Hi Derek,
fyi, this feature is in the new 2.3.1.5 release.
You can add this to your user.config
<add key="InternalFeedSecurityBypassKey" value="3B05C70F-8399-421B-8FDE-CAABB7811779" />
just an example guid though, generate your own either in sql using SELECT newid() or in .NET using Guid.NewGuid().ToString()
This should allow the feed manager to consume the feed of a blog on a protected page albeit with the caveats I mentioned before. You could change it frequently too if you feel your network might have been exposed to unwanted packet sniffing.
Best,
Joe