Cursor's Media Patrol - 03/28/06

TalkLeft asks of Zacharias Moussaoui's claim that he and Richard Reid were going to fly a plane into the White House on 9/11, "Is it the truth or is Moussaoui trying to hand the Government a win so he can die what he believes will be a martyr's death?"

Fresh from being paired with David Duke, Juan Cole discusses the growing influence of Muqtada al-Sadr, who he describes as both "a kingmaker in Iraqi politics" and "at daggers drawn with the insurgency."

President Bush has reportedly "been holding off-the-record meetings with White House reporters for the past few days," but the New York Times "has declined this opportunity ... As a matter of policy and practice, we would prefer when possible to conduct on-the-record interviews with public officials."

Robert Parry argues that it's 'Time to Talk War Crimes,' and Kevin Phillips asks whether it's 'Time to Recall Bush?'

"In the world of Sen. Levin," writes Glenn Greenwald, "the new principle is: 'If you think you're doing good, feel free to break the law.' That isn't hyperbole or interpretation. That is really what he's saying."

Asbestos-filled tunnels running under the Capitol are reportedly "so dangerous that the U.S. Capitol Police have been forbidden from patrolling them, leaving a potential security loophole."

A Republican challenger to Sen. Robert Byrd, whose wife of 68 years died on Saturday, has hired the PR firm behind the "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth" campaign.

...And Matt Taibbi, who chronicled Penn's tournalistic tour of New Orleans, has just written 'The secret history of the most corrupt man in Washington.'