Topic: WorldNetDaily
WorldNetDaily freelancer Stewart Stogel is a tad unhappy that we described him as a right-wing hack. He writes us:
This is Stewart Stogel regarding a post on me and my confrontations with the US/UN mission in NYC.
Don't let the facts stand in your way.
You challenged the fact that I claim to be a "veteran" UN correspondent.
The records will show I first arrived at the UN in 1980 accredited to ABC News.
I left later that year and returned to college.
I returned in 1986 and have been continuously accredited since.
I am in the top ten reporters in the UN press corps in terms of time served.
Your crap about me being a right wing flak is bullshit.
If so, why did I enjoy strong personal relationships with the missions of Iran, Syria, Russia, Iraq and Cuba?
I also enjoy excellent relations with the Israelis, Brits, French among others.
I am a flak for nobody.
You should also be aware that I am the reporter WHO FIRST REPORTED that US troops would not find any WMD in IRAQ when Baghdad in 2003. Read the story on Time.com.
So, I don't enjoy reading such NONSENSE on your penny ante website.
I DEFY YOU TO POST THIS UNEDITED
STEWART STOGEL
Actually, we accused WND, not Stogel, of lying. Stogel may have a history of reporting on the U.N., but only recently did he affiliate himself with WND, which nevertheless described Stogel as its "veteran U.N. reporter."
As for Stogel's protest of our calling him a right-wing hack: Past performance does not seem to be an indicator of current behavior. His affiliation with WND is incontrovertible evidence of right-wing hackdom, as is his fawning over insane Obama-hater James David Manning. If Stogel is such a great reporter, why is he reduced to writing about the U.N. for WND, which has vowed to destroy the U.N.?
And as WND's Les Kinsolving more than adequately proves, a long tenure on a beat does not necessarily equal competence or lack of hack work.
Stogel later sent us a link to his Time article on WMDs in Iraq, adding: "your BS about me being a right wing hack? You idiots...I WAS THE FIRST TO REPORT THE MOST IMPORTANT STORY OF THE GULF WAR! GARBAGE LIKE YOURS SHOULD BE THROWN OFF THE INTERNET."
This, again, begs the question: Why is someone who got the scoop on THE MOST IMPORTANT STORY OF THE GULF WAR! for Time magazine writing for WorldNetDaily only a few years removed from said scoop?
To put it more simply: If Stogel is not a hack, why is he writing for a hack website?
But Stogel wasn't done with us yet. A litle later, he sent us another email:
this is stewart stogel..you wrote a libelous blog about me why not contact me and get your facts straight are you afraid? your facts are so wrong it is outrageous
Stogel seems not to know the difference between libel and constitutionally protected opinion. If there was no difference, Larry Klayman would be in prison right now.
And then, a little bit later:
your name should be Crap-el your research or lack of makes legitmate journalists who existed long before you arrived on the scene vomit...without the Internet you would be nothing
Because insulting someone's name like a second-grader is always a good way to make a reasonable argument.
Such thin-skinned ranting tells us that Stogel will fit in quite well at WND.
