilst we were there the Nottingham University CF Chairman, Nick Allsop, interviewed both YBF’s founder and Chief Executive, Donal Blaney, and Steven Dent, YBF Director of Operations. See the interview below.
Founded in 1977, the Adam Smith Institute quickly established itself as one of the UK’s foremost economic think-tanks and a leader in promoting free market economics. Named after the famous Scottish economist and headquartered in Westminster, the ASI rose to prominence in the 1980s pioneering the principles of privatization, contracting out, tax reduction and internal markets in health and education. Today, as a non-partisan and non-profit organization led by Dr Madsen Pirie and Dr Eamonn Butler, the ASI focuses on promoting economic and social policies through online reports and briefings, monthly meetings, and annual conferences.
The ASI encourages students to be come involved both as subscribers and as participants in their regular meetings through The Next Generation, the Institute’s organization for student involvement. The Next Generation meets on the first Tuesday of each month to hear from speakers. Recent speakers have included the Rt Hon Michael Howard QC MP, Mayor of London Boris Johnson, and Bill Emmott (former Editor of The Economist).
Twice a year the ASI also hosts the Independent Seminar on the Open Society which students can attend and participate in. The conference is limited to 200 students and presents political and economic material consistent with A-level and AS-level studies, which challenges students to grow in their understanding of the issues. Politicians across the political divide as well as think-tankers, economists, and national media personalities both talk and are quizzed by students.
Beyond hosting conferences, the website for the Adam Smith Institute provides a wealth of economic and political resources. Publications include downloadable PDF files, briefings, and think pieces on topics such as fair trade, welfare, privatization, civil liberties, the NHS, the flat tax rate, and healthcare reform. It also provides profiles of leading economic thinkers such as Adam Smith, Friedrich von Hayek, and Milton Friedman to give students an introduction and understanding of these brilliant economic minds.
This test judges, through your answering of a few questions, where you stand politically. Are you more left or right wing? Are you more authoritarian or libertarian?
Once you have taken the test you can compare where you sit in comparison to world leaders and political thinkers on the diagram below.
Political Correctness and the Corruption of Public Debate in Modern Britain.
A look at how we are being overrun by the Nanny State and quite detailed analysis of political correctness.
The Campaign Against Political Correctness is a web-based organization committed to revealing the irrational lengths to which the government goes in the name of political correctness. Citing such examples as the prohibition of children celebrating Christmas in school lest it offend another child, founders John and Laura Midgeley, started their London based non-partisan organization to combat the harms they saw inflicted on society in the name of political correctness and to promote a more reasonable approach to society.
Last year
Not too long ago YBF went up to Nottingham University to give the Conservative Future branch there some Media Train YBF style. Whilst we were there the Nottingham University CF Chairman, Nick Allsop, interviewed both YBF’s
Founded in 1977, the Adam Smith Institute quickly established itself as one of the UK’s foremost economic think-tanks and a leader in promoting free market economics. Named after the famous Scottish economist and headquartered in Westminster, the ASI rose to prominence in the 1980s pioneering the principles of privatization, contracting out, tax reduction and internal markets in health and education. Today, as a non-partisan and non-profit organization led by Dr Madsen Pirie and Dr Eamonn Butler, the ASI focuses on promoting economic and social policies through online reports and briefings, monthly meetings, and annual conferences.
