Jesse Ventura - Wikipedia

Thank you my friend Maj Marty Hogan for making us aware that July 15 is the anniversary of the birth of flamboyant American media personality, actor, author, former politician and retired professional wrestler Jesse Ventura, who was born with the name James George Janos, and who served as the 38th Governor of Minnesota from 1999 to 2003.

1. Background from liberal biased New York Times Magazine. nytimes.com/interactive/2016/11/20/magazine/donald-trumps-america-minnesota-jesse-ventura.html
"The former professional wrestler ran for governor without much expectation of becoming one. He did it mostly because, after idly speculating about running on his talk-radio show, “it caught on like wildfire with many of the listeners,” he later wrote. “It got to where I felt I’d boxed myself into a corner — if I didn’t attempt to do this, I would lose my credibility.” His third-party campaign was regarded by the local media as a novelty act, and his decisive victory over his Republican and Democratic opponents came as a total shock to nearly everyone — not least Ventura himself. Hillsman had predicted a narrow loss and was planning to fly to Buenos Aires the next day. “I remember drafting the plan for the next morning on a legal pad that night,” he told me. “We hadn’t prepared anything.”
Ventura’s upset was the first election I ever voted in, as a high-school senior in suburban Minneapolis, and it left me with an unshakable sense that the political order, any political order, was less stable than it might appear. Every Election Day since 1998 I have found myself, despite my more rational instincts, unable to really trust polls or projections or conventional wisdom, looking over my shoulder for some sort of looming black-swan event. They rarely arrive, of course — until one does.
Ventura’s victory is the most obvious precedent for Trump’s, though the parallels are imperfect. Ventura’s was an oddly nonideological revolution: He had campaigned on a kind of empty-calorie populism, more affect than idea, and according to the exit polls, he drew almost equally from self-identified Democrats and Republicans (roughly a third of each, plus half of self-identified independents). He won voters of every income level except above $100,000 a year. He won by a wide margin the support of voters who felt their financial situation was going to get worse, but also the largest share of voters who thought their prospects were improving. It was a confounding election. Minnesota was by most measures a prosperous, well-employed, tranquil place, as it usually is. And yet a plurality of its voters were willing to hand the state over to a wild-card political novice who had few clear plans for what to do with it."

1. Background from mdb.com/name/nm0001818/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm
"Born July 15, 1951 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Birth Name James George Janos
Nicknames "The Mind"
"The Body"
Height 6' 4" (1.93 m)

Jesse Ventura was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Bernice Martha (Lenz), a nurse who was of German descent, and George William Janos, a steam fitter of Slovak ancestry. In November 1990, professional wrestler turned actor Jesse Ventura was elected to a four-year term as mayor of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis with a population of around 56,000. After his mayoral term, he purchased a small hobby farm in nearby Maple Grove, Minnesota and moved from Brooklyn Park. In November 1998, Ventura, as a member of the Reform Party, was elected Governor of Minnesota. Jesse served as governor from 1999 to 2003 and did not run for a second term.
- IMDb Mini Biography By: Joseph Sexton ( [login to see] )

Spouse)
Theresa Larson Masters (18 July 1975 - present) ( 2 children) Son Tyrel (b. 1980) and daughter Jade (b. 1984).

Trade Mark (2)
Unique voice and cunning wit
Shaven head and mustache (as governor)

Jesse Venture Trivia (52)
1. Did color commentary for the Minnesota Vikings radio network
2. Former mayor of Brooklyn Park, MN. Elected Governor of the state of Minnesota on the Reform
3. Party ticket for the 1999 to 2003 term.
4. A volunteer football coach at Park High School in Champlin, Minnesota.
5. A 1969 graduate of Roosevelt High School, Minneapolis,
6. Took the name "Ventura" from the California city of that name which, in turn, is named after San Buenaventura.
7. The about-to-merge towns of St. Augusta and Luxembourg, Minnesota, are considering naming themselves Ventura. [2000]
8. Jesse's son, Tyrel, is an aspiring film director.
9. Announces he will not run for re-election as governor of Minnesota, and will step down after current term (18 June 2002)
10. Son Tyrel (b. 1980).
11. Daughter Jade (b. 1984).
12. Last WWF appearance as a color commentator was WrestleMania VI (1990).
13. Served as color commentator alongside play-by-play broadcaster Gorilla Monsoon (aka Gorilla Monsoon for the first six WrestleManias.
14. In a 1999 interview for Playboy magazine, he declared organized religion "a sham and a crutch for weak-minded people who need strength in numbers." In response to the subsequent criticism over that statement, he later clarified that he did not dislike most religious people, but criticized the views of religious fundamentalists, calling their views "weak and destructive.".
15. Is a Vietnam veteran although he did not actually see combat.
16. WWE Hall of Famer.
17. Signed on to color commentate XFL games for the one season that it existed.
18. In 1984, just before a scheduled Madison Square Garden main event with Hulk Hogan, Jesse was rushed to the hospital in San Diego with a pulmonary embolism. Treatment of the blood clot required blood thinners, any bleeding in the ring would have been dangerous. He claimed it was due to being exposed to Agent Orange in Vietnam.
19. Right around the time Hulk Hogan entered WCW, he left the company.
20. A week before he had his embolism, Bobby Heenan was scheduled to be his new manager. With Jesse out, Bobby began managing Big John Studd.
21. During the 2000 Minnesota State Fair, at the Jesse Ventura booth, T-shirts were being sold by donation that read "Got Underwear"
22. He doesn't wear underwear.
23. Wrote his autobiography a couple of years back when he was still governor of Minnesota. The title of his book was "I Ain't Got Time to Bleed", which was also one of his memorable lines in Predator (1987).
24. Partially attributed for birth of the term "smart growth", but only because he said he didn't want any "dumb growth." His staff turned the term to the positive and it's now called "smart growth."
25. Has made three movies together with Sven-Ole Thorsen (The Running Man (1987), Predator (1987)and Abraxas, Guardian of the Universe (1990).
26. Prior to being elected governors, he and Arnold Schwarzenegger appeared together in three films: Predator (1987), The Running Man (1987), and Batman & Robin (1997).
27. During the filming of the movie Predator (1987) became close friends with star Arnold Schwarzenegger.
28. While a professional wrestler in the 1980s he began lobbying his fellow wrestlers to form a labor union. Once news of this reached Ventura's then friend Hulk Hogan, Hogan informed World Wrestling Entertainement owner Vince McMahon, who immediately put a stop to the proceedings. Hogan never bothered to tell Ventura what he did. Ventura eventually learned for himself in the 1990s, at which point he ceased to consider Hogan a friend.
29. Opted not to go for a second term as Minnesota governor, citing lack of privacy and being in the public eye so much. He said he made this decision solely based on the fact that at the time he was elected, many political figures were under scrutiny for their past histories and were having their personal lives thrust into the spotlight. Ventura said he did not want his family put into that position and accused the media of scrutinizing his family rather than focusing on important policy issues.
30. Worked with Navy SEALs during the Vietnam War but never actually trained as one.
31. Splits his time living in both Mexico and Minnesota with his wife. He has expressed interest in applying for dual citizenship in Mexico.
32. Jesse Ventura played one of Wesley Snipes's CryoCon henchmen in Demolition Man. He had a fight scene with Sylvester Stallone and it was cut out and shown in a TV spot back when Demolition Man was being released.
33. Is of Slovak and German descent.
34. Both of his parents are World War II veterans.
35. After being discharged from active duty from the military in 1973, Ventura joined a biker gang called the Mongols. Shortly after Ventura left the gang in 1974, the gang went into open warfare against the Hell's Angels, which was a rival gang. However, Ventura was not involved in any criminal activity during his time in the gang.
36. His gubernatorial campaign earned only $300000, compared to the millions that both the Republican and Democratic candidates received.
37. Considered running for the Senate in Minnesota in 2008 as an independent. However, he eventually decided against the idea, citing a potential lack of privacy for his family, especially his children. This was one of the concerns that prompted Ventura to refuse to seek a second term as governor in 2002. Ventura also stated part of his decision not to run was that being a Senator would have required considerable changes in his schedule, given that he also had been living part-time in Mexico for a few years at the time he considered a run for the Senate. Al Franken ended up winning the election as a Democrat.
38. Was a member of the Underwater Demolition Teams when he was in the Navy. The Underwater Demolition Teams were merged with the Navy SEALs in 1983, 8 years after Ventura left the Navy.
39. Republican Tim Pawlenty succeeded him as Minnesota governor in 2003.
40. Ran for governor on the Reform Party ticket. However, Ventura quit the Reform Party in 2000 due to growing infighting in the party that made Ventura denounce the party as "hopelessly dysfunctional.".
41. Worked as a bodyguard for The Rolling Stones for a brief time.
42. Has an older brother who is also a Vietnam veteran.
43. Was a visiting fellow at Harvard in 2004.
44. Father of Tyrel Ventura.
45. Has a Belgian Malinois.
46. Was mayor of the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Park from 1991 to 1995.
47. Published author.
48. Was involved in a controversy in 2012 when former Navy Seal Chris Kyle claimed that he punched Ventura in 2006 at a bar in California after Ventura allegedly made derogatory remarks about the military. Ventura denied the allegations, saying that he never met Kyle. In retaliation, Ventura filed a lawsuit against Kyle for defamation.
49. Announced plans to host a new political show on MSNBC [February 2003]
50. Teaching a seminar on third-party politics for the Spring 2004 term at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government [February 2004]
51. Utters one of the best action movie lines of all time in Predator (1987) when after a comrade exclaims, "You're hit, you're bleedin' man!", Jesse (Blain) unblinkingly responds with, "I ain't got time to bleed".
52. Endorsed Bernie Sanders in the 2016 presidential election of the United States.
53. Counts actor, musician and cannabis rights activist Tommy Chong as a very good friend.

Jesse Venture Personal Quotes (19)
1. [what he says his motto was as a wrestler (not as a politician)] Win if you can, lose if you must, but always cheat.
2. [interview in Minnesapolis Star-Tribune] You need to hunt something that can shoot back at you to really classify yourself as a hunter. You need to understand the feeling of what it's like to go into the field and know your opposition can take you out. Not just go out there and shoot Bambi.
3. [on the possibility of running for US President] I'm a great believer in destiny, and if I'm destined to be there, it will happen. If I'm not, it won't.
4. I think, in 2008, we need a pro wrestler in the White House.
5. [on the state of religion and politics in the US as of 2008] If Jesus came back today, I think he'd throw up.
6. Yes, I do, because it's so slanted toward the incumbent to win, it's ridiculous. In the Congress today, we don't even have competitive races in all but about 15 across the country, because they control the districting and they make the districts so well -- this is Democrat, this is Republican. They all work it out in the back room. So, yes, I think term limits would be terrific. I don't believe anyone should be allowed to serve one day longer at one job than what we let our president do, and that's two four-year terms. [on Larry King Live, July 2008; when asked if he thinks there should be congressional term limits]
7. [Regarding his views on religion]: I'd like to clarify (my comments published in Playboy) about religious people being weak-minded. I didn't mean all religious people. I don't have any problem with the vast majority of religious folks. I count myself among them, more or less. But I believe because it makes sense to me, not because I think it can be proven. There are lots of people out there who think they know the truth about God and religion, but does anybody really know for sure? That's why the founding fathers built freedom of religious belief into the structure of this nation, so that everybody could make up their minds for themselves. But I do have a problem with the people who think they have some right to try to impose their beliefs on others. I hate what the fundamentalist fanatics are doing to our country. It seems as though, if everybody doesn't accept their version of reality, that somehow invalidates it for them. Everybody must believe the same things they do. That's what I find weak and destructive.
8. [Ventura's advice to Arnold Schwarzenegger after the latter was elected Governor of California in a 2003 recall election] Think about what you want to say, and talk from your heart. Scripts are for actors.
9. [discussing the resignation of Sarah Palin as governor of Alaska] She's a quitter. Let me put it to you this way, and by not being sexist: She could never make it as a frogman or a Navy SEAL. Because if you utter the words in BUDS training, or Basic Underwater Demolition SEAL training, "I quit," you're gone. I don't remember one person in my class that quit. I remember every person that I graduated with. It offends me over the fact that she told the people of Alaska she wanted to be their governor, and that's a four-year commitment. And now right in the middle, she quits? Well, if she's got plans on running for higher office, I would never vote for her, because if it gets too hot in the kitchen she's liable to quit. I don't think she was put under any more scrutiny with the media than I was as an independent. My children were attacked in Minnesota. Everything I did was put under the microscope, but the point is you don't quit. When you make an obligation and you take an oath, doesn't that mean anything anymore?
10. I didn't need this job. I ran for governor to find out if the American dream still exists in anyone's heart other than mine. I'm living proof that the myths aren't true. The candidate with the most money isn't always the one who wins. You don't have to be a career politician to serve in public office. You don't have to be well-connected. You don't even have to be a Democrat or a Republican. You can stand on your own two feet and speak your mind, because if people like where you're coming from, they will vote you in. The will of the people is still the most powerful force in our government.
11. Wasting your vote is not voting your heart and not voting your conscience. That's a wasted vote.
12. [2005 interview] If America is changing because of the War on Terrorism, then the terrorists are winning. Because we may beating them on the battlefield, but if we're getting our freedoms taken away and America changes because of what terrorism does and the fear of terrorism and government there to 'protect' us, then in my opinion the terrorists are winning.
13. I live in Mexico for half of the year. You know, I live with those brown-skinned people that we're so afraid of that we're going to build walls and barbed wire fences and all of this stuff and we're going to turn my country into East Berlin, because we fear these brown-skinned people who manage to come up here looking for economic advantage; looking to help their families the same way you want to help yours. And to me, when I look at the United States turning into East Berlin, it is not the country that I served when I was in the military.
14. [Ventura describing his views of both the Democratic and Republican parties] I view the traditional two parties as in some ways very evil. They've become monsters that are out of control. The two parties don't have in mind what's best for Minnesota. The only things that are important to them are their own agendas and their pork. Government's become just a battle of power between the two parties. But now that Minnesota has a governor who truly comes from the private sector, a lot of light's going to be shed on how the system is unfair to people outside the two parties.
15. [explaining his support for gay marriage] Love is by far bigger than the government can ever be.
16. Are we that selfish a nation where health care can be such a divisive issue? Where is mainstream America today? To me, the doctor issue us a human right. I don't care if you're an illegal alien or whatever, if you're sick you should be able to have treatment. It amazes me that we've got people out there holding signs and making our president look like a Nazi, because he supports a change in the system. Here's another point: If government-run health care is so bad, does that mean we've been screwing over our veterans for close to a hundred years? My father would go nowhere else but to the Veteran's Administration hospital. The one here in Minnesota is state-of-the-art, brand-new, and completely government-run, and I don't see anyone protesting about that! If it's good enough for the veterans, shouldn't it be the same for all of us?
17. There's a reason that they call me "The Body."
18. [explaining how he adopted the name 'Jesse Ventura'] I got the good fortune of being able to name myself. When you go into the world of pro-wresting, especially as a villain, it's not always good to use your real name. And I always loved the name Jesse, I pulled out a map of California, and I started matching Jesse up and when I read 'Jesse Ventura' the light went off.
19. I remember sitting one time at a party and someone asked me my nationality and I said, "Well, I'm Czech," and my 85 year old aunt spun around in the chair and her finger went up and said, "You're not Czech, you're Slovak!"

Political Satire & Chapo Trap House
Jesse Ventura and Brigida Santos discuss the importance of satire, art and music in political discourse. Why does The Onion often do a better job covering world events than corporate media? Chapo Trap House hosts Will Menaker and Virgil Texas talk about their new book: The Chapo Guide to Revolution
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPThT_NefN0

FYI LTC Stephen C. Maj William W. "Bill" Price LTC Ivan Raiklin, Esq. LTC (Join to see) CPT Gabe Snell Capt Tom Brown Capt Seid Waddell SSgt Robert Marx SSgt (Join to see) SCPO Morris RamseySP5 Mark Kuzinski SGT Robert George SGT John " Mac " McConnell SPC (Join to see) SP5 Robert Ruck SCPO Morris Ramsey CPL Eric Escasio Cpl Joshua Caldwell

What a A-hole!!!

Jesse "I ain't got time to bleed" Ventura put the shaft to Chris Kyle's widow.