I don’t owe you a damned thing in the way of explanation, but for the benefit of any readers who are actually still paying attention to this foolishness, I’ll have one last go at it…

First, if you read and comprehended my comments about the message (It was not anonymous, by the way, I have had several communications with the person who sent it… but then you wouldn’t know that. You’d rather jump to foolish conclusions.), you’d have seen that I pretty much discredited it. I pointed out that your blog posts on the topic were pretty well done and referenceable… hence far more credible. At no point did I, personally, challenge your findings. But I thought it would be interesting for readers to see that there are always two sides to a story… even if one side is a little hard to swallow. A quick look at most of the comments tells me that most of these folks got it… even if you didn’t.

As far as what I see fit to post, you have no more right to challenge it than did the person who sent me the message above, asking me to remove my references to your blog. You don’t have to like it, but you, or anyone else, who wants to tell me what I should or shouldn’t post on this blog can pretty well kiss my ass. If I want to publish that the moon is actually a giant acorn and there’s a 3500 lb hog up there killing astronauts, I’ll damned well do it. The Hog Blog readers are intelligent enough to either know it’s not true, or inquisitive enough to go find out for themselves.

And that’s the main point in my posting things that everybody might not like to read… if it doesn’t sound right, go find out for yourself. Question it. Don’t rely on my site, or ANY blog site (including Stinky Journalism), to provide the whole truth. While the fact is that I would not intentionally mislead my readers, I also know that I am fallible and that I can be taken in by a bad source of information.

I have never claimed that the Hog Blog was pure journalism. It is a hobby and a vanity… just like most other blogs out there. I print what I find interesting or curious, and I generally add my own opinion. I make no pretense that it is anything else. I do take certain topics more seriously, and I do spend the time to research and report on them in a serious maanner.

The fact is, though, that the Monster Pig story was never worth the effort of a serious journalist… and certainly not worth the energy you put into it. It was just a silly curiosity. It’s just another sensational tale of a big pig and some headline-seeking individuals. If a crime was committed, then that’s for the courts to settle… not the blogosphere.

I’m finding now that I’ve dedicated way more effort and time to this discussion with you than either you or the topic deserve. You’ve had your say. If you have anything else of substance to add here, and I doubt it, then please feel free to offer it up. But if you just want to caterwaul because someone had the gall to challenge your “journalistic integrity”, and then tell me what I should or should not print… then you are pissing in the wind.

This way to the egress.

If you don’t want to spend the time checking facts, don’t publish unverified claims that are untrue personal attacks.

Whenever possible I will ALWAYS post up both sides of a discussion… regardless of which side my personal opinion falls on. That’s what I’ve done here. Real sorry you’ve taken it so personally.

As far as “checking the facts”, I have no desire to spend the time double-checking your sources or validating what you wrote. To be honest, I don’t care that much about this thing to make that kind of effort.

I read your site. I read Stone’s site too, before it was changed. I formed an opinion then, and wrote about it when the issue was still fresh. My position on this whole thing hasn’t changed a lick, which is exactly what I told the person who sent that email (it was not Mr. Stone). That person has chosen not to participate in the open forum, and that’s fine by me.

Bottom line… if you have a problem with my posting this, it’s time to get over it.

That is the problem–you have not checked facts and you CAN. You have taken stable, established facts and entered doubt under the banner of ‘fairness” WITH no evidence.

You have unfairly given an established liar legitimacy without doing the work to justify doing so.

I believe before publishing his crap, you should have contacted me first to ask for proof that supports any one of the points in question. I would and will gladly send it to you. These include taped interviews with Stone and others, documents etc. Then you ask him for proof….

Asking Stone for proof before you publish what he says, is being responsible.

Just because someone says something doesn’t mean you give it legs by posting it–especially true when what you post something that accuses someone– me, in this case–of lying.

To take the argument to an extreme to make the point: It is an established fact that the earth circles the sun–if Stone writes in, and says it doesn’t –will you also print that too just to be fair, because you haven’t done the science research yourself?

Finally, I am a hunter. The only agenda I have is truth. Letting a pig bleed out 3 hours in a small fenced-in pen to get publicity as a motive is beyond what any real hunter would accept as fair, speaking of fairness.

My research is still there…see below. Stone has removed everything but “fan photos” from his site…why?

Why is he using you when he has his own high-traffic site– monsterpig.com?

Not one person–including Stone–has disputed any fact to ESPN. Why does he write to you and not to ESPN or me? If I am lying, Stone has one heck of a law suit–but not one peep from him, except here.

1. http://www.stinkyjournalism.org/latest-journalism-news-updates-123.php
2. http://www.stinkyjournalism.org/latest-journalism-news-updates-45.php
3. http://www.stinkyjournalism.org/latest-journalism-news-updates-129.php