Category Archives: RavenSpeak

For the last three nights, Crystal and I have been woken up at odd hours in the morning, including once at four o'clock, by a 125 decibel montage of horns honking, sirens wailing and whistles blowing. However, instead of being … Continue reading →

When President Bush stood in Jackson Square and promised a sweeping recovery, the city of New Orleans cheered. It was a touching moment where politics were pushed aside, hope was restored in a city without a future and, if but … Continue reading →

The Theory of Evolution has flaws. It is not perfect and no real scientist will claim that it is. Despite this, it has been a very useful scientific tool for analyzing and observing what is going on in our world. … Continue reading →

As a New Orleans resident, I've followed the political fallout from Katrina very closely. I've talked with other evacuees, read dozens of blogs and watched countless hours of news. I’ve just about seen and heard it all, but the only … Continue reading →

In the United States, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and similar leagues have an uphill battle. State athletic commissions refuse to sanction them, congressmen try to ban them, sponsors refuse to back them and cable/satellite companies refuse to carry their … Continue reading →

When Jennifer Wilbanks took off on a nearly fifteen hundred mile odyssey across country to escape her impending wedding, I sincerely doubt that she understood the panic and madness that it would cause. I sincerely don't believe she ever expected … Continue reading →

Every week in the United States, innocent men are sentenced to death, either directly by lethal injection or indirectly by being given prison terms far longer than any human's natural life. Every week in the United States, rapists, murderers and … Continue reading →

Proof credit card companies run this country… Continue reading →

The RavenSpeak column has become one of the most popular sections of Raven's Rants. Despite initial fears of not "fitting in" with the rest of the site, the column has gained a great deal of popularity and sparked some powerful … Continue reading →

There's no doubt after the election that the world, especially the United States, is changing and in frightening ways. Though I'm no "tree-hugging liberal hippie" by any stretch, I am a concerned libertarian, a freedom fighter in the truest sense … Continue reading →

Every campaign season, I watch as politicians carry on about whatever issues are hot at the moment, trying to scrape together the last of the key undecided votes and build momentum toward election day. Every time, without fail, what starts … Continue reading →

A program to help the American political system… Continue reading →

I’m not a sports fan. I feel I should make the clear up front. I’m not the type to obsess over what season it is or isn’t, I don’t play fantasy sports and I don’t follow any teams, college or … Continue reading →

I was watching the news the other night, trying to follow the upcoming election and, to be honest, I found it more than a little dizzying because, instead of hearing about issues and debates, I watched in horror as words … Continue reading →

If anyone was surprised when Kerry picked Edwards to be his running mate, I feel sorry for them. Edwards had been the top choice ever since the primaries and never got knocked down from the top of the list, even … Continue reading →

Every time I decry the war in Iraq, I get met with the same shortsighted response. That there are people out there, fighting and dying for our country and that we should support them and their sacrifices. The reason that’s … Continue reading →

When the photographs of American soldiers abusing Iraqi prisoners came out, I wasn’t shocked. I was heartbroken, sad and even a bit bitter, but not shocked. Simply put, I understood going into this war that these types of things happen … Continue reading →

Every so often, someone re-raises the issue about whether or not state sales tax should apply over the Internet. Threats have been levied, government debates have been raised and, a few times, some large online retailers have been pushed into … Continue reading →

When Janet Jackson stood there on the stage of the Super Bowl Halftime Show, for that split-second where her right breast was exposed to the world, she probably wasn't thinking about the controversy it would cause and, if she was, … Continue reading →

I don't watch a lot of television and I'm the first to admit that I'm not very up to date with the trends on it. However, lately that seems to be a good thing as television, traditionally the media of … Continue reading →

I've been called a lot of nasty names in my life, but misogynist isn't on the list, at least it's not one of the names I hear regularly from relatively well-informed people. The truth is that I've always considered myself … Continue reading →

When Rush Limbaugh admitted that for the past four years he's been addicted to illegal pain killers and purchasing them off of the black market, he created something of a quandry for himself and his party. Limbaugh, like most conservatives, … Continue reading →

In the advertising world, "targeting" is a buzz word. Everyone is talking about how they can better target their advertising and streamline their message. Of course, in advertising, targeting makes sense, if you can focus your message only on those … Continue reading →

George W. Bush has had a lot of great lines as a President. Between his famous foul-ups of the English language (AKA: Bush-isms), his homely, often religious, quotes that seem to make little sense and his various fibs/half-truths, the Bush … Continue reading →

Here's a statistic that you probably didn't know and almost certainly won't believe: The average dress size for a woman in the United States (and most of the world for that matter) is a fourteen. If this shocks you or … Continue reading →

June 4th was a very bad day for Martha Stewart. In a period of less than 12 hours, she was indicted on nine counts of securities fraud by a federal grand jury and, as a result, stepped down as CEO … Continue reading →

Over the past few days, I've seen a series of smug articles from war hawks asking the question "Where have all of the war protesters have gone since the American troops were welcomed in Baghdad?" After all, with France seeming … Continue reading →

"Terrorism: An Act intended to cause death or serious bodily injury to a civilian, or to any other person not taking an active part in the hostilities in a situation of armed conflict, when the purpose of such act, by … Continue reading →

I was once told that you could tell a lot about a political agenda by the people that supported it, that the types of people who support an agenda say almost as much about it as the issues themselves. Well, … Continue reading →

When hundreds of poets gathered this past weekend to protest the impending war with Iraq, all of them were risking their reputation but only one of them was risking his job. His name is Bill Collins and he's the current … Continue reading →

The entire nation is buzzing about President Bush's upcoming plan to revitalize the economy. The media, in particular CNN, has been ranking it as his number one challenge of 2003, the democrats have already begun slamming it as being targeted … Continue reading →

The Evangelical Environmental Network, a group of 23 religious organizations lead by Rev. Jim Ball of Philadelphia, has taken up what can only be called an unusual cause, the stamping out of the SUV movement. The group, in conjunction with … Continue reading →

Imagine for a second that you had fallen asleep on Nov. 4th and just woke up today. You would have missed the Nov. 5th elections, the Republican Party's victories, the media blitz, the subsequent change of leadership in the Democratic … Continue reading →

In the movie "The People vs. Larry Flint", Larry Flint, played by Woody Harrelson, gave a lecture to the free speech society he helped fund. In it, he asked one fundamental question of the world, "What is more obscene, sex … Continue reading →

I don't smoke pot. It's something that's never had a place in my life and I've always seen drugs, even alcohol, as a potential hindrance to my goals in life. That's why I've always been very careful about where I … Continue reading →

During the Super Bowl in January, The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy ran a series of ads linking illegal drug use to supporting terrorism. The critics jumped on this immediately accusing the White House of tapping Sept. … Continue reading →

Yes, Florida has done it again. After the election controversy in 2000, spending millions on election reforms and promising endlessly to improve the quality of the voting process in the state, Florida has managed to create yet another controversy, this … Continue reading →

I have to admit, I've never been much of a baseball fan. In addition to not being a huge sports fan, I've always thought of baseball as, well, the sport of wusses. Think about it, there's little contact between players, … Continue reading →

When it comes to foreign policy, I don't have many rules, but one of the critical ones I do have is "If you can avoid it, don't start a fight." While I think every country, the same as every individual, … Continue reading →

Greed may be considered a sin, but it's also a universally understood emotion. Pretty much everyone knows what it's like to see what someone else has and want it for yourself. It's only human to want more than what one … Continue reading →

Every once in a while, I get one right. A study conducted by University of Connecticut psychology professor found the anti-depressant drugs (Prozac, Paxil, etc.) work only marginally better than a placebo in treating depression. The drugs, designed to correct … Continue reading →

I really hate to waste precious time on something that's as trivial as the Pledge of Allegiance. In the end, what happens or doesn't happen to it will have no bearing on myself or any lasting impact on others. However, … Continue reading →

When the Marines in Afghanistan took custody of John Walker, they knew they had a lot more than just another POW; they had a media event. As an American fighting for the Taliban, he has become the source of not … Continue reading →