Ex-wrestler Jesse Ventura vows to pardon Snowden, Manning as president

[struggle4progress]

Posted: October 07, 2013

... "If I became president of the United States, Edward Snowden and Bradley Manning would immediately be pardoned," Mr Ventura told AFP. When "the government is committing crimes and doing wrongdoing, thank God we have people with courage to blow the whistle," he said ...

http://www.geo.tv/article-121524-USL-Ex-wrestler-Jesse-Ventura-vows-to-pardon-Snowden-Manning-as-president

Yet another third party wacko pushing the now-familiar shizz

[Scuba]

1. "Ex-wrestler"? Spin alert: The man was Governor of Minnesota.

[struggle4progress]

5. When he entered office, the state had a $4 billion surplus, and when he left after one term

the state had a $4.5 billion deficit

I expect his surprise stint as governor of Minnesota hasn't encouraged anyone to take him seriously as a political figure: people had voted for him as a lark or because they liked the Jesse Ventura Action Figure spot and found it was funny

He's still a 9/11 truther and Paulite and repeat Alex Jones show guest

[Brickbat]

8. And a fairly crappy one, at that.

[PeteSelman]

2. Ex-wrestler? Sure but why not ex-governor or ex Navy SEAL?

BecUse they're just trying to make him a clown. The same way they do anyone that tells uncomfortable truths and asks uncomfortable questions.

Ventura has no chance of winning the Presidency but I like him and I'm glad he's around.

[beerandjesus]

4. And I'd probably vote for him.

He's probably learned his lesson on some of the libertarian shit he espoused back in the 90s.

[Tarheel_Dem]

22. He ain't learned shit. He told Martin Bashir on Friday that he would run with Ron Paul if...

Paul ran as an Independent. Libertarians are still as nutty as ever, and if you ever doubt that, I suggest you visit the daily paul for a good dose of crazy.

[Ikonoklast]

11. Ventura was never a SEAL. He was UDT, not the same thing at all.

He never underwent SEAL training.

That's like a Infantryman calling himself a Ranger, because they underwent the same basic training.

And he was a disaster as governor, much to Minnesota's dismay.

[avaistheone1]

16. ?

Bill Salisbury, an attorney in San Diego and a former Navy SEAL officer, accused Ventura of "pretending" to be a SEAL and wrote that Ventura would be blurring an important distinction by claiming to be a SEAL when he was actually a frogman with the UDT. Compared to SEAL Teams, UDTs saw less combat and took fewer casualties. Although Ventura underwent UDT training, he never attempted the additional 26 week SEAL Qualification Training. In 1983, eight years after Ventura left the Navy, the UDT's were disbanded and those operators were retrained and retasked as SEALs. [13][112][113] Responding to the controversy, Governor Ventura's office confirmed that Ventura was a member of the UDTs. His spokesman stated that Ventura has never tried to convince people otherwise.[13] Ventura stated: "Today we refer to all of us as SEALs; that's all it is," and dismissed the accusations of lying about being a SEAL as "much ado about nothing.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura#cite_note-Military_People:_Jesse_Ventura-3

I think you are splitting hairs.

[Ikonoklast]

17. Not at all, they are not the same thing.

UDT and SEAL training are two different disciplines.


Notice they took the UDT members and then further trained them to become SEAL's, the nomenclature just wasn't changed and they were somehow grandfathered in.

They had to take the entire SEAL course to qualify.

[arcane1]

13. That's because he IS a clown.

Ever seen his absurd conspiracy theory TV show? The man is a buffoon.

[PeteSelman]

20. You're entitled to think that.

I like the guy. I think he's smart and ballsy.

[MattBaggins]

24. There are somethings one should never admit to.

[Drale]

28. I would bet that poster also supports the Paul's ./nt

[PeteSelman]

38. The Paul's what?

Command of the language helps make your point.

[Drale]

47. Wow, its not a lack of the command of language by me rather

lack of the understanding of political terms and people by you. The Paul's is in Ron and Rand Paul, the "libertarian" Repukes who for some reason have support on DU even though they are as far right as they come.

[PeteSelman]

48. The apostrophe denotes possession in your application.

It does not denote plurality, ever. The correct term would be "the Pauls".

And you would be wrong again in that foolish assumption. I do not like the Pauls or their idiotic, infintile libertarian agenda.

You really should apologize for your insult.

[Drale]

50. How about no

just a bit of advice, don't be a grammar or spelling Nazi because your either gonna be banned or put on everybody's ignore list, because your already on one person's list.

[PeteSelman]

53. I see. It's fine for you to insult me but I can't correct you.

The bigger person would admit they were wrong and apologize. But you want to be a child and stick your fingers in your ears. Whatever.

[PeteSelman]

30. Good thing I don't give a shit what people think.

Otherwise my feeling might get hurt.

[TheDebbieDee]

32. Awwwww. Don't take it personally!

Welcome to DU!

[beerandjesus]

34. +1

My feelings exactly. And as I said above, I might vote for him.

Don't ask me for specifics, because it's been too long, but I remember when he was Governor getting the impression that holding actual office had cured him of some of the, uh, shall we say "unrealistic" aspects of the Libertarianism he had run on. To me, that's a pretty big qualifier. But in any case, I think he's a good voice to have in the discussion, and I would be VERY happy to see him, say, in the Senate. (Though I can't see rooting for him against either of Minnesota's current Senators. Maybe he can pull a Dick Chaney and run for the Mississippi delegation or something!)

[Tarheel_Dem]

23. You mean the show that got dropped? He's too nutz for TruTv? That's sayin' something.

http://www.pwinsider.com/article/80737/jesse-ventura-reality-series-canceled.html

[Erose999]

55. Doink was "the clown". Ventura was "the Body"

http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/_/11572049/Doink+the+Clown+x_bb8b9146cd.jpg



And yes, Jesse Ventura is most well known as a WWF wrestler. That has been his career for the majority of his adult life.

[Recursion]

35. He's an interesting guy, but he was not a SEAL.

Nor was he a particularly good governor.

[BluegrassStateBlues]

3. Once a clown, always a clown.

[struggle4progress]

6. +

[JonLP24]

7. If he is a wacko

Then I don't want to be normal.

[Pretzel_Warrior]

9. I vow to pardon Mumia, Peltier, and a couple others

When I'm da prez!

[MineralMan]

10. And then he'll declare Bigfoot an endangered species

and close large sections of the country from public entry to protect Bigfoot from the Area 51 aliens. Right after he appoints Art Bell as Galactic Ambassador at Large.

That Jesse Ventura?

[struggle4progress]

12. That's the one. He seems to have some supporters here at DU -- and at Forbes

The Baba Booey Voting Bloc: I Take A Jesse Ventura and Howard Stern Ticket Very Seriously
Cedric Muhammad
10/07/2013 @ 9:01AM

... When you listen to Ventura ... the clear voice of a Populist-Libertarian emerges and not only that a shrewd strategist’s mind informed by years of experience 1) in pop culture, providing entertainment as a professional wrestler 2) political experience (as Mayor of Brooklyn Park Minnesota and then Governor of the state) and 3) investigative journalism (as host of the popular Tru TV series, “Conspiracy Theory”) ...Stern is a political animal himself – with an insurgent Libertarian Party run for Governor of New York in 1994 which at one time saw him polling at 20% level. The genius of it all may have been a campaign platform so simple and blunt it was impossible to forget, (“His platform is brutally simple: pass the death penalty, let road crews work only at night, stagger highway tolls to prevent traffic jams.” The New York Times noted back then) ... If asked whether I’d trust a career Politician more than a Cultural Icon, I’d prefer the latter ...

[arcane1]

15. And travel back in time to stop the 2012 apocalypse.

[JI7]

14. he is a good example of someone a lot of people may agree with and thinks says the right things

but has no idea what to do when they actually get into office .

[Bluenorthwest]

18. First he does not vow he will be president and pardon anyone. Dishonest. Second

the man was governor of Minnesota. An actual state. To present him as 'ex wrestler' is the 'community organizer' gambit, a cheap shot outsourced from Pakistan.
Barf.

[struggle4progress]

19. Let's be sure we understand what he's up to: he's pushing the usual libertarian electoral strategy,

namely,

"... vote in everybody BUT Democrats or Republicans ..."

[Bluenorthwest]

21. I was not talking about what he's 'up to' but what you are up to. Claro?

Don't care for the yellow hype style at all. It's ugly and worse it is empty of any relevance.

[struggle4progress]

33. If you don't like the headline, I guess you can complain to the news site that wrote it

Libertarian Ventura is following a by-now-well-established libertarian strategy here -- and this being a political news board, some people will be interested in tracking it

You, of course, are free to be uninterested

[Tarheel_Dem]

25. I could've predicted the folks who would rise to his defense in this thread.

[Fumesucker]

31. Stopped clocks and all but he is completely right about at least one thing..

http://cannabisnews.com/news/17/thread17972.shtml

JESSE VENTURA, HOST: Imagine an alien suddenly dropped into the 21st century America. He goes to a Monday night football game and witnesses thousands of people guzzling a liquid refreshment as fast as vendors can supply it. Observing the spectacle of the game itself, the alien is constantly distracted by fans whose behavior seems to become more and more bizarre. He watches as fights break out between half-naked fans with painted bodies.

By the end of the contest, on the playing field, he notes that most of the people around him seem to have lost their ability to walk and for some reason, their speech has changed. Words are less audible. They seem to be talking in slow motion. Once the game is over, he watches the fans stumbling toward their cars, cursing and threatening other fans.

Clearly, the alien observes, something has caused these fans to have a mind-altering experience. But whatever is going on, it seems to be acceptable behavior for this society, because all the while, many police officers observe the behavior, but remain at a distance and don't interfere.

The next day, the alien attends a lecture on a college campus. After the lecture, he's invited by some students to a party. At the party, students are sitting around drawing smoke from a bottle-like structure with water in it. The smoke is inhaled into their bodies, the conversation is friendly, calm and respectful, and music is playing in the background. But all of a sudden, many police officers arrive with guns, grab the water-filled bottle, put handcuffs on everyone in the room, and take them off to jail. The alien is totally confused.

Welcome to the United States of America, the land of hypocrisy.

[SidDithers]

37. Yup...

Sid

[NuclearDem]

26. Sad we have to depend on "third party whackos" to pardon Snowden and Manning.

[warrior1]

27. he's so fucking full of himself.

[Recursion]

36. Ah yes, the guy who appointed Dean Barkley to fill Paul Wellstone's Senate seat

[ellie]

39. Oh? When does he take office?

[struggle4progress]

40. Right after he and Howard Stern sweep some election

[SidDithers]

41. Ex-wrestler and current clown Jesse Ventura vows to pardon Snowden, Manning as president

There, fixed the title for you.



Sid

[NCTraveler]

42. Can a President pardon someone who hasn't been convicted of anything? nt.

[struggle4progress]

43. Gerald Ford thought so

[NCTraveler]

44. Excellent point. nt.

[maddezmom]

45. Meh

He wouldn't have a chance. But I am sure all this air time is helping him sell his new book.

[seveneyes]

46. Those two should be pardoned

Doesn't matter who says it.

[Whisp]

49. I kinda like the big feller...

No, I don't believe much of what he says but he's always entertaining to me. He looks sane compared to the Alex Jones type.

When I did see him on shows like Piers Morgan I loved the reactions he got.

[wildbilln864]

51. k & r! n/t

[grahamhgreen]

52. OMG, don't think of yourself that way!!! ;)