>>/170390/,  >>/170391/,  >>/170392/,  >>/170393/
Nevertheless, I showed Ms. Appling a spreadsheet which noted that she has contributed nine months in a row to Benson. The January pledge was $7 and the subsequent eight donations of $2.50 were all paid on the last day of the month. 
Benson crows about her 32,000 small donors, people like Ms. Appling, who have contributed less than $100, allowing her to raise nearly $5 million in her bid for governor.
Benson calls it a grassroots swell. But it appears to be something more nefarious.
A random sample of these so-called “small donors” who have contributed to Benson’s campaigns were examined by Bob Cushman, a retired pilot and current citizen journalist. 
Since November 2022, Benson has raised $5.5 million, with nearly half of that money coming from out-of-state donors, according to Cushman’s research. Nearly all of those contributions were $10 or less.
There’s 85-year-old Frank from Maryland who kicked in a total of $100 at six bucks a pop.
There’s 84-year-old Fred from Upstate New York who anted up with six contributions of $6.
How about 82-year-old Marcella of Surprise, Arizona? It’s no surprise Marcella is all in for Jocelyn with 20 donations of $1 a piece.
How is this possible? ActBlue is an online fundraising site designed specifically to raise money for Democrats. People can contribute to candidates through ActBlue or may contribute directly to ActBlue, which in turn donates to Democratic candidates and causes. It has raised $16 billion since its founding in 2004.
But ActBlue is ensnared in multiple federal investigations alleging that it has stolen the identities of small donors—usually senior citizens like Ms. Appling—and is using their names to launder larger donations that exceed legal limits. By breaking the large donations into multiple smaller contributions, the amount and the origin of the money is hidden.
Several senior staff members from ActBlue abruptly resigned earlier this year following the fraud allegations.
Little people like Ms. Appling are called straw donors or smurfs. And Benson—in her capacity as secretary of state—is supposed to protect them. Not use them.
“I’ve donated some money for sure,” said Ms. Appling, the Grandma Smurf of south Lansing, “but not this amount.”
https://x.com/aricnesbitt/status/1996257382389752227

Attorney General James Uthmeier @AGJamesUthmeier - This recovery should be a warning to criminals: even a China-based scammer wasn’t out of reach for our team. 
Thanks to the diligent work of the Cyber Fraud Enforcement Unit and our law enforcement partners, we have recovered the hard-earned m
oney of one of our nation’s heroes.
https://www.myfloridalegal.com/newsrelease/attorney-general-james-uthmeier-announces-recovery-23000-active-duty-service-member
https://x.com/AGJamesUthmeier/status/1996317443954802841

Autism Capital @AutismCapital - Remember Kelly Osbourne from The Osbournes? What the hell happened here? What happened to the chubby emo scene girl?
https://x.com/AutismCapital/status/1996428355491790850

The Aviationist @TheAviationist - U.S. Establishes Task Force to Employ One-Way-Attack Drones in Middle East
CENTCOM launched Task Force Scorpion Strike will employ the Shahed-like Low-cost Unmanned Combat Attack System (LUCAS) drones currently based in the Middle East. 
Story:
https://theaviationist.com/2025/12/03/task-force-scorpion-strike-owa-drones/
https://x.com/TheAviationist/status/1996355209124319614
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