American by birth. Patriot by choice. Christian by grace.

The "76" in my handle refers to the birthdate of our beloved Country, 1776. It also recalls my first childhood memory of any major public event: America's bicentennial celebration in 1976. At that time my folks explained to me what it all meant, and I've been an enthusiastic Patriot ever since!

Above all things, I'm a follower of our Lord Jesus Christ. He knows I'm not perfect, but by His grace I'm forgiven. To Him be all glory, praise and thanksgiving!

I believe God conceived and blessed the United States of America as a special Country, a nation born with a mission to bring the light of freedom and opportunity to all humanity.

I believe the Holy Bible and the U.S. Constitution both mean what they say, and say what they mean. I consider neither one open to whimsical interpretation by liberal scam artists—especially the ones in fancy robes.

I am a conservative, which means I support very limited government, tiny taxes, personal freedom, social mobility, a strong national defense, and the Judæo-Christian moral heritage that has shaped America's character.

Although it's not based on blood or ethnic ties, I believe there is a distinct and unique American culture. Key aspects of our culture include the English language, the Christian faith tradition, and the primacy of the individual over the collective—the latter of which derives from English common law.

For newcomers intending to settle in America, I believe assimilation to our culture should be the primary social goal. Otherwise, they can go back home!

I believe government is the people's servant—not vice-versa. It only serves at the pleasure of God as His earthly surrogate. And since freedom is God's gift to us, government's only purpose is to ensure our freedom by [1] defending us in war, [2] upholding peace and order, and [3] administering justice.

I believe private property is the cornerstone of economic freedom, and capitalism is the best economic system ever devised by man. It leaves people at liberty to use their gifts, contribute to society, and reap material prosperity in return.

Accordingly, I believe private enterprise (individual or corporate citizens) can do almost any domestic task better than government can. This includes funding the arts, educating children, delivering mail, building bridges and dams, running buses and trains, generating energy, managing wildlife, stewarding the environment, controlling the quality of goods and services, tending to the sick, caring for the elderly, feeding and clothing the poor, and saving up for retirement. I think the huge government bureaucracies that purport to do these things are completely unnecessary—and unconstitutional.

I believe the Second Amendment is the ultimate guarantee of our rights listed in all the other Amendments.

I believe "man-made global warming" is a total hoax. The pretext of protecting "fragile Mother Earth" is just another ploy by liberals to take away our freedom, impose new laws & taxes, and tell us what personal choices we must make. I ♥ my SUV! I like nice glowy incandescent lightbulbs, too. And BBQ grills. And wood-burning fireplaces...

Thanks for stopping by my homepage here on FreeRepublic. This is a great site, and a community I'm pleased to be part of. I appreciate all the folks here who've shared their wisdom with me. God bless Jim Robinson for getting it all started!

Some Awesome Quotes

“The Bible is the rock on which our Republic rests.”
—Andrew Jackson

“If men will not be governed by God, they will be ruled by tyrants.”
—William Penn

“It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded ... on the gospel of Jesus Christ.”
—Patrick Henry

“Our Constitution was made only for a religious and moral people. It is wholly inadequate for the government of any other.”
—John Adams

“Can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are the gift of God?”
—Thomas Jefferson

“Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters.”
—Benjamin Franklin

“To the kindly influence of Christianity we owe that degree of civil freedom, and political and social happiness which mankind now enjoys.”
—Jedediah Morse

“No truth is more evident to my mind than that the Christian religion must be the basis of any government intended to secure the rights and privileges of a free people.”
—Noah Webster

“A thorough knowledge of the Bible is worth more than a college education.”
— Theodore Roosevelt

“Within the covers of the Bible are the answers for all the problems men face.”
—Ronald Reagan

“We do not need more intellectual power, we need more moral power. We do not need more knowledge, we need more character.”
—Calvin Coolidge

“The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who in a period of moral crisis remain neutral.”
—Dante Alighieri

“When the eagles are silent, the parrots begin to jabber.”
—Winston Churchill

“Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!”
—Psalm 33:12 ESV

“A wise man's heart inclines him to the right, but a fool's heart to the left.”
—Ecclesiastes 10:2 ESV

“[W]here the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”
—2 Corinthians 3:17b ESV

“I would keep as much money in the treasury as the safety of the Government required, and no more. I would keep no surplus revenue there to scramble for...”
—James Knox Polk

“Collecting more taxes than is absolutely necessary is legalized robbery.”
—Calvin Coolidge

“If you pay people to be poor, you're going to have a lot of poor people.”
—Milton Friedman

“The winner of the Democratic primary is always the candidate who does the best impersonation of an American.”
—Ann Coulter

“Men occasionally stumble across the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing had happened.”
—Winston Churchill

“Man is not free unless government is limited.”
—Ronald Reagan

“Atheism and socialism ... are inseparable entities.”
—Jesse Helms

“I reject the kind of naive, wishful thinking that makes every delinquent a victim of society and every riot a social problem.”
—Nicolas Sarkozy

“Who ever said that it is the responsibility of government to make life easy?”
—Jim Geraghty

“I've noticed that everyone who is for abortion has already been born.”
—Ronald Reagan

“You shout four letter words at me; well,
I have two for you: S-O-A-P and W-O-R-K.”
—George Wallace, speaking to some hippies

“The income tax created more criminals than any other single act of government.”
—Barry Goldwater

“I'm not a Republican because I grew up rich. I'm a Republican because I didn't want to spend the rest of my life poor, waiting for the government to rescue me.”
—Mike Huckabee

“Government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem.”
—Ronald Reagan

“With freedom comes responsibility!”
—Mr. Sharp, my 6th grade teacher

My Favorite Presidents
(Mouse-over or click on pictures)

And now, some stuff for my fellow Christians...

Are you a believer seeking to fellowship in a good church that teaches all the sound, Biblical doctrine the Apostles taught?

Sadly, many historic churches these days have abandoned basic truths—including the Divine creation of the world; our human sinfulness and need for a Savior; Christ's atoning work for us at Calvary; and even the factual reality of His Resurrection! Such heresies stem from a failure to accept the authority of God's inerrant, written Word.

Not surprisingly, these misguided church bodies are the ones whose leaders, under the guise of "compassion" and "tolerance," now condone sins such as homosexual sodomy, abortion, and the accommodation of other gods (idolatry). They have substituted secular social activism for the genuine Great Commission.

If this describes your church leadership and you're sick of all the liberal lies and heretical hogwash purveyed in the pulpit to comport with worldly values...then take heart my friends, and check out...

TonyRo76's Unofficial
Biblical Church Guide
Where to find the Good News...without all the liberal editorials

If your faith tradition is...	And you're tired of all the heresy and nonsense in the...	You'll be delighted with the solid Christian teachings of the...
PRESBYTERIAN or REFORMED	Presbyterian Church, USA (PCUSA)   Reformed Church in America (RCA)	Presbyterian Church in America Orthodox Presbyterian Church Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church Evangelical Presbyterian Church Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America Reformed Presbyterian Church in the U.S. Bible Presbyterian Church Free Presbyterian Church Reformed Church in the U.S. United Reformed Churches in North America Confederation of Reformed Evangelical Churches Confessing Movements: Presbyterian Coalition Presbyterian Lay Committee New Wineskins Association
LUTHERAN	Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)	Lutheran Church Missouri Synod Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod Association of Free Lutheran Congregations Evangelical Lutheran Synod American Association of Lutheran Churches Lutheran Churches of the Reformation Church of the Lutheran Confession Church of the Lutheran Brethren Apostolic Lutheran Church of America Confessing Movements: Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ WordAlone Network Lutheran CORE Coalition for Reform
ANGLICAN	Episcopal Church, USA (ECUSA)	Reformed Episcopal Church Anglican Church in America Anglican Catholic Church Anglican Province of America Anglican Province of Christ the King Episcopal Missionary Church United Episcopal Church Convocation of Anglicans in North America Confessing Movements: Anglican Communion Network American Anglican Council
CONGREGATIONAL	United Church of Christ (UCC)	Conservative Congregational Christian Conference Evangelical Congregational Church Evangelical Free Churches Evangelical Covenant Church Confessing Movements: Biblical Witness Fellowship Evangelical Association
METHODIST	United Methodist Church (UMC)	Free Methodist Church Wesleyan Church Church of the Nazarene Evangelical Methodist Church Congregational Holiness Church Southern Methodist Church Congregational Methodist Church Primitive Methodist Church Christian and Missionary Alliance Church of the United Brethren Confessing Movements: Confessing Movement within the UMC Good News Movement Concerned Methodists
BAPTIST	American Baptist Churches, USA	Southern Baptist Convention Baptist Bible Fellowship International Conservative Baptist Association General Association of Regular Baptist Churches Baptist General Conference General Association of General Baptists National Association of Free Will Baptists Numerous other conservative Baptist groups - check local listings.
INDEPENDENT ("non-denominational")	Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)	Churches of Christ Assemblies of God Church of God (Cleveland) Church of God (Anderson) Churches of Christ in Christian Union Grace Brethren Churches Fellowship of Evangelical Churches Great Commission Churches Open Bible Churches Calvary Chapels Countless other non-denominational churches that preach the Word; some have more charismatic leanings, while others are simply "evangelical" or called "Bible" churches - check local listings.
To All Christians: The True Church (the actual family of Christ's followers everywhere) is invisible to us, seen only by the LORD Who in His wisdom can read our hearts. So while being mindful of Paul's advice to the believers at Corinth, please remember that sincere and faithful believers, as well as godly and dedicated pastors, can be found in any church—even those belonging to errant and corrupt denominations. Likewise, there are also liars and hypocrites to be found in any church—even among the “good” denominations. In the long run, you may feel the calling to remain in a wayward denomination and fight “the good fight” for Biblical orthodoxy. To this end, a number of Confessing Movements (see chart above) have arisen within mainline denominations—a reason to rejoice, indeed! If this is God's will for you, always let the Holy Spirit be your strength in the battle.
To Catholic & Orthodox Christians: My omission of Roman and Eastern liturgical churches here is not intended to be insulting in any way. Since Catholic and Orthodox churches do not teach sola scriptura, it seems that whether or not a church is solidly Biblical would be less crucial to folks in your faith traditions...that's all! :-)

And just why is the Bible so important, you ask?

“For God so loved the world...”

Check it out!

Oh, and while we're at it...check out a really good English translation of the Bible here:

And now, some stuff for prospective college students...

Are you looking to further your education with a college degree, but not quite sure where to go?

Higher education in America can be a real minefield for young people. Many schools nowadays are controlled by the most radical elements of our society: old hippies who once wallowed in the mud at Woodstock, high on whacky weed, agitating for Maoism and Marxism. Now "grown up"(?) and living a life of ease as tenured professors or college administrators, they're striving shamelessly to pass along their decadent, collectivist worldview to future generations.

Personally, I went to a very liberal Jesuit school with a faculty full of pompous elitists. Yet their efforts to "reconstruct" me not only failed, but actually steeled my patriotism and conservative views all the more.

Maybe you're up for the challenge of a four-year tussle with condescending ivory-tower leftists like I had, as preparation for life's battles ahead. If so, I commend you and encourage you to stand firm in your beliefs!

But looking back, it might've been nice had there been a resource where I could find the following information when I was 17. For a great education that actually nurtures your foundational values, check out...

TonyRo76's Unofficial
Conservative College Guide
Great education without leftist indoctrination

Naturally, the best schools in America are the Christian ones. But there are other terrific schools as well.

First stop for a superior education rooted in God's Word: The Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU). The CCCU's 102 Christ-centered member institutions are those that meet the highest Biblical and academic standards. They include such famous schools as: Wheaton College Westmont College Anderson University Seattle Pacific University Abilene Christian University John Brown University LeTourneau University Cedarville University Calvin College ...among many others. The CCCU also has a growing number of affiliated institutions that seek to honor the Lord in their academic missions.

Some more outstanding schools, highly recommended: Liberty University Ashland University Samford University Grove City College Harding University Hampden-Sydney College Patrick Henry College Hillsdale College University of the Cumberlands Bob Jones University St. John's College George Wythe College Virginia Military Institute The Citadel

There is also a wealth of information about good colleges (and bad ones, clearly identified) available from the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, which has been working "to educate for liberty" since 1953.

To All Students: To be successful in life, a college degree is no guarantee. For unfettered happiness in your life's work, I believe the best recipe is passion. Doing whatever it is that you love to do, you'll find the rewards accrue naturally. College merely arms you with knowledge and discernment for the rest of your life. Which brings me to one last thing... For true wisdom, there is no better place to look than to Jesus Christ—the Seat of all wisdom and truth. No academic degree from any school in the world can ever match that!

And now, some stuff for freedom-lovers everywhere...

Want to show the world exactly where you stand, and at the same time really irritate your favorite pinko-commies? Be sure to check out some of the best conservative gear here on the following links...