I am Jesse Ventura. I always speak my mind and search for the truth and now I want to hear from you. AMA

I understand you believe your reputation was harmed by Chris Kyle's claims that you were disrespectful towards America and American soldiers back in 2006. How do you believe your reputation will be improved by continuing a defamation suit against Kyle's widow? What motivation would Kyle have to make such a claim in his book and do you feel that there are any other lies contained within?

Edit: Wow, thanks for the gold!

This really needs to be the #1 question. If he's going to use reddit for the free publicity, he should at least answer the tough questions.

Edit: He answered, but I think it's buried. Here is the link if that's the case:

http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1zjx9u/i_am_jesse_ventura_i_always_speak_my_mind_and/cfv107o?context=3

Under orders from my attorneys, I cannot discuss this case because it is coming to trial soon. When the trial is over, I will comment openly on this as I do on all subjects. For now, my only comments will be in a court room under oath.

Under orders from my attorneys, I cannot discuss this case because it is coming to trial soon. When the trial is over, I will comment openly on this as I do on all subjects. For now, my only comments will be in a court room under oath.

People know me for my "braces" (suspenders) - are tie dye t-shirts your "official" look now?

Yes, they are. Very observant of you, Larry. Absolutely. They are my look now, the off the grid look. That's because there's a girl down here who makes them for me.

What do you think about Gregg Hughes, the American who recently joined the Taliban?

Well, I guess when you live in what's supposed to be a free country, you have the ability to make a stupid decision. That's all part of freedom.

You appointed my mother to the Supreme Court in the early 2000's, and I just wanted to say thanks!

I know exactly who your mom was. And she did a marvelous, wonderful job.

Are you afraid to go back on the Opie and Anthony show?

No, I'm not afraid to go on it, but I just don't desire to go on it. They are very disrespectful, and I don't have time to deal with people who disrespect me. And I don't have to do the show, so I won't do it.

Comedian James Adomian does a spot-on vocal impersonation of you. Have you ever heard it, and if you have, do you find it amusing, or insulting?

I haven't heard it, but I wouldn't find it not insulting, it's the best form of flattery, impersonation. If someone is doing you in a comedy routine it's flattery - even if they don't paint you in the best possible light, it's still flattery.

Mr. Ventura, What is your opinion on the recently leake documents that show evidence of govenment agents using social media (such as reddit) to manipulate public perception?

https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2014/02/24/jtrig-manipulation/

I think it's propaganda that needs to be exposed. They have every right to attempt to put out their propaganda, but we have every right to know that it is propaganda being put out by them and to make up our minds whether we believe it or not. But they need to be above board when doing that.

What's your opinion of the recent leaks given out by Lyle Chipperson?

Can you share more information?

Hi Jesse. What is your stance on the NSA surveillance on the American people and should we do anything to stop/limit it?

Absolutely. They are violating the 4th Amendment to the Constitution, those are the laws of the land, and they need to be held accountable. They should stop it immediately. In a free country, you have the ability to be stupid.

Someone asked my best life advice: I guess my best life advice is to be true to yourself. Be able to look in the mirror at the end of the day.

What is your favorite Andre The Giant memory?

My favorite Andre the Giant memory was he had gone out to the ring and his sport coat was on a hanger, and I was 6 foot 4, 265 pounds, and I put his sport coat on, and it fit me like a trench coat. My hands didn't even come out the sleeves, they were so big. That's definitely one of my favorite memories.

Hello Mr. Ventura!

I just wanted to say that ever since I was little, Predator has always been one of my favorite movies. Your character is one of my favorites. My dad and I have always quoted the old “I ain’t got time to bleed” line. Even to this day we still say it and smile. I only have three questions:

What was it like working with Arnold Schwarzenegger?

Did he make you smoke a cigar with him? Haha.

Finally, do you have time to bleed?

Thank you! :D

Ok, first of all, working with Arnold on a film is always fun, because he makes it fun, as the "star." Films are always pretty close to what the star's temperament is, and with Arnold, the temperament is always fun. Second question is: yes, I did smoke cigars with him. Third question: Do I have time to bleed? Not here off the grid.

What do you believe is the best way to resist and limit the growing police state?

The best way to resist is the only answer we have: stop electing democrats and republicans to office. They are the ones who are controlling the office and the laws.

Washington DC just voted10 -1 to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana. Do you feel this should be the law in all 50 states and why or why not?

Absolutely Marijuana should be decriminalized. It should be treated the same as cigarettes and alcohol. Marijuana is to Rock n' Roll what beer is to baseball.

Governor,

I'm a fellow Minnesotan and have enjoyed a lot of your books and your TruTV show, but mostly the fact that you are a public figure who genuinely speaks his mind.

Why do you think people find it so hard question the government's "official" version of certain events when people generally know that the government is corrupt and that politicians are liars?

I think the problem is that people don't want to come to grips with what is the truth. I think they live in denial themselves. The American people seem to tell you they want the truth but they don't seek it, but many times when you tell them the truth they get angry at you. So I think it's a combination of self-denial.

Hi Mr. Ventura, welcome to reddit.

I have an important question. Can you teach me how to become a goddamn sexual tyrannosaurus? Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Well, first of all, you better start chewing a lot of tobacco. And I don't personally recommend that to people because it's highly addicting, and it's dangerous just like cigarettes, but in order to be a sexual tyrannosaurus, you gotta chew tobacco.

And that's it.

Recently, Roddy Piper has begun expressing certain political opinions that might line up with yours. Tweeting things during the government shutdown such as "Shut down the government? They Live is a documentary!" Ever thought about having him on Off The Grid? The two of you would make a very interesting tag team in the political arena.

No I haven't, I know Roddy well and we actually wrestled together but I haven't seen him for a number of years. Last time I saw him was when I was doing the Tonight Show. But we haven't talked lately. Right now I don't need any partners. We'll have to wait and see!

Right on, thanks for answering. You and Roddy were 2 of the best on the mic of all time, great memories.

Well, you know, I think we did. He had Piper's Pit and I had the Body Shop and we caused a lot of trouble. And it was our JOB to cause trouble.

Gov. Jesse Ventura,

    If you had the chance, what would you have done differently than what the Presidents of the U.S. did in the past 14 years?

What I would have done differently in the last 14 years, which would take us back to 2000: I would have taken the 9/11 threat seriously when Condoleeza Rice made off like they didn't think it was serious, I would have taken it seriously so there could have been a chance it would not have happened on my watch than what the Republicans did at the time. There would have never been a war in Iraq, because it had nothing to do with 9/11, they didn't do a thing, so there would have been no Iraq war had I been president. And there certainly would not have been the Patriot Act if I was president, because I would not suspend the constitution and bring in the Patriot Act, which is really wrongly named. It is not patriotic to take away people's freedoms, it should be called the Un-Patriot Act.

Hi Mr. Ventura, a lot of former pro wrestlers from your time have passed away quite early. Do you feel that it was directly a result of the lifestyle of pro wrestling?

Yes, very much so, because it's a very grinding, rigorous lifestyle that really destroys your body mentally and physically at some point. plus the lifestyle brings in the use of anabolic steroids in many ways, and people did not realize how detrimental the effects could be long-term. So I do feel that the business did play a role in many of these early deaths.

Ventura / Stern 2016!!!!!!

It's up to you! Because you have to get me ballot access and ensure I get access to the debates before I ever do it.

Hi Jesse,

Love your outlook, views and politics. Two questions:

• Will you ever consider a return to political office? The US needs minds like yours now more than ever.
• I enjoyed your show, especially the conspiracies it brought to light, but sometimes I feel segments are a bit sensationalized (I get that it's TV and this is gonna happen). How did you balance getting the facts out there with telling a compelling story that will captivate viewers?

I've learned never to say never. I don't have any plans to return to political office, but certainly you don't know what the future holds, so I never say never. There's a possibility but it's not in my plans at this moment.

Well, when we did Conspiracy Theory, we initially were going to tell both sides of the story, but unfortunately many of the sides deal with the government who won't cooperate. So the show itself morphed into presenting the facts and allowing the people to be their own judge of whether they wanted to believe the conspiracy or not.

I saw your show's episode on HAARP. Do you think the super cold and long lasting winter much of the country has had may have something to do with keeping natural gas prices high and the fact that they haven't gotten their keystone pipeline yet? I also heard what you said about the super bowl weather, and yeah, it was pretty strange weather. Thanks

Well, you may be right on with that, because the thing I'm going to answer with this is ALWAYS FOLLOW THE MONEY. All government decisions come out of money. I guess it isn't out of the question to think that HAARP might have made a particularly tough winter on everyone so they could get another gas line put in. It seems like an advantageous thing for them to use it for.

Hello Mr. Ventura! Thank you for doing this. Was a huge fan as a young wrestling fan growing up in the eighties. Your commentary with Gorilla Monsoon is what hooked me when I was little. You were "the bad announcer" to me. Love it, and thank you for all those memories.

My question is, as someone who is just now trying to understand politics in general a little bit better, why does it seem it's impossible to have independent candidates taken seriously? Especially when it seems like they make far more sense ( politically ) then Republicans or Democrats. Is it something about the party that Americans just can't get behind? Or are they afraid?

Well, I think they could be afraid a little bit. They've been conditioned. The United States people are conditioned that they only have 2 choices, because that's what has been going on the past 50-100, years. There are more than 2 sides to every story, there are probably 4 or 5 sides to it. And certainly it's better to have more choices than just 2. And those 2 are, in reality, 1.

Mr. Ventura, thank you for allowing us access to you,this is an honor. I have three questions if you don't mind

How would you take action on the situation in the Ukraine? What was, in your terms your greatest achievement as a politician? Why did you go into politics?

Well, first of all, on Ukraine I would take a diplomatic stance on that. We've certainly been involved in enough wars. We don't need any more wars, and things should be solved by diplomacy when they can. I would tell you that my greatest achievement was defeating the Democrats and Republicans and actually getting elected, but having said that, probably my biggest achievement while in office is putting in the first light rail transit line in the Twin Cities. They are now building the 2nd and 3rd lines, so I put in what was the first of what will hopefully be many more light rail transit lines in Minneapolis / St. Paul.

I went into politics because I couldn't sing or dance.

Hi Jesse, big fan of your consistency and your outspokenness on the issues. My question is, what caused your change from being a Christian to now being an Atheist?

My change from Christianity to Atheism happened over many years. It probably started when I was 19, deployed overseas, and I saw certain things that I felt that religion was more about business and money than it was about God, and as far as over the years, the problem is I've never seen an indication that God is real or God exists. And I'm also a big believer in science, I'm in good company because you know Mark Twain, Charles Darwin and Albert Einstein were all atheists. So there's nothing wrong with being an atheist, it just means you don't believe in a supreme being. You have the values everyone else has, just more so.

Do you like cats?

Do I like gatos? Yeah. In fact at my home off the grid we have a cat that just showed up. And he's been there about 7 or 8 years and gets along fine with my dog. And he's now has a wonderful life in the compound I live at. I find cats very interesting to be around.

Dear Jesse,

If you'd run for president, would you fear for your life? Can someone with your common sense and honesty be elected president of the USA? Or would you be in danger because you wouldn't sell out to corporations?

Thanks!

I think that you are exactly correct, I would be in danger because honesty does not seem to be a trait our presidents have anymore. I believe that's why I couldn't be president, because today in order to be president you have to go on TV and be ready to lie. And presidents just have to lie now, it's the nature of the job as they have created it. Would it be a scary thing? Yes, to get someone in there who is honest and won't lie could put people in grave jeopardy. Remember, they killed Kennedy didn't they?

Governor Ventura,

Our (U.S) deficit is only getting worse. If you were president, what would be your main priority in getting our deficit reduced and budget balanced?

Well I'd cut out all foreign aid and I'd stop fighting these wars. That would save us a great deal of money. That would be a good start. The rest of it I'd have to do when I got in there.

What do you think of Bill Hicks? Did you two ever meet?

I don't think I ever met him. I'm not familiar with his work, but I'll have to smarten myself up to him.

Did you have the same core beliefs when you were in the service and throughout your wrestling career? If not what were the epiphanies along the way?

Certainly you do. I don't think anyone, when you go through life, maintains the same beliefs for 40 or 50 years because you have life experiences that enter in and can change those beliefs for you as you go along the way. Today I would be a conscientious objector if it came to joining the service for example. And that's quite a radical change, going from a Navy SEAL to a conscientious objector.

Hi Jesse,

I have two questions.. Are you currently "off the grid" and how did you first get into conspiracy theories, what started it?

(On a side note, if you ran for President in 2016 -- I'd vote for you!)

Well, I'm currently off the grid in answer to that question. And what started me getting into conspiracy theories was when I learned that there was opposition to the Kennedy killing, and to the Warren Commission official answers. This was in the early 70's. In the mid-80s, when wrestling switched to flying, I started buying every book on Kennedy that I could and reading them on airplanes.

It is an honour to have the chance to talk to you! Please tell me that you are considering running for an influential political position, maybe even President? America is getting worse and worse and only someone like you can stop it before its too late!

Well, I'm honored that someone would feel that way. Certainly in the back of my mind I always say "if not me, then who?" But right now my focus is doing this show and enjoying my life right now.

Are you working on another book?

No.

Mr. Ventura, I have two questions:

1. You recently said that you have gone “off the grid” in Mexico in order to hide from drones. If you really are trying to live “off the grid”, why are you doing an AMA on one of the biggest websites on the internet?

2. What makes you think that you are a target for assassination by drone?

1. I don't

2. It was tongue in cheek and you ought to get a sense of humor.

Don't take everything so literal! But I am off the grid, I have been living off the grid for 8 years now. That simply means you don't need the government to sustain you. I provide my own electricity and don't need a government to help sustain me. That's being off the grid.

Why don't they allow cameras at Bilderberg Group meetings?

I don't know! I'm not a Bilderberg! Ask somebody who goes to them!

Let me venture a guess: probably because they probably don't want you to know who's there and what they are talking about.

Hey Gov, You mentioned Howard Stern as a VP choice if you ran for President in 2016 (hoping you do). As a guy who understands you and what you’re all about, I know that a Ventura-Stern ticket would work in running this country. However, I don’t see the general public going for that anytime soon. Would you consider other choices and who?

Certainly I would. But I need someone like Howard Stern to keep my integrity. And that's because I won't sell out to special interests. Howard could help raise me enough money to run. Now, politically, if I were to choose a running mate out there, my first choice politically would be independent Senator Angus King from Maine. He was an Independent Governor of Maine when I was an Independent Governor of Minnesota.

I, as a Minnesotan, vaguely miss you in politics, it was fun to have you push people to be honest. also if you had a chance to live off the grid in MN would you and where would you most likely live?

Well first of all I wouldn't live off the grid in Minnesota because it gets 35 degrees under zero. You gotta live in a place that is 85 degrees and sunny. My first piece of advice: don't go off the grid in Minnesota, you'll freeze to death.

Mr. Ventura, Where do you stand on Obamacare? With the ever rising price of healthcare in the United States what would you do to help those who can't afford health care coverage?

Ninja Edit: Do you prefer Jesse "The Body" Ventura or Jesse "The Governor" Ventura?

Well first of all, the problem with Obamacare is that they coddled the insurance industry. If they made it single payer like Medicare, but unfortunately they are still allowing insurance companies to run your medical. That's the ultimate problem, we are allowing our medical care to be a for-profit business. I don't think medicine should be a for-profit business. You should be able to earn a nice living at it, but you shouldn't have insurance company CEOS getting $5 million bonuses every year.

Either is fine. I mean, if people want to give me my due respect, the way it works is you're always the governor, and I'm 62 now, I'm still in good shape, but at 62 I don't think you can call yourself "the Body" anymore.

Although my assistant here Bree might disagree with you. She might still think I am the Body, because I pose for her now and then and give her a bicep shot and it causes her knees to shake. I always enjoy having fun at my worker's expense. They are a joy to work with so I like to have fun with them every now and then.

Mr. Ventura, what would you say is your favorite book and why?

Well, I don't know what my favorite book is, but the book I've read the most times is Helter Skelter by Vincent Bugliosi and Curt Gentry.

It's the story of the Manson murders. I think I've read it 6 or 7 times. Every time you read it, you seem to gain new knowledge that you didn't see before, or maybe I just have a bad memory.

My favorite books to read are the ones on the John F. Kennedy conspiracy / murder.

What is your opinion on The Ultimate Warriors induction to the HOF?

I don't have an opinion on it. Who they induct on the HOF is up to the World Wrestling Entertainment. I have no say so on that. I was happily inducted in '04, and they certainly will make the choices they want to make.

Let's hear a story about you with Mach Man Randy Savage!

There's not really a lot of stories about Macho Man and me. He was a great talent, we teamed up a few times, I broadcasted his talent. and unfortunately he passed away a few years ago from a massive heart attack. There's no real story. I didn't really hang out or go out, I would just stay in after shows, that's probably why I've been married for 39 years.

Hi Jesse,

Just wanted to say you're still a god damn sexual tyrannosaurus.

Question: What lesser known "conspiracy theory" do you think should be made known to the public? More coverage...etc.

Anyways, I loved your interview on Howard Stern a couple months ago.

Cheers.

9/11. That's simple, because that is the most recent one that is having the most dramatic impact on everyone's life. The United States changed that day, and we need to know the truth about it.

Jesse, do you miss the wrestling business?

No, I don't miss the wrestling business. When I left, I never looked back and there is too much left in life to worry about missing something.

Hi Jesse! What were your best squat and deadlift numbers during your physical prime?

My best deadlift I think was about 610, and I think my best squat was 550 -575, right around there. It's not that good, but it put me in the strong category.

Mr F-ing Ventura you are a true hero in my eyes and I wish nothing but the best for you and your family, and all the people you have helped wake up. I thank you for that from the bottom of my heart. Peace, love, happiness and truth for all the world. You are a great mentor and I can only dream of letting my thoughts pour out of me on a public scale as yours have. Man I f***ing love u dude (: Oh damn guess I gotta wait another four minutes to tell u how I feel. So Ima just keep on typing lol. I have watched many of your shows and many other conspiracy type shows ..... How is it that you and Alex Jones and so many other freedom and truth seekers aren't dead.

I guess cuz nobody's tried to kill us? I don't know?

On a serious note, maybe it's because we have too much publicity and it would look too suspicious if anything happened to us. So maybe they just marginalize us. The mainstream media has marginalized me and won't let me on. That's why I'm now on the internet.

Tell us about your experience with HAARP

It was just going up to Alaska and discovering that this thing existed and then being lied to. I was told it was an unclassified research center, but they didn't let me in, which means it WAS classified, which then raises your suspicion on anything else they might tell you.

Thank you for doing this!

My question is, what was the life of a pro wrestler like??

The life of a pro wrestler changed so there was an evolution, but in the end you woke up every day, you got on an airplane, you flew to a city, you worked out, wrestled, ate, slept, then you'd wake up, you got on an airplane, you flew to a city, you worked out, wrestled, ate, slept… there were times that you couldn't remember what city you'd been in 5 days earlier unless you went backwards day by day. You were busy, you didn't even have time to breathe. At one point in my career, I wrestled 63 consecutive nights in a row. And there's guys who would beat that by a mile. But that was my personal record. Not a day off. Remember there's no union. If you don't wrestle, you don't get paid.