Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Reaching Out, and Touching Former Minnesota Governor Jesse 'the Body' Ventura: Suing the TSA

Per CNN:
The former Minnesota governor and pro wrestler filed a lawsuit Monday in federal court in Minnesota against the Department of Homeland Security and the TSA.
The suit alleges enhanced airport security procedures, including pat-downs and full body scanning, violate Ventura's rights under the Fourth Amendment, which protects Americans from unreasonable searches and seizures....Ventura had hip replacement surgery in 2008, and the resulting titanium implant routinely sets off metal detectors, requiring him to undergo pat-down searches, according to court documents. The lawsuit alleges the pat-downs and the TSA's whole body imaging procedures meet legal definitions of unlawful sexual assault and unlawful video voyeurism.

Ventura, who is host of a TV program called "Conspiracy Theory" on truTV, a CNN sister network, flies two to three times a week for work, according to the suit.

His professional schedule means he must either submit to routine searches, "or retire from his television work and forgo his income," the lawsuit said.


Smack down,
not Pat-down;
Jesse's idea of
professional touching

Shyness & Modesty,
 thy name
is not Jesse Ventura,
Exhibitionism IS
 To say that Jesse Ventura has had a variety of employment in his lifetime is an understatement.  His career choices have included wrestling, which certainly makes the pat-downs by the TSA relatively minor contact.
 But then,Ventura isn't getting paid for the TSA contact either.  I shudder to think what he might be willing to do if there WAS money in it.  Dignity has never been Ventura's hallmark, although he did put on a more business professional appearance when he was governor.  Given his other past occupations, including mayor and radio talk show host, and that he is now apparently living in Mexico 'off the grid' of electricity and phone, the thought crossed my mind that this might be more a matter of putting himself in the public eye, if not a full-blown publicity stunt, in aid of a third season of his conspiracy show.  Thematically, it would fit.  And Ventura has always thrived on plenty of attention. Although TruTV is primarily what they describe as 'actuality programming', their term for what other stations call reality tv, I'm not at all sure that what Ventura does has much basis in anything remotely like reality.  Perhaps it should be called 'unreality tv'.........or is that already a niche dominated by the Syfy channel, formerly the SciFi channel?  I have a hard time imagining the employees of the TSA are getting a sexual turn on from Jesse and his replaced titanium hip.  He's changed quite a bit from the days of bulging biceps and anabolic steroids, but alas, he has not grown older, if not old, with grace and sober dignity.  He's still the same flamboyant governor who inspired the bumper sticker "My governor can bench press you're governor", and a line of action figures. Ventura had a screen career as well as his public service occupations; some of those cinematic performances went straight to video.  I have to wonder if the charge of video voyeurism is more wishful thinking than TSA violations of Ventura's rights. This is a man who used to appear in public in skin-tight fitting hosiery, and not much else.  Voyeurs, heck! That is the exhibitionist pot calling the TSA kettle black.

If Jesse Ventura didn't object to this, it is a little hard to believe that the TSA, acting to keep the air-traveling public safe, is more offensive....  I'd love to post this grainy old wrestling photo, but there could be a copyright issue.  Or....this.  I have to wonder if Jesse Ventura is trying to shake down the TSA?

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