Look, kids! 4 posts in one! A real time-and-space-saver!

So many stories, so little Bloggage Time. Just in case you're interested...

Coverage of Iraq: (italics mine)

...15% of stories across print, broadcast and online dealt with Iraq-related issues.

That is down from 22% during the first quarter of the year. As in the first quarter, the Fox News Channel devoted roughly half as much coverage to the war (8%) than its rivals, CNN (18%) and MSNBC (15%). [...] (Laffy note: Faux doesn't seem to care about our troops, does it? Tsk, tsk.)
"In the derby for 'free media' exposure, Barack Obama overtook fellow Democrat Hillary Clinton, who led in the first three months of the year…Among Republicans, the race for media attention was a tight contest among John McCain, Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney. And one unannounced candidate... Fred Thompson, emerged as a leading recipient of coverage even without formally entering the race." [...] Newspapers gave 44% of coverage to Republicans, with 36% to Democrats.

The Surge:

More than half of top U.S. foreign policy experts oppose President George W. Bush's troop increase as a strategy for stabilizing Baghdad, saying the plan has harmed U.S. national security, according to a new survey. [...] 53 percent of the experts polled by Foreign Policy magazine and the Center for American Progress said they now oppose Bush's troop build-up. That is a 22 percentage point jump since the strategy was announced early this year.

The return of Democratic South Dakota Senator Tim Johnson:

Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson’s public visit in Sioux Falls, S.D., later this month will be the first chance for South Dakota voters and potential candidates to evaluate whether Johnson appears fit for a re-election campaign after his brain hemorrhage last December, or whether both parties need to gear up for an open-seat race. [...] “Nobody is really certain the extent of his condition that might impact his ability to campaign or be seen as effectively representing his constituency,” said William D. Richardson, chair of the department of political science at the University of South Dakota. [...] Johnson has given every indication that he intends to run.

Global warming watchdog invests in oil, coal, utilities:

The new chair of the California Air Resources Board owns stocks in several oil, coal and utility firms, some of which are likely to be affected by rules the agency implements as part of the state's groundbreaking law to fight global warming...