The Bull Ring

Lessons on Iran war: strikes easy, ending far harder. 𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘮𝘱'𝘴 𝘐𝘳𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘳 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘺; 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘮𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘛𝘦𝘩𝘳𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘴. 𝗔𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘀𝗶𝘀: Bruce Alpine . P resident Trump is confronting an age-old presidential lesson.  Projecting strength can yield quick tactical gains and headlines.  Securing lasting peace requires patience, compromise, and luck—qualities that rarely align on the global stage.  Whether current Iran talks or Ukraine negotiations deliver breakthroughs will ultimately define whether the “peace president” label sticks or becomes a cautionary tale.  Events remain fluid; a single concession or setback could still tilt the balance. Trump entered his second term promising to be the “peace president,” yet the Iran conflict that ...

Large majority support stronger gun control 𝘈 𝘏𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘻𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘫𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘨𝘶𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘈𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘢 𝘕𝘡 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘪 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘉𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘪 𝘰𝘯 𝘋𝘦𝘤 14, 2025. 𝘚𝘶𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘺 𝘙𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘵: Horizon . A large majority of New Zealanders support stronger gun laws and limits on the number of firearms owned, following Australia's lead after the Bondi Beach mass shooting.    A Horizon survey conducted for Gun Control NZ finds: 68% of adults in New Zealand support further strengthening, with only 15% opposed.  A majority of those with firearms in their households (54%) are in favour of strengthening the laws, with only 24% opposed.  The survey also shows that 70% of adults in New Zealand support limiting the number of firearms that a person can own, with only 13% opposed.  This policy is also supported by a majority of respondents...

Trump Administration Driving Americans Away In Record Numbers. 𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘮𝘱 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘜.𝘚. 𝘪𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘯𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘋𝘦𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘦𝘳𝘢. 𝗔𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘀𝗶𝘀: Bruce Alpine . P resident Trump's cataclysmic reelection and his destructive overhaul of U.S. global standing and foreign policy during his second term have triggered a sharp decline in migrants entering the country, while prompting more Americans to emigrate abroad in pursuit of improved futures and lifestyles. The evidence strongly supports that the Trump administration’s immigration policies were the primary cause of the U.S. experiencing negative net international migration in 2025—the first time in at least half a century, since the Great Depression era.  Nonpartisan analyses, including from the Brookings Institution (in collaboration with conservative scholars), ...

Most Americans Doubt Trump's Justification for Strikes on Iran 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘗𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤 𝘖𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘖𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘌𝘱𝘪𝘤 𝘍𝘶𝘳𝘺: 𝘔𝘢𝘫𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘙𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘜𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘮𝘱'𝘴 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝗔𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘀𝗶𝘀: Bruce Alpine . O peration Epic Fury, the U.S. led military campaign launched on February 28, targets Iran's nuclear infrastructure, ballistic missile capabilities, leadership, and proxy networks.  President Trump's stated reasons include preventing an imminent nuclear threat, destroying Iran's missile arsenal, ending decades of terrorism sponsorship, securing regional stability, and ultimately achieving regime change for long-term peace.  Despite these justifications—framed as decisive action against an existential danger—early polling shows the majority of Americans are not convinced.  A previous major U.S. operation, Operation Midnight Hammer in June 2025, about eight months before Epi...

The Great MAGA Delusion 𝘚𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘮𝘱'𝘴 2025 𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵: 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘌𝘱𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘴, 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘴. 𝗢𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗻: Bruce Alpine . S ince Donald Trump's second inauguration on January 20, 2025, polling data shows a clear and growing perception among Americans that his term has been deceptive—promising broad economic relief and an “America First” agenda for working families, yet delivering policies widely seen as favoring billionaire allies and major MAGA donors. December 21, 2025 poll says the majority of Americans believe Trumps policies favor the rich. CBS News Trump’s job approval has steadily declined.  Early 2025 aggregates (Real Clear Politics, Ballotpedia) placed it at 45...

Concerns for Trumps Mental Ability, Now Mirroring Concerns For Biden 𝘙𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘋𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘥 𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘮𝘱'𝘴 𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘧𝘪𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘨𝘦, 𝘮𝘪𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘳𝘦-2024 𝘥𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘉𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯. 𝗔𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘀𝗶𝘀: Bruce Alpine . R ecent polls on President Donald Trump's mental fitness in early 2026 mirror the widespread concerns about Joe Biden's cognitive abilities that dominated the pre-2024 election discourse, often fueled by Trump himself.  Before the November 2024 vote, surveys consistently showed 60-70% of voters doubting Biden's mental sharpness, paralleling today's 50-60% expressing doubts about Trump.  For instance, a February 2024 NBC News poll found 76% of voters had major or moderate concerns about Biden's mental and physical health.  A May 2023 PBS NewsHour/NPR/Marist poll reported 62% v...