Vampyre Politics

When Minnesota elected Jesse Ventura to the office of governor of the state on the Reform Party ticket, it sent shock waves throughout the political establishment, though it shouldn't have really been that great a surprise. Ventura was, after all, a well known and popular, though certainly controversial, figure in the sports entertainment world for years, had been a Navy Seal, and had even appearred in movies with Arnold Schwaraaeneger, most notably in "Predator", and also "The Running Man". In addition, people were tired of the same old stale prand of politics that people all over the country have become increasingly weary of throughout the years, though politicians never seem to get that message, a message that should be apparrent at the realization that, typically, fewer or little more than fifty per cent of the electorate bother to go to the polls.

Nobody took Ventura seriously , which was a mistake. Of course, he won handily. Unfortunately, he proved to be an even more controversial governor than a media figure, and his term in office was mired in the same petty politics such offices typically bring with it. He decline to run for re-election.

Jonathon Sharkey, who has now filed for the office of governor as an independant, may have a harder time making a case for his qualifications to run, to say nothing of his seriousness. But he has indeed filed for the office. He has even formed his own party, the VWP-Vampyres, Witches, and Pagans. If you think this post has just begun to get weird, read on. You may be right.

To be sure, he is running on a platform that has it's positive points. For one, he is definitely pro-farmer, and promises to give farmers credits and tax breaks to enable them to stay in business. He also is for a minimum amount of jail time for first time DUI and DWI offenders. He wants to start a state run medical program that will guarantee the indigent, unemployed, and disabled of free emergency medical care and prescriptions, while starting a state medical program for everyone else that provides basic and emergency medical care, hospitalization,and prescriptions, with no co-payments or deductibles.

He is determined to etablish a blacklist of any American business that moves to another country, resulting in the loss of American jobs.

He wants to guarantee every Minnesotan child a quality education from K through 12.

Sounds good, so far. Right? The problem is, Jonathon is a little too honest, and indeed points to this as evidence that he is not your garden variety poltiican. A quick perusal of his program makes it unnecessary to point this out.

He declares, for one thing, his intention to run for President of the United States in the year 2008. He explains that he will work harder as governor of Minnesota in those two years before he will, he promises, become President, than most governors do in eight years. Therefore, he asserts that his obvious future plans for the highest office in the land should give no Minnesottan pause when it comes to voting for him.

Well, maybe that won't. But the following I have no doubt will.

Within a very short few sentences into the homepage of his web-site, Jonathon Sharkey reveals himself to be "the sworn enemy of the Christian God". Now this would certainly give pause to a great many voters-even in Minnesotta-noy only to his qualifications for office, but as to his seriousness, if not his competence, despite the fact that he goes on to explain that he does not consider himself the enemy of the Christian followers of that same God. He declares that the constitution expresses the rights of any person to worship as they see fit, and he will respect all religions. He will, he promises, erect a monument in the State House, a table of wall placques that will list the basic tenets of all faiths, from the Ten Commandments to the Wiccan Rede.

While this is all well and good, even admirable, I seriously doubt the majority of Minesottans will be able to look past the declaration of enmity to what probably the majority consider the one true God. Incidentally, among the list of his followers he mentions, in addition to witches, vampyres, and pagans, he includes those he calls "demons".

But then comes the real show stopper. He goes on to avow that, if elected governor, he will "impale"-on the front lawn of the capital, no less-anyone convicted of the crimes of terrorism and drug dealing. He seems to think that no American jury anywhere would convict him of mrdering a terrrorist were he to do so, and he vows to defy the President, or any other government entity that tried to prevent him from doing this. This would occur, he promises, within ten days of their conviction of the crime.

He points to the history of the former Prince of Wallachia, Vlad Tepes Dracula-Vlad The Impaler-as his model. He points to examples of how crime, even minor theft, was practically non-existent during his reign, and of how the Muslem Turks of the invading Ottoman Empire retreated in horror when, upon reaching the banks of the Danube, they were greeted by the sight of ten thousand of the rotting corpses of their fellow countrymen, all impaled on stakes.

To make sure everyone gets the message as to his intentions, he even refers to himself as "Jonathon The Impaler". Impalement, of course, is a particularly grissly form of execution, more horrific even than crucifixion, whereby the condemned has a long wooden sharpened spearlike implement thrust through his torso, after which he is hoisted into the air. The bottom of the spear is then thrust into the ground and secured, as the hapless individual is left to writhe helplessly in the air, attached to the upper end of the stake, to slowly and agonizingly die.

Yeah, might work. On the other hand, I find it curious that he later goes on to say that he will hold prosecutors and judges responsible for any wrongful prosecution and/or conviction in the courts of an innocnt person. Well, if you are going to execute someone in this manner, especially within ten days of their conviction, this might be a good idea. He talks like he would carry out these executions himself. I know if i were to do this I would want to do everything in my power to ensure I got the right person.

It's easy to dismiss all this as ravings, or at best as a play for publicity, which could very well be the case. He, along with his devoted wife Kat, are the head of a coven of vampyres in the New Jersey area, and he has some sort of business interests in occult paraphernalia that I am just begining to sort out. And he has certainly made a name for himself in the Pagan/Wiccan/Vampyre communities, and with the Satanists as well, whom, I have been told, thoroughly despise him. Of course, the Satanists are to a great extent pretentous, and this all might be a case of jealousy, though a good deal of it may be legitimate concens as well over the potential of guilt by association. Sort of the "as if we didn't have enough to worry about" attitude.

He is controversial as well among Pagans and Wiccans, who are worried that he is putting out the wrong image of what Pagans and Wiccans are all about. Still, he seems to be aloof to their concerns. I imagine he figures that he isn't making things any worse for them, after all, as any biogotry felt toward them not only will not be exacerbated by him, but in that nothing they could do, however positive, is going to change any attitudes. He could well have a point there, at least as far as any short term attitude adjustments are concerned, and he is probably much too much the impaient type to concern himself with the long run.

I think it is great fun myself, and I am watching with interest to see just how this all turns out. Hel, I have even joined his and his wife's Yahoo Group, and she in turn has joined one of which I am a moderator. I am stopping short somewhat of endorsing him for office, of course, especially for President. On the other hand, he has some good ideas. For example, he proposes to pay for his educationand, medical, and farm programs by opening up a series of bids for the establishment of non-Indian land casinos, thirteen of them. The highest bidder gets the choicest lot. The monies collected from the bidding would pay for the programs, while the taxes collected from the gaming establishments profits would go toward cutting Minnesottans' state income taxes.

Great idea. Needs some tinkering. The money initially collected from bids will eventually run out, of course, but the need for medical care and education and farm programs will go on forever. Guess he never thought of that. But his thoughts are good, and his heart, in this case at least, is in the right place.

He calls himself a witch, and a vampyre, and a coven magistrate, a worshipper of Lucifer, and his magical name is Lord Ares. All of that is well and good with me, I just wish he would tone down his rhetoric, on the off chance it might not yet be too late. I also wish he would get himself a good editor, or take the time to edit himself. His grammar is atrocous on parts of his site, which I encourage you to read, in order to gain a totally acurrate perspective of this man and what he stands for. The link to his web-site is supplied in the post title.