Ventura on Fox: U.S. has been ‘practicing terrorism for 50 years’
Wednesday, April 07, 2010 at 2:06 pm
- 6 Comments
Fox Business News brought Jesse Ventura on, presumably for ratings-boosting color, but what he delivered might not have been the kind of fireworks producers had hoped for. In a heated interview, Ventura proposed a tax on the war in Iraq, said he believes there’s no place for nuclear warfare, and said that the United States has been “practicing terrorism for 50 years, only we call it ‘foreign policy.’”
The set-up for Ventura’s segment: Using a WorldNet Daily story, host Eric Bolling pushed the story that the health care law includes a provision to create a “ready reserve corps” for use during national emergencies and that “other reports” say the Obama Administration will hire 16,000 new armed IRS agents. The law does refer to a “ready reserve,” but as Hot Air’s Ed Morrissey points out, Obama didn’t invent it: it’s more than 60 years old. Further, as Fox Business notes, the White House has stated that “this is a thoroughly debunked charge that has absolutely no basis in reality.” Writes Morrissey, “This bill has a multitude of problems, but a ‘private health-care army’ isn’t one of them.”
But Ventura, brought in for his opinions on whether there’s a “cover-up of the truth going on,” didn’t respond to that windup — or the subject when Bolling resurrected it by the end of the interview. Instead, he discussed his “terrible” health care through the Screen Actors Guild, acknowledging that perhaps the new health care law could help him.
“Shouldn’t we really spend more money on nuclear bombs instead of health care? And I’m being really sarcastic when I say that,” he said. “It seems the argument we’re hearing is: let’s build more nuclear bombs, but we can’t afford health care. I think I’d rather have health care. How many times do we need to blow up the world? How much power do we need from nuclear bombs?”
When Bolling suggested overall lower government spending, Ventura acknowledged “that would be good,” but added:
How about a tax on the war? We haven’t even paid for that. We’re making these kids go over there and die, we’re making them fight this eight- to ten-year war, and then when they come home, you know what we get to do for them? We get to make them pay for it. We don’t even have the courage to pay for our own wars.
Bolling quickly changed subjects to President Barack Obama’s change in “posture” regarding nuclear warfare. Ventura backs Obama’s move, stating that “I don’t think there’s any use for nuclear weapons on the planet.”
Rather than use nukes in Afghanistan, Iraq or Iran, Ventura says he’d “rather pull them [troops] all out. We shouldn’t have gone over in the first place. The Iraq War was based completely on lies… The point I”m making is: why do we have to spend so much on defense? …I’ll tell you why: Because we have been practicing terrorism for 50 years, only we call it ‘foreign policy.’”
Pressing Ventura, Bolling began to ask if an attack on American soil would warrant a nuclear response. Ventura wouldn’t respond, calling the scenario “hypothetical.” To Bolling’s claim that Ventura had earlier provided a “speculative” situation, Ventura replied: “I’m giving you a veteran who’s been there, not a coward who hasn’t been.”
(Hat tip, Mediaite.)
6 Comments
Comment posted April 7, 2010 @ 5:19 pm
Say what you will about Ventura, being bold enough to challenge the US nationalist myth that this country has been a consistent shining beacon of freedom, should earn him points from any thinking person.
It’s still commonplace to hear cultural conservatives criticize anyone who dares to suggest that the US might not be the teary-eyed parade of humanitarian goodness they desperately want to believe it is.
American terrorism and anti-democracy goes back more than 50 years, however.
We implicitly supported Franco in the Spanish Civil War.
We invaded the Philippines for no good reason and killed a large number of their people.
Etc.
A tip of the hat to you, Mr. Ventura.
Comment posted April 7, 2010 @ 11:16 pm
He’s utterly nutz. That’s much better than a Democrite; he’s likely to be right about half the time.
Comment posted April 8, 2010 @ 4:47 pm
Love Ventura. And I love how he made a babbling idiot out of another FAUX NEWS babbling idiot.
Pingback posted April 8, 2010 @ 5:46 pm
[...] • Former Gov. Jesse Ventura, whose latest book is American Conspiracies, defends his claim that the U.S. government has been “practicing terrorism for 50 years.” [...]
Comment posted April 14, 2010 @ 7:14 am
When Ventura was running for governor and when he was governor he often sounded like a nut when he was speaking publicly. The larger the crowd, the nuttier he sounded. However, if you read what he wrote during the same period he doesn’t sound nearly as weird. I got the impression that he plays to the crowd when he is riling things up, but underneath that rabble rousing public persona there is a thinking guy. I certainly didn’t support him when he was a candidate, and I don’t think he was that great a governor, but he also wasn’t the total disaster many predicted he would be, nor anywhere near as bad as some of the others we have had (including the current one-note twit). And he is refreshingly honest in stating his opinions, whether to the right or to the left.
Comment posted April 15, 2010 @ 10:39 am
Just today they called on the Pentagon to “pull the trigger” on Iran. No forethought as to the consequences of starting a war with a nation in the epicenter of the middle-east where the US clearly needs to start exercising a level of diplomacy rather than aggression considering their appalling history in the region.
Too often the US people are dragged into the same column and branded under the same red, white and blue logo that your government brands its foreign efforts under. They end up unwittingly playing a role in the act through fear of being branded un-american or unpatriotic. Whenever an act of aggression is carried out by the US abroad the people are bundled into that same column and get caught up in disgusting acts of retribution (9/11). As American Author Noam Chomsky once said “I think we can be reasonably confident that if the American population had the slightest idea of what is being done in their name, they would be utterly appalled.”. Whenever a foreign government or terrorist group issues its hatred against America, the question of “why?” is never uttered. CIA backed military coup attempts have happened on an almost annual rate since the 50s and often with disastrous effects. Look to Chile under Pinochet, Guatemala under Carlos Castillo Armas and the currently apt. 1953 coup in Iran and what that caused. Millions of Lives destroyed by a US lust for imperialism over a nations sovereign right to nationalize its natural resources for the benefit of its peoples. All these events and the many others that have occurred over the last 60 years have caused the current tension between the US and many nations around the globe. But who are the real victims of these tensions? the people. The American people need to know their true history. Not just to understand, but to be able to position themselves to tackle the problem so that a repeat of 9/11 never happens. As long as irresponsible news corporations like Fox are allowed to incite hatred, violence and war under the cloak of “patriotism” and as long as any questioning of government is labelled “un-american” then the people will never be free and a repeat of the horrific events of 9/11 will always be a threat. Again i’ll quote Chomsky “Everybody’s worried about stopping terrorism. Well, there’s a really easy way: stop participating in it.”
The Declaration of Independence reads: “That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.” Through the distribution of fear and the questioning of patriotism these words now fall on deaf ears. Up steps a man, yes, flawed like you and I, but a man willing to do the right thing for the people of America. A man whose ideals appear to be in line with the words on that most famous of political documents. And in into the arena comes Beck, O’Reilly, Hannity and Co., determined to oppress and destroy the foundations that United States was built on. Thomas Jefferson wrote “All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent.”. America! Let your voices be heard. Do not let your principles be swayed by the immoral and reckless acts of the likes of Fox News. March on Times Square and protest outside their window. March on your local Fox affiliate and let them know that they are damaging YOUR country. Be strong, be heard and always remember that YOU, not Fox or the Government, but YOU are America.
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