This Woman Gave ActBlue $22 the Day We Met Her, But She Had No Internet El-Sayed is raking in campaign donations from the Democrat fundraising platform, which apparently launders contributions through the elderly By Charlie LeDuff @Charlieleduff Milan — Elizabeth Waffle, the 88-year-old retiree who found internet fame as an unwitting political super-donor, is still living in a squalid trailer deep in the Michigan countryside. And Waffle still has no electricity, no running water, and no Wi-Fi. But being a true believer in liberal causes, and having no family beyond Georgie the arthritic hound, Waffle continues to donate a small portion of her modest retirement check to ActBlue, the online donation platform for Democratic candidates and causes. But even Waffle herself was surprised to learn last July about the extent of her supposed giving. According to FEC filings, there were more than 13,000 transactions attributed to her, totaling more than $130,000 over the past five years. “I think there’s something in there that’s off,” she said then. “I don’t have that kind of money.” And something continues to be “off.” Since our last visit, another 562 transactions totaling nearly $4,500 have been credited to Waffle in just six weeks. Among those transactions were four totaling $22 on the very day we first visited, despite the fact that Waffle had no access to the internet. Among the recipients of Waffle’s alleged largesse over those 45 days is Abdul El-Sayed, the king of the Michigan micro-donors, who clocked in with a cool $51. So we returned to the tattered trailer last week to show Waffle the printouts. Then something strange happened. When the scope of our findings dawned on the old woman, she was not overcome with outrage, or even curiosity, but with latent hostility. She wondered if we were preparing a hit piece on ActBlue, the conduit to her cherished causes. “I think it’s a bunch of hogwash,” she said of our questions. “If they’re cheating on the other side,” she meant the Republicans. “Fight fire with fire?” I asked. “Yeah,” she said. “Exactly.” Now, I believe in many of the causes that Waffle does. Clean air. Healthy forests. Affordable medicines. A good day’s pay. And I told her as much. But what I do not believe in is the apparent theft of an elderly person’s identity to launder donations from overseas or those that exceed the contribution limits. Fraud does not create a better world, I said. She softened. “I believe in honesty,” she said. “I do care if somebody is fudging and putting stuff in.” “So don’t you want me to continue to look?” I asked. “Yeah, if they are,” she said. “Then you want to know?” “Yes.” “Then I give you my word. I’ll keep going.” As we walked back to the car, I wondered if at that very moment another campaign transaction was being made in Elizabeth Waffle’s name.

Southfield Still Has a Mountain of Poison Dirt Next to a Preschool A 2021 report showed the site was full of arsenic, asbestos, cadmium, selenium, and PCBs, and five years later it's still blowing in the wind By Charlie LeDuff @Charlieleduff Ken Siver, the mayor of Southfield, likes to take Monday mornings off. He told me he works on Sundays and needs to rest up before beginning his busy work week running the town into the ground. Now, I’m starting to think Siver doesn’t work much at all since the poison dirt scandal at the old Northland Mall site started unraveling. He never seems to be in his office when I call or drop in at city hall. The last—and only—time I spoke with Siver, he called me a sensationalist, a liar, and a cheat. ”I wouldn’t know about that dirt. I was told it was clean,” Siver squealed. “Where’s your proof?” We made an appointment last March so I could show him the proof I had. Then Siver ghosted me. I was left to interview a plant. An actual plant. Similar IQs. Siver's flunkies claim the city has no records concerning the dirt analytics before it sold the 114-acre site. That turns out to be a lie. Michigan Enjoyer has come into possession of one of an unknown number of reports that city and state officials have tried to keep from the public. The brownfield work plan from June 2021 chronicles sickening levels of arsenic, asbestos, cadmium, selenium, and PCBs, to name but a few of the chemical killers buried within. The study says that a mountain of contaminated soil—23,000 tons—exceeded health levels and needed to be excavated and taken to a specialized landfill. Photographs, load tickets, and receipts were supposed to be filed with the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE). EGLE claims it possesses no such materials. Siver and his Southfield flunkies say the same thing. Meanwhile, a former employee at the site last weekend pointed out to me that the mountain of contaminated dirt on the site’s northwest corner—located across from a preschool—is still there. There used to be tons more toxic soil at the Northland site. And Siver is the man responsible. The city of Southfield purchased the old mall in 2015 thinking they could redevelop it. To fill the miles of tunnels beneath the mall, Siver ordered leftover construction dirt from road and sewer jobs to be hauled into the site. The city said the dirt was “clean” because it didn’t smell or look bad. Selenium doesn’t have a smell, but it can cause heart failure. When Siver realized he was too dumb to handle the redevelopment, the city went into partnership with a developer who has a string of lawsuits following him from across the country. According to the brownfield report, the developer was supposed to take the mountain to a landfill. But some of that dirt made its way into Detroit’s neighborhoods when Mayor Mary Sheffield’s former lover used it to fill demolition holes and charged the city of Detroit millions for the favor. That’s what the Office of the Inspector General says anyway. That case was kicked up to the FBI. Federal indictments are expected as early as next year. The people of Southfield, meanwhile, quite likely continue to breathe toxic particles, and nobody does or says a thing about it. One cannot help but suspect a massive conspiracy. A potential mass public poisoning of southeastern Michigan funded with millions of public dollars. EGLE plays dumb. The EPA plays deaf. And Siver’s Southfield gang? They’re just plain dumb. These were Democrats who did this, remember. The ones who shout pithy little platitudes like “environmental racism” while committing it at the very same time. Can somebody find Mayor Siver please? I’m not the only one who wants to talk with him. I hear Frank, Bill, and Ike want to speak with him too.