The Ventura Stock Report

"The Body," no "The Brain," no wait...I got it, "The Beard."  

Jesse Ventura = enigma. There is no plausible explanation for some of his antics. The Star Tribune reported about a speech the former Gov. gave Monday night at St. Olaf College. Apparently St. Olaf paid Ventura 25k to give the speech. (This was a discount rate from his usual 50k asking price – because St. Olaf was close to home.)

So St. Olaf paid a man to speak who in the past has delivered such profound lines as: “You haven’t hunted, until you’ve hunted man.” And this same former governor tried to mandate “Media Jackal” buttons for all media persons who covered his new conferences.
Wow, what a deal. To be fair to St. Olaf, Harvard tapped Ventura to teach a political science class last year. (I still remember rubbing my eyes and verifying it elsewhere when I originally read that story.)

+ Side note, as I am typing this, my professor (Chen – for those who wander the halls of Mondale) just said, “I voted for Ventura, and wish I could have done it TWICE.” So it is clear that intelligent people are all over the map on this guy, further adding to his enigmatic status.

Ventura’s mythical stock has been up and down at various points in his public life. Here is my brief review of the ups and downs.

+ “The Body” Professional wrestler - $ 100
+ Mayor of Brooklyn Park - $ 33 (Definitely a step down from being a national figure)
+ Governor - $ 200 (Talk show circuit super-star)
+ “I want to be called ‘The Brain’” - $ 123 (Come-on are we 8, Sing-a-long everyone: “Sticks and stones…”)
+ The ‘hunting’ comment - $ 0.23 (All time low)
+ Buttons for “Media Jackals” - $ 28 (Even though Ventura showed just how sensitive he is, it was kind of funny.)
+ Making an ass of himself at a Timberwolves game - $ 2.73 (Once again proving the negative media portrayals where correct.)
+ Not running for Governor again - $ 100 (Saw the writing on the wall, finally a sign of rationality.)
+ Teaching a class at Harvard - $ 220 (Hey, it’s Harvard)
+ Getting paid 50k a speech - $ 190 (Hey, it an’nt Harvard)
+ Equating the FCC with the Nazis - $ Priceless (See below)

“The Federal Communications Commission, he said, is rolling back free speech rights in "much the same way Nazi Germany did it."” – Star Tribune

“With a black do-rag, or kerchief on his head, Ventura revealed that he did indeed get the idea for his recent "Pirates of the Caribbean"-type beard from the character Jack Sparrow played by actor Johnny Depp in the movie of that title.” – Star Tribune