Professing Religious Memes Without TOV

I was doing some grocery shopping the other day at one of the local small stores. While I was in line, the cashier was very pleasant, but it seemed she was "in the spirit." There were some regular shoppers ahead of me and she was ranting on about “The Lord Jesus did this for me and that for me” and made sure to wish everyone a “Blessed Day.” I just kept my mouth shut and observed. The woman in front of me gave off the vibe of a person who one does not trifle with. She appeared to be agitated and impatient. When it was her turn she blasted the cashier for "pushing her religious beliefs where they don't belong." The cashier was taken aback and became silent. After the order was bagged she wished the agitated customer a “Blessed Day,” to which the customer responded, "I don't feel like having a F***ing blessed day" and stormed out.

I'm very wary of people who always feel the need to show everyone else how pious and devout they are on the outside. I know in the New Testament, Yeshua calls out someone who prays with full Jewish regalia, with tephilin and tallit (prayer straps and prayer shawl) in public. When my father was in college, he was the only Jew on the football team. It was a very anti-Semitic time in the 30's. He would go off in a corner and do his afternoon and evening prayers. His coach, who was a Catholic came over to him and put his arm around him and told him how much respect he had for my dad for doing that, especially in such a private personal manner.

I want to quote from a letter someone wrote to the Dallas Morning News about these types of people and his experience:

"I worked 32 years for a major oil company and part of my job was to interview people wanting to operate a branded gas station/convenience store or wholesale distributorship. It was my experience over those 32 years that those who came professing their religion and throwing a `God bless you" or "I'm praying for you", or other such phrases to make you somehow believe they were honest, straightforward and could be depended upon not to cheat the customer almost were, without exception, the exact opposite!"

The TOV Standard, ( Words, Thoughts and Actions which Protect Life, Preserve Life, Make Life MORE Functional and Increase the Quality of Life) is NOT  Religion, it is ancient wisdom that centers around Common Values, Common Ground for the Common Good. Doing TOV and Living according to TOV Values is not a spectator sport, it is an Action done individually and collectively without the need to trumpet empty piety and devotion to show others. The Jewish Sages teach, "Say Little and DO MUCH!"

This is the inaugural year for the TOV Center. If you feel that the work Jim and I do has merit and can provide options for growth and self-discovery and a more peaceful safer society, please join us by becoming a member of TOV Center, a one year membership is $18.00 and Lifetime is $180. Also if you would make a tax deductible donation it would be greatly appreciated. CLICK HERE for more information about membership and about donating.  

Just like the old TV commercial said, "You don't have to be Jewish...." -- Join the TOV Center and become an active participant in co-creating a New Reality.

Shalom,

Rabbi Jeffrey Leynor

Predators Above and Beyond the Rule of Law Who Use It Against You

Have you ever heard of the Enron Loophole?

Enron had an edge over Nymex in that it was a member of the shadowy, over-the-counter energy market nobody seemed to be watching. Not only that, but Congress had gone so far as to approve special legislation in 2000 promising not to watch Enron as part of its infamous measure called the Commodity Futures Modernization Act. . . Buried in the bill’s legal jargon lay the even more notorious “Enron loophole,” a piece of legislation that specifically exempted over-the-counter energy traders from any regulation. The text of the loophole, drafted in consultation with lawyers hired by Enron, left over-the-counter traders free to behave exactly as they pleased in buying and selling financial products pivotal to the health of the United States and the global economy. The loophole was so potent it took the liberty of making clear that if regulators did happen to uncover fraud in the over-the-counter market, they were still forbidden to do anything about it.[i]

The only protection citizens have from the financial predators that are extracting trillions of dollars from the American economy is the “Rule of Law.” Over the past few decades, not only have they infected the minds of unsuspecting citizens with a “Less Regulations the Better” virus and removing laws from the books that protect citizens from their usurious strategies – they have been paying millions to lobbyists to have new laws passed that prohibit citizens from suing them (like the Enron Loophole above).

For this elite and powerful group money has become more than something they use to make investments, it has become a weapon and the institutions that are supposed to protect citizens into barriers that protect them from justice. Today, two of their latest attacks are in the news today:

(1) Buried in the fine print of certain college enrollment agreements is language that takes away students’ and families’ constitutional right to a day in court. It’s called a “forced arbitration” clause, and it throws any dispute out of court – and into a private, secretive system where a tribunal chosen by the school gets to decide who wins, and who loses.  See -- https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/dept-of-ed-dont-let-colleges-deny-students-of-their-right-to-sue?source=03032016email

(2) Facing hundreds of millions of dollars in lawsuits, the giant biotechnology company Mnsanto last year received a legislative gift from the House of Representatives, a one-paragraph addition to a sweeping chemical safety bill that could help shield it from legal liability for a toxic chemical only it made. See -- http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/01/business/monsanto-could-benefit-from-a-chemical-safety-bill.html?ref=topics&_r=1  & http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/595/136/204/?cid=fb_LG_AdsMonsantoAnniston&src=facebook_ads&campaign=sign_595136204&z00m=27500778

Things you can do:

(1) Sign the petitions at the links above.

(2) Write your US Representative & Senators (just a short note will work & a note received by mail is much more powerful than an email or text).  For contact info for Representatives CLICK HERE; for Senators CLICK HERE.

(3) Ask political candidates if they know about the above attacks on citizens and what they will do if elected.

(4) Share this info with others.

(5) Become a member of the TOV Center, connect with others who share Core Values that Place Human Life Above Profits and Network Together to Co-Create Change – CLICK HERE.

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[i] The Asylum: The Renegades Who Hijacked the World’s Oil Market by Leah McGrath Goodman © 2011; Harper Collins, New York, NY; p. 218.