“Mag” is short for magnetometer, an instrument for detecting the presence of ferrous or magnetic materials, as in concealed weapons.

In a recent post, Trump mocked the criticism he has received for urging his supporters to march to the Capitol on Jan. 6 and “fight like hell” to disrupt the certification of Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential victory. He said over the 4th: “Fight on, America, Fight On! (Oh, I’m sorry. By using the word FIGHT, they will say I am inciting an insurrection. Apologies!).”

Oh, many of us are “fighting,” all right. We’re beginning to see a similarity between King George III and “King” Donald Trump. But we’re trying to get by “fighting” without the violence, particularly firearms, angle. Imagine, if you will, the presence of leader Donald Trump and supporters who could have been armed with guns at the capitol riot of Jan. 6, 2021.

Already the major current crime crisis in America is a deadly series of mass shootings, many involving assault-style weapons — access to which Trump favors. There have been at least 308 mass shootings in the U.S. in 2022 (through a week or two ago), according to the nonprofit data-tracking organization Gun Violence Archive.

The latest occurred when a shooter opened fire on a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Illinois, causing multiple deaths and injuries.

Trump’s strange posts of late appear to be an effort to direct focus away from the violence of Jan. 6, 2021 — when 140 police officers were injured in the storming of the Capitol. More than 840 were arrested and charged with crimes including assault, using a deadly weapon, destruction and theft of government property, trespassing, and seditious conspiracy. Costs and damages amounted to nearly $3 million.

Police officials and federal prosecutors say that as many as 140 officers were injured during the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. “I have officers who were not issued helmets prior to the attack who have sustained head injuries,” Gus Papathanasiou, union chairman, said in a statement. “One officer has two cracked ribs and two smashed spinal discs and another was stabbed with a metal fence stake, to name some of the injuries.”

Capitol Police Officer Brian D. Sicknick died after trying to defend the Capitol from rioters. One Capitol Police officer and one D.C. police officer who were responding on the scene have died by suicide since the attack. And since Jan. 6, some 38 Capitol Police employees have tested positive for the coronavirus, almost entirely officers and supervisors who responded to the riot, Papathanasiou said.

And 18 months later: “I can tell you that on the street, what you hear is a bubbling, seething cauldron of anger at the Republican Party for putting in these antediluvian judges who think they can take us back to the 18th century,” said Jay Inslee, the Democratic governor of Washington state. “My spidey sense and the polling indicate it’s going to help people decide not to vote for the red team.”

Also, abortion “is much more motivating for Democratic-leaning voters than it is for Republican-leaning voters,” a Biden adviser said, speaking on condition of anonymity to talk more freely. “A lot of that is due to the fact that Republicans have sought this outcome for many years and they just achieved it. But the opposite effect is taking place with Democrats and independents, who are deeply offended by this and who are afraid about what it means for their lives.”

Voting Republican will NOT lower the price of gasoline. But it will contribute to the lingering white, male “legacy” of Donald Trump.

And yes, I really do wonder how much Trump’s love for one-man rule, his dislike for NATO, the European Union, the UN, etc. encouraged Vladimir Putin’s thinking before the dirty war in Ukraine.

“Millions of people, millions of Republicans have been betrayed by Donald Trump. And that is a really painful thing for people to recognize and to admit, but it’s absolutely the case . . . And they’ve been betrayed by him, by the big lie, and by what he continues to do and say to tear apart our country and tear apart our party.” — Liz Cheney (R-Wyo).

How will Secret Service members respond to subpoenas and testifying under oath? As I recall, the Secret Service’s prime directive is protection of the president, so that has to be factored into the overall equation.


I also had occasionally wondered whatever happened to Henry Kissinger (security advisor for Richard Nixon). I read that he has reached 99 and recently published his latest book.

Meanwhile, Google: “Brett Kavanaugh's Right to Dine.”