Last week, a memo popped up on the Senate floor being sent to Republicans weighing the political implications of Congress moving on the Schiavo case.

Here's the memo (via Powerline).  There's no doubt this was sent to Republican senators, and I'm sure they took heed of it.  But the question is, who wrote it?  And who is/are the source(s) of the Washington Post and ABC News, who broke this story? 

You see, this memo was unsigned.  No letterhead, no signature, no nothing.  Thus anyone could have typed it, and according to an email by Powerline's John Hinderacker, anyone could have had access to the Senate mail system and placed it in the Senators' boxes.  Is it possible this was another effort to sabotage the Republican Party, as 60 Minutes tried to do with the National Guard documents?

Mike Allen, the reporter who broke the story for the Washington Post, claims his source was valid, or else he wouldn't have published it.  Of course.  Journalists always think the benefit of the doubt should be given to them until proven otherwise.  Sorry, but in today's world the media's credibility is shattered, and it's going to take more than a journalist's word in order for a story to stick.

A perfect example why the public can't take the mainstream media at it's word is how they are distorting this story.  Despite no clue of where the memo came from or who wrote it, the media is characterizing this as "GOP talking points", as ABC News did,  claiming it was distributed by "a GOP strategist", as the irresponsible Cynthia Tucker stated, or even accusing "Republican leaders" of sending it, as the Boston Globe said.  They're definitely not the only ones guilty of this, but if I tried to grab them all it would take all day long.

There is already proof surfacing that it is indeed a hoax.  Hinderacker had another emailer point this out:

Why the "GOP Schiavo memo" is a fake: The Real S.529 is a bill introduced by Grassley on 3-3-05 to establish a US anti-doping agency. No competent staffer would create a talking points memo with the wrong S. number on it.

He's right.  However, I'll give the writer of the memo the benefit of the doubt for the moment, because the actual Schiavo bill was originally S.539. Thus, maybe they just got a number wrong. *shrugs* The bill that ended up passing after a compromise was reached was S.686.

Believe me, we haven't heard the end of this.  I might have some more info later this morning.
UPDATE:  Ha.  Guess where they traced it.