America: From a Fallen Child Star to the Head of the University of the West

"What?" Matthew pressed the pause button, and the screen froze on the gray building.

"Matthew, you studied American history, right? Do you know anything about architectural history or the history of other countries?"

Matthew looked at him blankly. "I know a little bit... what do you mean?"

"Do you know what colors Islamic architecture is mostly?"

Matthew frowned, trying hard to recall the art history course he had taken. "Uh... white? blue? And green? I remember mosques are mostly these colors, because white symbolizes purity, green is the color the Prophet loved, and blue represents the sky and infinity."

“That’s right.” Sean pointed to the building on the screen. “Then tell me, why is a community support center located in a Muslim community gray?”

"..." Matthew paused for a moment, then argued, "Well, there are gray ones too. Aren't modern buildings all like that?"

“Yes, it is, but I still feel something’s not right.” Sean narrowed his eyes. “But look at this building more closely. It has no Islamic architectural features, no arches, no geometric patterns, nothing that would remind you of that neighborhood. It looks like…”

“Just an ordinary office building,” Matthew replied, finally understanding what Sean meant. “I think you’re being a little too sensitive.”

“But there wasn’t a single person there.” Sean stood up and continued to speak to himself, “It’s a community mutual aid center. Around five or six in the afternoon, when people are getting off work, it should be the busiest time. But we were there for at least ten minutes, and apart from the two security guards who chased us away, we didn’t see a single ordinary citizen.”

"Maybe it's newly opened?" Matthew suggested another possibility.

"Check it out." Sean pointed to the computer.

"Yes, sir!" Matthew immediately opened his browser and entered "Philadelphia Community Mutual Aid Center" to conduct a comprehensive search.

A few seconds later, his expression became subtle.

"This center... was established in 2019," Matthew read the information on the screen. "And according to records in the federal funding database, since its inception, it has received an annual community development grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, amounting to approximately..."

His eyes widened slightly.

"US$100,000 to US$200,000 per year."

"Five years is nearly a million." Sean sneered, immediately guessing at the highest possible figure, "And check the state government's funding as well."

Matthew switched to public records websites in Pennsylvania and Philadelphia, and after several searches, found several more documents.

"The Pennsylvania Office of Community Services? $80,000 a year! The Philadelphia city government's 'Neighborhood Revitalization Program,' $50,000 a year. And Donovan's vulnerable protection association also donates; it adds up to tens of thousands." Sean leaned closer, quickly glancing over. "Haha! That bitch, I finally caught her red-handed!"

"We can't jump to conclusions yet. What if Senator Donovan is innocent?" Matthew scratched his head awkwardly.

"Don't make me laugh, Matthew." Sean laughed loudly. "No matter what, all the evidence points to one thing..."

The building they saw didn't even have a proper sign, and the entrance was deserted, with nothing except for two security guards. It was, to put it mildly, extremely eerie.

"You suspect..."

"I suspect someone is drawing a salary without working," Sean said bluntly, "or more accurately, defrauding the government of its funds."

Matthew's fingers hovered above the keyboard, a look of hesitation on his face.

"Mr. Pan, this kind of thing... if we say something wrong, it could get us into big trouble. Moreover, in the context of political correctness, the Muslim community has a protective layer that other ethnic groups don't have. If you publicly question their community organizations, you'll be labeled as 'Islamophobia'."

"I know," Sean said without wavering. "So we can't just focus on this one. Keep investigating and see if there are any similar patterns."

For the next hour, the two of them were like they were under a spell, searching through various government databases and public records websites.

Matthew was in charge of searching and organizing the data, while Sean analyzed and recorded it.

They started in Philadelphia and gradually expanded throughout Pennsylvania.

Organizations in the Chinese community generally have relatively clear accounts. Although there are some minor issues, the flow of funds is generally consistent.

This is especially true of Jewish community institutions, which have the highest level of financial transparency among all ethnic groups, with detailed records of every donation and expenditure.

Black communities have the most institutions and the most problems, but most of those problems are inefficiency and mismanagement rather than intentional fraud.

The situation is similar in the Latino community, where some small family-run businesses are suspected of involving the transfer of benefits, but they are not large in scale.

But things get interesting when they turn their attention to the small, yet equally numerous, ethnic communities in Pennsylvania.

"Look at this," Matthew said, pointing to the screen. "The Crescent Community Service Centre in Allon, established in 2020, receives $120,000 in federal funding and $60,000 in state funding annually, but their annual report only lists the number of people served as..."

"Two hundred people?" Sean leaned closer to look.

"That's right. The average cost per person is nine hundred dollars. That's more expensive than hiring a private lawyer."

"Look at this one." Sean clicked on another page, "The Pittsburgh Brotherhood, their office is in a residential apartment, but they get paid more each year than organizations with formal office buildings."

The two looked at each other and saw the same thing in each other's eyes.

"This is not an isolated case," Matthew murmured.

"This is a systemic problem." Sean stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the dark night outside. "Some people are taking advantage of the government's funding mechanism, and some are using the protection of political correctness to quietly put taxpayers' money into their own pockets."

"But we don't have concrete evidence," Matthew said cautiously. "These data only demonstrate inefficiency, not fraud. And, like I said, if we publicly question it..."

If they publicly question it, they might be labeled as far-right extremists. And to be fair, Old Mu is truly capable when there's trouble; if they were to actually attack, he'd be the first to give in.

"I know." Sean turned around, a meaningful smile on his face. "So we can't question them directly. We need to question the entire system."

"What do you mean?"

"Matthew, think about this." Sean walked back to the table, placing his hands on it. "If I stood up and said that some Muslim community organization was scamming people, how would the media report it?"

"A washed-up child star made discriminatory remarks," Matthew said frankly.

"That's true. But what if I said, 'The government's community funding mechanism has serious flaws, resulting in a large amount of taxpayers' money being wasted'?"

Matthew's eyes lit up. "That's another story."

“This isn’t targeting any particular ethnicity; it’s targeting the inefficiency and corruption of the entire bureaucracy.” Sean’s voice held a hint of excitement. “We can include all the cases we’ve just discovered—Chinese, Jewish, Black, Latino, and of course, Muslim communities. That way, no one can say we’re targeting any specific group.”

"You want to make a video?"

"It's not just about the video." Sean shook his head. "We need to make a complete investigative report, with data, analysis, and comparisons. Then we'll send this report to both mainstream media and independent media. Let them dig it up themselves and verify it themselves."

"We'd better find a way to connect this to Thomas's situation!"

"This will offend a lot of people," Matthew warned.

"I've already offended a lot of people, one more won't make a difference." Sean laughed heartily. "A few more won't matter. Besides, that's exactly what we need."

"Do I need to offend someone?"

"We need a topic that can ignite public opinion," Sean said excitedly. "Thomas' case made me famous, but it was ultimately a personal tragedy. This... this is a systemic problem that involves every taxpayer's wallet."

He paused, then said in a tone as if talking to himself:

"In the United States, nothing infuriates voters more than the idea that 'the government is wasting your money.'"

Matthew considered his words for a moment, then slowly nodded.

"Okay. So where do we begin?"

"First, edit out the footage we shot today and release it as planned." Sean sat back down in his chair. "Regarding the funding, we need more time to prepare. I don't want to alert them, and I certainly don't want to give them a handle to use against us because of insufficient preparation."

"I have a feeling this is much bigger than we think."