Ah, but somebody could man-in-the-middle your request and change it around so it looks like I said some really dumb stuff (dumber than what I actually said, I mean)

Ok, and then? Would that be so bad? It would be found out pretty fast if it had any real world consequences. You could just comment on HN saying that your words have been maliciously modified and that would be the end of it. Or you could tweet about it. Or use any number of ways to voice your point of view.

I don’t think the community would view "somebody altered my words on my blog" as a valid response to criticism.