The Face of Evil

The Face  of EVIL: Director of the Office of Management and Budget Mick Mulvaney
is also the interim director of the CFPB. Carolyn Kaster/AP

Why do we allow ourselves to be ruled by our government?

Thomas Jefferson declared an answered to that question prior to the founding of the United States:

"To secure these [inalienable] rights [to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness], governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed... Whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness." --Thomas Jefferson: Declaration of Independence, 1776. ME 1:29, Papers 1:429

For me, and members of my family going back to the Revolutionary War, Jefferson had it right.
It’s up to the government to do right by its people. To protect and defend them and to, “effect their safety and happiness”.

That statement is significant to me because it does not differentiate “the people” by wealth, race, sex, or national origin. It means all the people. It’s up to the government to protect the poor and the wealthy.

So, when I discovered that the current administration is doing its absolute best to circumvent and undermine the very laws that have been instituted to serve and protect the public, it became obvious that we must declare their actions evil and an abomination to the people of the United States.

Does that evil have a face? Well, yes it does. It’s the face of Mick Mulvaney, director of the Office of Management and Budget, the interim director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Here’s the story:

Trump Administration To Defang Consumer Protection Watchdog, Chris Arnold, NPR, 12 Feb 2018.

“The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was created after the financial crisis to protect Americans from being ripped off by financial firms.”

“Now, President Trump's interim appointee to run the bureau Mick Mulvaney is making radical changes to deter the agency from aggressively pursuing its mission.”

“An internal memo obtained by NPR says the CFPB will on Monday unveil a new strategic plan to that end. A "revised mission and vision of the bureau" for the years 2018 through 2022 will call upon the agency to "fulfill its statutory responsibilities but go no further." It also says the bureau should be "acting with humility and moderation."

“This new direction is consistent with Mulvaney's other memos and statements and formalizes his plans for defanging the watchdog bureau and reshaping its mission, according to insiders and experts that NPR has talked to.”

“The CFPB is considered a powerful and independent watchdog. But many Republicans have wanted to shut it down since day one because they think it's too powerful. Mulvaney is one of them. As a Congressman, Mulvaney called the agency a "sick sad joke." He drafted legislation to abolish it. So people at the bureau were shocked when the president appointed him to run this consumer protection agency.”

“Within weeks of coming on board, Mulvaney has worked to make the watchdog agency less aggressive. Under his leadership, the CFPB delayed a new payday lending regulation from going into effect and dropped an investigation into one payday lender who contributed to Mulvaney's campaign. In another move that particularly upset some staffers, the new boss also dropped a lawsuit against an alleged online loan shark called Golden Valley Lending. The suit says the lender illegally charges people up to 950 percent interest rates. It took CFPB staffers years to build the case.”

Please go here for the rest of the story.

Springtime For Hitler The Producers - 2005