Share this
Twitter
Myspace
Digg
Del.icio.us
Reddit
Slashdot
Furl
Yahoo
Technorati
Newsvine
Facebook
Export PDF
Print
E-mail
Tags
Article IndexOn American Conspiracies, John Lennon, motorcycle gangs, Baja, Mexico ... and he's never had a cell phone
BY TOM MURRO
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
THE CELEBRITY MAGNET
Jesse "The Body" Ventura's latest book, American Conspiracies, was released just a few days ago. Ventura, a former governor of Minnesota, actor and retired professional wrestler is in between seasons of his television show, Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura, which can be seen on TruTV.
We met last Thursday after his book signing at Bookends in Ridgewood, N.J.
I touched upon many topics and kept the conversation light. We even had a few laughs. I found Mr.Ventura to be a very interesting and quite an accomplished guy, despite his chainsaw voice and unusual views.NJNR: Let's talk about your book American Conspiracies. You wrote this book with Dick Russell and I understand you both worked together previously on another book?
JV: Yes, my previous book is ‘Don't Start The Revolution Without Me.' Dick is a very good man and good at doing research and that's probably my weakness. Dick also wrote a book called "The Man Who Knew Too Much" and that's how we met after he gave me a copy of his book in 2003.
NJNR: How much time did you spend on research?
JV: We spent about six months. It didn't come together easy. When you are doing this it's like taking a jigsaw puzzle and taking all the pieces and throwing it on the floor. You start by picking up one piece, which is information. Then you eventually start piecing together all these little bits of information. Now, can you complete the whole jigsaw puzzle? No, you can't do that. But you can put together enough information and get enough clues and pieces to the puzzle to where you can then look at it. It may have a big whole in it but you can look at it and clearly understand what the big picture is.
NJNR: Have you seen the movie Conspiracy Theory? Where they think the main character played by Mel Gibson is crazy and in the end he wasn't as crazy as people thought.
JV: Yeah, well that's kind of how it is when you write about these conspiracies because mainstream media is gonna put out that you're crazy. They say, "How can anyone believe these things?" I say, how can you not?
NJNR: Why do you think John Lennon was killed?
JV: That's interesting because John Lennon was making a huge comeback and he was the voice of The Left. And if you remember right, Ron Reagan had just been elected. The interesting thing about Lennon's death, Malcolm X's death and Martin Luther King's death is they were all under heavy surveillance by the CIA when they were shot and killed. I couldn't believe how much the CIA was following Lennon and had him under surveillance, because I don't know why they felt he was a threat to the country? I mean c'mon, the singer for the Beatles is a threat to the country (laughing).
NJNR: If you had to pick between the Beatles and Led Zeppelin who would you pick?
JV: Led Zeppelin of course! Led Zeppelin is my favorite band of all time and the Rolling Stones are a close second.
NJNR: Do you think Oliver Stone's depiction of the movie on the assassination of JFK was accurate or just Hollywood fluff?
JV: Oliver Stone's movie was a hell of a lot more accurate than the Warren Commission.
NJNR: So, I understand you spend quite a bit of time in Baja, Mexico!
JV: Yeah, I spend half the year down there. Have you ever been to Minnesota in the winter? After about 25 Minnesota winters you have to surrender (laughing).
NJNR: Do you do any surfing?
JV: Yeah, I golf, surf and scuba dive. I wake up in the morning with nothing to do and before I go to bed I'm half done (laughing). It's a great laid-back lifestyle.
NJNR: I heard that you originally moved there to help your wife's Chronic Fatigue Syndrome?
JV: Well, yeah, and that's why I didn't seek re-election either. And I didn't make that public because the media attacked me enough and I felt it was private and they didn't need to know about it. Living in Mexico has made her healthier, much better and I'll tell you this point blank ... my wife means more to me than holding any public office.
NJNR: How long have you guys been married?
JV: 35 years this July.
NJNR: Congratulations! How have you kept the marriage going so long?
JV: Thank you. I would tell people that the best thing for marriage is to communicate, because to hold things in ... letting them build up causes problems. Communication is definitely the key to a sustained marriage.
NJNR: I understand your daughter was married not too long ago? Any chance of you becoming a grandfather anytime soon?
JV: Nope. And I don't want to get any older than I have to be (laughing). I know my wife is looking forward to it but I don't really care to be honest.
NJNR: What are your thoughts on the Minnesota Independence party backing Mayor Bloomberg for president in 2012?
