Joshua: Don't worry about it. You relied on twice as many sources as most members of the old media rely upon and you may have been burned. It happens. You've done a great job so far and are handling it right. Keep digging. I'm with you I doubt it was a Republican who authored it, but if it was, I want to know who it was so they can be strung up.

Well, that's a tough break. Bad information is given to journalists all the time; look at any newspaper's corrections section.

I will say this; I think you made the same mistake that other journalists did in that you tried to make breaking news before your sources were secure first. I'd rather be right than first. Just use this as a learning experience.

The moonbats will be on to you by morning, and will probably have a field day trying to trash you. Don't sweat it; just let the criticisms bounce off of you and keep doing what you're doing.

I find no fault except from the elected sorts who won't do their job. You have a good batting average. In baseball, .400 is pretty good. In MSM, maybe .100? Bloggers should be .800 plus? Time will tell who the perps were-you are not wrong yet as to the source, ideologically you have to be correct for, as we know, conservatives aren't smart enough to do hoax well.

I don't think you did anything wrong, either. You reported what you heard, and you kept a healthy skeptical distance. Maybe this is a job for the GOP leadership, and nobody else. If they're upset with the report, let them put the feet to the fire. Let the Senate leadership take up the Lautenberg investigation and blast it to the top of the agenda.

You indeed have shown more journalistic ethics than the Washington Post and ABC News.

However, there is something lacking. How did you come to the conclusion that you have been hoaxed?

Josh,

It does happen and you have responded appropriately. Hardly a black mark. One strike does not a bad journalist make. Besides, under the new Howard Kurtz theory of evidence, the burden is on your detractors to prove that the evidence you have is false, not on you to prove that it is accurate. (See Rick's recent post at Stones Cry Out for the Kurtz story.)

Mark Sides

Good for you. I think conservative bloggers are downright ridiculous about this (it's forged because it doesn't have a letterhead?), but ABC should follow your lead and make clear this was simply a anonymous memo circulated on the floor, not created by Republicans.

Josh, this posting by you is the hallmark of a class act.

What Hinderaker and lots of other folks haven't noticed is that the difference between the two memos is exactly what you get when you run the document through a grammar/spelling checker.

More on this here (comment #32).

Some other things worth knowing about this memo, which people like Hinderaker are not inclined to mention.

It was the Democrats, not the Republicans, who promptly called for an investigation into the source of the memo.

A Republican Congressman spoke of the memo as if he doesn't have the slightest doubt that it's authentic: "when you have a memo that basically gives the impression that it's politics." (Rep. Chris Shays, R-CT, Hardball 3/24)

Juke, that information is irrelevant to the question of who actually wrote the memo.

As far as I know, there hasn't been any allegations accusing the Democrats of a group plot, as it could have been created by a staffer acting alone.

And using Shay's statement is nothing more than a red herring; no one argued that the memo wasn't authentic. The memo exists and was distributed; that's what made it authentic. The question is, where did it come from? Shay's statement doesn't shed any light to the answer of that question or the motive of the author in question.

"no one argued that the memo wasn't authentic"

Hinderaker has said pretty plainly he thinks the memo is "fake" and a "political dirty trick." Last time I checked, "fake" and "authentic" were antonyms. Then again, maybe you'd like to argue that Hinderaker is "no one."

"Shay's statement doesn't shed any light to the answer of that question"

Shay's statement makes no sense whatsoever if he had any doubt the memo was authentic.

When you have a chance, please explain to me why it's OK with you that Hinderaker treats the numbers 3 and 4 as interchangeable.

Ah, the great Senator Rick Santorium. How dumb can Pennsylvanians be for electing him not once, but twice to the Senate?

Looks like it was a Martinez staffer who wrote the memo. I think you owe an appology to Mike Allen of the Washington Post.

Hindrocket at Powerline is continue to post conspiracy theories on this matter.

Fold up the tents - this blog is DONE. Can't trust it anymore.

Got here via Kos--good on you for admitting a mistake. Sorry you got scammed.

Nice job on the correction, please don't try to pretend that republicans didn't use Terri Schiavo for political gain though. And would Gary B like to start stringing up the senior level staffer from Mel Martinez's office now?

Or maybe we could cut the bullshit and just string up Mel Martinez..........don't be fooled, fools.

Sorry Guys - You wingnuts are always out for everybody elses blood when it, yet again, was a REPUBLICAN who wrote this crap filled memo. When are you guys going to open your eyes and realize that you are being duped by the Repubs in Control in DC. They use you for votes and feed you bullshit propaganda to make you think that they actually give a shit about you when all they care about is taking away your rights and making this a police state. Wake the fuck up already!

Here in Florida it was a joke the way the Republicans pretended to care about this young woman. They were in it pure and simple for the hype AND AN EFFORT TO MAKE THE FUNDAMENTALISTS feel SUPPORTED. These big churchs are vote farms and if the republicans kow-tow (or pretend to)..they get votes. You should know from Dan Rather that they will try and hoodwink you.

Stool Pidgeon, cha-cha-cha-cha.

you really ought to be ashamed and embarrassed by the GOP antics on this, if you have any intellectual honestly.

"Sensible Republican"?

I believe your readers should be experiencing "Agora-phobia" right about...now.

It's weak and disingenuous, but you're one of the few wingnuts/wingnut types to admit the mistake. So what. The damage is done to innocent people. Fucking amateurs. I think you're more sorry you got caught, in flagrante, not doing the serious work of a MSM reporter (at least the way they used to do it) and being far more willing to follow the pack into your collective dumbass conspiracy whack-offs. You're apologising for the wrong thing.

I see you pulled the name of a suspected Reid staffer, out of fairness - you're such a sweetie! hugs to you - but what would be fair is pulling your name off this blog unless you try serious reporting rather than wingnut reporting. I'm tuning out of this blog. Last one gone turn out the lights.

When I screwed up on my blog, I not only admitted it, I didn't fudge about it and try to spin it in my favor.

You almost, but not quite, did that.

You just couldn't resist jabbing the MSM over this.

BTW, you are not through. If you don't reveal WHO TOLD YOU IT WAS CREATED IN HARRY REID'S OFFICE, you are not actually cominmg clean.

That is BIG story that should be pursued. Whatever your political leanings are, if you have any journalistic pretentions, you should bust those lying sons of bitches.

I know I would. I'd be angry as hell that some Senate staffers scammed me like that, and lied to me. And I wouldn't care if they were Democrats or liberals. I'd bust their asses.

So, step up to the plate and name names. Otherwise, forfeit your credibility forever.

Promises of confidentality are contingent on the information being accurate. Who lied to you? Name names.

>>
I now have reason to believe that in unraveling a hoax I was hoaxed myself

Um. The memo isn't a hoax.

>>
I haven't been able to confirm a Sen. Reid aide was the source and barring more conclusive evidence I have removed the accused's name from the original post out of fairness and accuracy.

That's nice, however you're attempting to portray this as you not being able to confirm Reid as the source - when in fact it has been admitted that the republicans did indeed write and distribute this memo. That's not something that still may be confirmed - it's something that has been completely refuted.

>>
In short, I'm unsure of the exact source.

I await your editors note indicating that you are now aware that it was a republican who wrote it and a republican who distributed it.

>>
I publicly apologize for posting unfounded accusations, and I hope ABC News and the Washington Post follow my lead.

Now that it is clear that the republicans were indeed the source for the memo I await your retraction attacking ABC and the Washinton Post and an apology from you for claiming that they have something to apologize for.

I am reposting this comment (slightly edited) from another post on this blog, because I think it's important to say it again.

I am heartened to see the correction and discussion of further questions about the memo. The basic issue is no longer beyond doubt.

What remains problematic is the behavior of the conservative apologists. who never hold the Republicans accountable. As a result, they have to be defensive about a GOP screw up, a series of bloggers lying about what is known, a complete lack of burning sources who provided false information, a poll driven swaying in the wind on a moral issue, hypocrisy on culture of life issues, and more.

Not exactly a day in the sunshine for all of the apologists. Not exactly the self-image conservatives have of themselves. Self-delusion will persist.

The facts are simple, which is why folks like Hindrocket won't be able to weasel their way out of them. We're talking about a talking points memo, and to say that it wasn't a GOP memo, or a Republican memo because it was, wink wink nudge nudge, "written by a staffer" is just silly. I used to live in DC, and staffers on both sides were friends of mine. They write everything. Get over it. Martinez was one of three point men on the action, thus he was part of the "Republican leadership." He handed out the memo, therefore it came from a senator. Accept. Facts.

What commenters on this list and bloggers other than this one SHOULD be doing is accepting responsibility for an error. Anything less is a classic sign of being a weasel. RIght now, the GOP and apologist commenters on blogs like this act to excuse blatant falsehoods. That is unexcusable.

Morality doesn't depend on comparison to others. There is right, and there is wrong. Those who lied about the source of the memo were wrong. Accept that fact.

Why, exactly, is apologizing so hard for apologists?

A hoax? No. And you a victim just as all the other right wing nuts are? No. You reported it for two reasons. You believed it and you wanted to believe it came from democrats. The accusers nowhere to be found? LOL. How many right wing "journalists" will lose their job's over this?

Accountability is the name of the game.

Senator Reid, his aide, and any others involved should be held responsible for the memo. Reid knew about the memo and is lying, or he was incompetent in giving such a high level aide such a loose leash,. He should be responsible for what happened on his watch.

I'm not sure what punishments are appropriate, but I'd be that Republicans would want them to be appropriately tough.

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