LBC & SBC News By Baptist Press HOUSTON (BP) – In a Feb. 13 verdict that left both sides claiming victory, a Houston jury handed down a decision in a lawsuit against the city and administrators for their dismissal of a petition by a coalition of pastors and civic leaders opposed to the city’s Equal Rights Ordinance. Though the jury – in a 10-2 verdict – found nearly 2,500 forgeries among the 54,000 voter signatures, they dismissed the city’s allegations of fraud. With no definitive winner revealed by the verdict, the decision will not be finalized until 152nd District Court Judge Robert Schaffer issues his judgment. Schaffer was out of town and did not preside over the reading of the verdict. Following the verdict lead defense attorney Geoffrey Harrison claimed the verdict as a win for the defense and Mayor Annise Parker, who championed the ordinance as a “personal” issue. Defendants in the lawsuit are Parker, former Houston City Attorney David Feldman, City Secretary Anna Russell and the City of Houston. “If the court’s ruling follows the jury’s verdict this will be a complete and total vindication for the city,” Harrison told reporters following the verdict. “And the petition, which we declared … [Read more...]
T-Mobile’s Super Bowl ad not so funny
Editorial & Theological Thought By Jeff Iorg, President of Golden Gate Seminary MILL VALLEY, Calif. (BP) –Tucked within an otherwise humorous Super Bowl ad by T-Mobile was a supposedly comedic line when a woman handed a newborn to his mother, “Sorry, it’s a boy.” The line sounded like a thunderclap to me when I first heard it. The growing cultural bias against boys – really all traditional aspects of maleness – is pervasive, but usually communicated more subtly. This was a far more blatant statement than I anticipated in a Super Bowl commercial. Even if it was supposed to be a comedic line, it was “hostile humor” making a profound point about our culture’s rejecting of boys, men and masculinity. If you think I am overreacting, consider what would have happened if the woman would have said, “Sorry, it’s a girl.” Every feminist leader, including every elected official who caters to their lobby, would have been outraged. There would have been boycotts, calls for apologies and resignations, and pledges of sensitivity training for those responsible for the ad. The outcry would have been loud and long! This commercial stood in contrast to another Super Bowl ad about doing things “like a girl” – which of course … [Read more...]
