-Caveat Lector- Ventura said drugs and prostitution should not be "imprisoning crimes" because the government has more important things to do. And he added: "The prohibition of drugs causes crime. You don't have to legalize it, just decriminalize it. Regulate it. Create places where the addict can go get it." Dave Hartley http://www.Asheville-Computer.com http://www.ioa.com/~davehart Ventura Criticizes Organized Religion, Defends Tailhook 9.07 p.m. ET (0107 GMT) September 29, 1999 By Rochelle Olson ST. PAUL, Minn. — In another reminder that Gov. Jesse Ventura is no ordinary politician, the former wrestler told Playboy magazine that organized religion is for "weak-minded people" and that the Navy's Tailhook sexual harassment scandal was "much ado about nothing." AP In this April 7, 1986, photo, entertainer Elvira appears with Jesse 'the Body' Ventura He also said he believed President Kennedy was killed by the "military-industrial complex" because he opposed intervention in Vietnam. Ventura, who has gained national influence in the Reform Party since he upset two veteran politicians in Minnesota's gubernatorial race last year, aired his views on subjects ranging from beautiful women to what life in the White House would be like. The interview, conducted over three days this summer with contributing editor Lawrence Grobel, appears in the November issue, which goes on sale Monday. Ventura said legalizing prostitution should be considered but is an unpopular idea because of religion. "Organized religion is a sham and a crutch for weak-minded people who need strength in numbers," the governor said. "It tells people to go out and stick their noses in other people's business." The governor, a former Navy SEAL who spent time in Southeast Asia in the early 1970s, said he couldn't condone what happened during the Tailhook Association's conference in 1991, when female Navy officers were groped and fondled by aviators at a Las Vegas hotel. But he said he understood it. "These are people who live on the razor's edge and defy death and do things where people die," he said. "They're not going to consider grabbing a woman's breast or buttock a major situation. That's much ado about nothing." Grobel suggested it wasn't trivial for the women. "So? You have to create these people for your own protection," Ventura said. Ventura declined to detail his military service or answer whether he had killed anyone, calling it an inappropriate question and "no one's business." Ventura talked about the best part of his job — "It's good to be king," he said. "The best thing is that there's no one in this state who can tell me what to do." And the worst: "You become a slave. I can't go anywhere without guards. You become a prisoner of your own success." Although he has said he doesn't plan to run for president next year, Ventura said if he did, he would wait until summer to enter the race. "I would let Gore and Bush hang each other with all the rope they have, to the point where the public couldn't stand either of them. Their disapproval ratings would skyrocket," he said. "Then you enter the race three months before the election and take the whole thing." But he wouldn't run because the president "lives in a jail cell. He's the king of the jail cell. He's the most powerful man in the free world, but he's not really free, is he?" Ventura detailed his previously expressed belief that John F. Kennedy's assassination was a conspiracy. He said he believes assassins were hired. Playboy asked who hired them. "I don't know if I want to get this on your tape. I don't want people to think I'm some sort of erratic nut running the state of Minnesota. If you truly want to know, I believe we did, the military-industrial complex. I believe Kennedy was going to withdraw us from Vietnam and there were factions that didn't want that," Ventura said. Ventura said drugs and prostitution should not be "imprisoning crimes" because the government has more important things to do. And he added: "The prohibition of drugs causes crime. You don't have to legalize it, just decriminalize it. Regulate it. Create places where the addict can go get it." Among the lighter subjects was how he would choose to come back in another life. "If I could be reincarnated as a fabric, I would like to come back as a 38-DD bra," Ventura said. Ventura's spokesman, John Wodele, said the governor had not seen the Playboy interview late Wednesday but was unlikely to comment. "The interview speaks for itself," Wodele said. DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! 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