Worth Knowing, Probably Not Quite Threadworthy 3/23

[SVPete]

The Border Wall is Being Built

https://hotair.com/john-s-2/2026/03/23/the-border-wall-is-being-built-n3813153

While ICE continues to get all of the attention, progress is being made on construction of the border wall. It's something President Trump made a central promise of his first term but getting money to fund the project proved a challenge.
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The Big Beautiful Bill changed that in the second term. Now there is construction happening at a pace of up to 3 miles per week.

The Trump administration is building hundreds of miles of border wall through iconic national parks, public lands and ecologically sensitive wilderness, empowered by provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill that provided $46.5 billion in funding and a 2005 law that waived dozens of environmental rules for border security projects...

The aggressive pace — three new miles of wall a week — has alarmed advocates and national parks staff who say the construction will destroy pristine country, threaten endangered species, and cut off access to sacred Indigenous and archaeological sites.
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Building a physical wall along the 1,954 miles of land that divides the United States and Mexico has long been a pillar of President Donald Trump’s border security agenda. But during his first term federal officials devoted most of their time and resources to replacing close to 500 miles of existing infrastructure, largely on federal land that attracted a large number of border crossers. In all, only about 80 miles of new barrier were installed...
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Now, despite illegal crossings dropping to historic lows, DHS and the Defense Department plan to construct more than 1,350 miles of new border wall in the Southwest, according to a Post analysis of CBP data. In addition to more than 750 miles of primary wall and roughly 600 miles of secondary wall, CBP is planning for more than 500 miles of water barriers, such as buoys, the data shows. Cameras, lights and other surveillance technology would complement the physical barriers in many places, with some areas without walls covered by sensors.

I've seen complaints from a few conservatives that the wall wasn't being built, but they seem to have forgotten that MSM silence about something is different from the something not happening.

[SVPete]

Poor-performing California school district shells out $600,000 for ‘rap’ curriculum

https://www.thecollegefix.com/poor-performing-california-school-district-shells-out-600000-for-rap-curriculum/

A central California K-8 school district is under scrutiny for spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on an “edutainment” program which teaches kids to rap.

The New York Post reports the Merced City School District has paid more than $600,000 over roughly the last year to the company School Yard Rap, which purports to “provide a supplemental curriculum infused with music, lesson plans, videos, and worksheets, making education a thrilling journey” for students.

The district’s contracts with the company include a Rap Camp during the summer, and an African American Affinity Group for “up to 100 African American students.”

At the latter, students “receive hands-on training in DJing, dance, and Hip Hop/Rap songwriting” and record their works in a professional “studio environment.”

Students also “explore identity and community” via “reflect[ion] on personal stories, heritage, and the role of African American culture in shaping resilience and creativity.”

If the $600K figure crosses your eyes, convert it into # years of your annual salary/income. Or maybe into years of Merced's median annual income of ~$60K.

[SVPete]

15 hospices incorporated in a single day, in a single suite in Van Nuys

https://www.dailynews.com/2026/03/22/15-hospices-incorporated-in-a-single-day-in-a-single-suite-in-van-nuys/

A group operating out of a Friar Street office building in Van Nuys that advertises “virtual offices” incorporated 22 hospices and home care agencies in one year, including 15 hospices registered in one day to a single suite, according to an investigation by the Southern California News Group.

The 15 hospices, all formed in “Suite 205” at 14545 Friar St., later collected $12.3 million from Medicare and Medi-Cal billings in 2023 and 2024, records showed.

Each had the equivalent of one full-time employee at the time.

While operating out of the same building is permitted, hospices cannot use the same office, according to Sheila Clark, the president and CEO of California Hospice and Palliative Care Association.

“You cannot co-locate with another provider,” she said.

However, these hospices seemingly bypassed that limitation by appending letters from “A” to “P” onto the suite number in official documentation. Suites in the building, however, have only one to three rooms and leases specifically prohibit subdivision of those spaces, according to the property owner, Kambiz Merabi.

I try to be careful about making allowance in interpreting events for stupidity, but 15 "hospices" at the same address created on the same day and nobody noticed? That, IMO, is bureaucratic collusion, plus or minus some bribery, not stupidity. And one employee apiece? The hospice for which members of my family work has three people just for medical records administration. Having just one employee also should have been an orange WTH flag at the least.

[SVPete]

ICE officers arrest 2 people at San Francisco International Airport, DHS says

https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/sfo-ice-agents-immigration-enforcement/4056414/

Federal officers arrested two people at San Francisco International Airport Sunday night, according to officials.

In a statement, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers arrested two people from a family that "has an outstanding final order of removal from an immigration judge since 2019."
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DHS said one of the arrestees tried to flee and resisted officers while being escorted to the international terminal for processing.

"ICE is working as quickly as possible to repatriate the family unit to their home country of Guatemala," DHS stated.

The arrests were believed to be an "isolated incident," SFO spokesperson Doug Yakel said, adding that the airport has "no reason to suspect broader enforcement action at SFO."

Social media hater-trolls are trying to use this arrest against ICE agents assisting TSA.

[SVPete]

What Happened With the ICE Arrest at SFO Airport

https://hotair.com/john-s-2/2026/03/23/what-happened-with-the-ice-arrest-at-sfo-airport-n3813162

Maybe you've seen this clip circulating on X today. Most people saw it this morning as word was spreading that ICE agents were being sent to airports to alleviate congestion caused by the partial government shutdown. As you'll see in the clip, the TikTok user who filmed this was demanding badge numbers. "This is an illegal arrest!" the woman is shouting.
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That got reposted by this account which added alleged details:

ICE detain mother at airport—traveling with young daughter.

First reported kidnapping at airport since Trump ordered ICE agents to report—refuse to show ID.

Twenty minutes later the same account posted another video of the same arrest with more claims about what is happening here.

Additional raw footage from new angle. 👇

This woman is U.S. citizen traveling with her young daughter—according to witness who filmed video.

She could not prove her citizenship to satisfaction of the agents—and was violently taken into ICE custody.

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I'm cherry-picking a few names you might recognize but there are hundreds more like this, denouncing ICE and assuming this is connected to Trump's decision to send ICE to airports.

A bit later in the day, DHS clarified what actually happened in those videos. First, the arrest happened yesterday, before any ICE agents had been sent to any airports to back up TSA. Second, the woman was not a US citizen. She's Guatemalan and has had a final deportation order since 2019:

My emphasis. Given bureaucratic reality and Covid, I can understand her not having been deported in 2019 and 2020. But as Covid restrictions eased, the LIEden Administration chose not to enforce the deportation order.

Rep. Kevin Mullin, SF Mayor Lurie, Senator Wiener, Molly Jong-Fast, Rep Jim McGovern, Dr. Jill Stein, and goobernatorial candidate Tom Steyer are not likely to admit having been wrong. Maybe a few will disappear their slanderous X posts, but I don't expect much more.