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Friday, November 22, 2019

CHICK-FIL-A PUT AN OBAMA & HILLARY CLINTON SUPPORTER IN CHARGE; DUMPED CHRISTIANS~TOUTS WORK OF "LGBTQ-INCLUSIVE & AFFIRMING" COVENANT HOUSE ON ITS WEBSITE-A PARTNERSHIP THAT WILL EXPAND IN 2020

CHRISTIANS DUPED AGAIN FOR THEIR 
LACK OF DISCERNMENT
"Now the fig leaf is gone and the reality is that the Chick-fil-A Foundation is just another corporate leftist charity that lavishes cash on organizations linked to local Democrats and assorted diversity causes. Without the fig leaf, the Chick-fil-A Foundation is no different than the other corporate charities run by their own equivalents of Bullard, men and women who had spent enough time in government to get a useless job in the corporate world, and its abandonment of Christian conservatives was an inevitability."
“To save its own corporate skin, Chick-fil-A has thrown good, biblical, organizations under the bus and legitimized the false narrative of the LGBT activists.”
CHICK-FIL-A PUT 
AN OBAMA & HILLARY CLINTON SUPPORTER IN CHARGE; DUMPED CHRISTIANS~TOUTS WORK OF "LGBTQ-INCLUSIVE & AFFIRMING" COVENANT HOUSE
 ON ITS WEBSITE-A PARTNERSHIP THAT WILL EXPAND IN 2020
Partnership with The Salvation Army & CBS Atlanta | Chick ...
Money for social justice and Muslim refugees, 
but not for the Salvation Army (GAY AFFIRMING TOO!)
BY DANIEL GREENFIELD
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational and research purposes:
Daniel Greenfield, a Shillman Journalism Fellow at the Freedom Center, is an investigative journalist and writer focusing on the radical Left and Islamic terrorism.
Chick-fil-A’s announcement that it was dumping the Salvation Army and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, which have come under attack by gay activist groups, caught Christian fans of the fast food chain by surprise. It shouldn’t have if they had been paying attention to CFA’s corporate structure.
The donations were coming out of the Chick-fil-A Foundation. The Executive Director of the CFA Foundation is Rodney D. Bullard, a former White House fellow and Assistant US Attorney. Some may have mistaken him for a conservative because he was a fellow in the Bush Administration, but he was an Obama donor, and, more recently, had donated to Hillary Clinton’s campaign while at Chick-fil-A.
Like many corporations, Chick-fil-A branded its charitable giving as a form of social responsibility. Bullard became its Vice President of Corporate Social Responsibility. Unlike charity, corporate social responsibility is a leftist endeavor to transform corporations into the political arms of radical causes. Like other formerly conservative corporations, Chick-fil-A had made the fundamental error of adopting the language and the infrastructure of its leftist peers. And that made what happened entirely inevitable.
In an interview with Business Insider earlier this year, Bullard emphasized that the Chick-fil-A Foundation had a "higher calling than any political or cultural war." The foundation boss was preparing the way for the shakeup that was coming in the fall. Even while he claimed that the CFA Foundation had a higher calling than a political or cultural war, he was preparing to accommodate the Left’s cultural war.
Bullard would have been seen as a safe bet. The CFA Foundation and the Christian groups it supported were so entangled that Bullard serves on the Salvation Army’s National Advisory Board and was on the National Board of Trustees of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. But Bullard’s vision was not that of charity, but of corporate social responsibility. And the two things are fundamentally different.
Charity helps people. Corporate social responsibility is virtue signaling by capitalists to anti-capitalists. Unlike charity, corporate social responsibility isn’t about helping people, but ticking off ideological and identity politics boxes like diversity and the environment. If people accidentally get helped in the process of helping a corporation signal its membership in the politically correct creed, that can’t be helped.
The Chick-fil-A Foundation will go on funding leftist groups like Atlanta's Westside Future Fund. The Westside Future Fund is a project of the Atlanta Committee for Progress together with former Mayor Kasim Reed. It will just opt out of funding Christian groups whose views offend anyone on the Left.
The $1.7 million that the Westside Future Fund shoveled in last year from the CFA Foundation vastly outpaces the mere $115,000 that the Salvation Army got for its Angel Tree program to provide gifts for poor children during the holidays. But even that low end six figure donation was too much and the gifts had to be snatched away from the kids by leftist pressure groups and identity politics protesters.
Sorry kids, our politics are more important than your presents.
A less publicized donation of $100,000 went to Sustainable Atlanta. That could have bought a lot of gifts. There was also a $10,000 donation to Saris to Suits whose mission is to "advance women's empowerment, education, gender equality, and social justice."
There’s money for social justice, but not for the Salvation Army.
There was $25,000 for UNICEF and $75,000 for the Andrew Young Foundation. That last one isn’t a surprise. Carter’s radical UN ambassador sits on the CFA Foundation’s advisory board. $20,000 went to the Latino Leaders Network, another $20,000 to the Harvard Debate Diversity Network, $45,000 to the King Center for Nonviolent Social Change, and $5,000 was allotted to Friends of Refugees.
The latter boasts of resettling the sort of refugees who would demand that Chick-fil-A go Halal.
There’s money for Muslim refugees, but not for the Salvation Army.
And that’s the tip of the iceberg. “Diversity”, “equity”, and “social justice” are typical buzzwords associated with many of the organizations that the Chick-fil-A Foundation had been funding. And that’s typical of corporate social responsibility ventures which are all about pictures of smiling poor children cradling green plants accompanied by women in hijabs. There’s nothing unusual about that.
But most conservatives thought, without investigating, that Chick-fil-A was different. It wasn’t another corporate social behemoth. It didn’t answer to shareholders and stakeholders. It had a biblical vision. And, it was under fire for donating to Christian groups. But even when the CFA Foundation donated to Christian organizations, it was also pouring a lot of money into conventional social justice causes.
The controversy and arguments over the donations to organizations like the Salvation Army and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes conveniently distracted from where a lot of the money was going.
The Fellowship of Christian Athletes had received a mere $25,000 last year. Far less than the funds that poured into Andrew Young’s non-profit empire. A fig leaf.
Now the fig leaf is gone and the reality is that the Chick-fil-A Foundation is just another corporate leftist charity that lavishes cash on organizations linked to local Democrats and assorted diversity causes.
Without the fig leaf, the Chick-fil-A Foundation is no different than the other corporate charities run by their own equivalents of Bullard, men and women who had spent enough time in government to get a useless job in the corporate world, and its abandonment of Christian conservatives was an inevitability.
And the question is what will the Christians who made Chick-fil-A boom do now?
They can either fight to hold Chick-fil-A accountable or shrug and accept another loss. Most of the country’s major brands are pipelines of cash that lead directly to leftist causes. Hardly any of the money that conservatives spend on products and services every day ends up going to conservative causes.
Major brands hammer the air with ad campaigns that directly attack the values and rights of ordinary Americans. And, most Americans, including conservatives, keep on buying from the same huge conglomerates like Unilever, Procter & Gamble, Diageo (Johnny Walker), RBI (Burger King and Popeyes), General Mills, and from retailers like Walmart, Target, and Amazon, despite their leftist politics.
Chick-fil-A was supposed to be different. If there’s any company that conservatives can hold accountable, this is it. And if they can’t hold Chick-fil-A accountable, then what’s left?
Accountability doesn’t just begin with restoring donations to worthy charities like the Salvation Army, but a serious reevaluation of the Chick-fil-A Foundation’s leadership and its overall charitable priorities.
If Chick-fil-A wants to be in the business of corporate social responsibility, rather than charity, it will over time become increasingly hostile to the very customers who made it successful. Corporate social responsibility will take it down the same dark road of virtue signaling and political correctness.
Then, before you know it, there will be a Chick-fil-A ad campaign about toxic masculinity.
And then the legacy of its founder will be as thoroughly lost as the legacies of the founders of so many other great American companies whose modern incarnations slavishly serve anti-American causes.
That would be a tragedy. This is a test of whether that tragedy is truly inevitable.
It’s also a warning. If conservatives had paid closer attention to the Chick-fil-A Foundation’s leadership, Bullard’s $1,000 donation to Hillary Clinton in 2016 would have provided a warning of what was coming.
Organizations don’t trend rightward. They trend leftward. Any organization that isn’t closely watched will go the way of the Chick-fil-A Foundation. If this can happen at Chick-fil-A, it can happen anywhere.
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Chick-fil-A Touting Work of ‘LGBTQ-Inclusive and Affirming’ Covenant House on its Website—a Partnership that Will Expand in 2020

BY HEATHER CLARK
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational and research purposes:
ATLANTA — The popular fast food chain Chick-fil-A has been touting the work of a pro-homosexual organization since May of this year — long before the recent outcry over its plan to halt donations to the Salvation Army, which also boasts of its service to homosexuals, and in 2017, actually cancelled a contract with another Christian charity due to its anti-inclusive views. The chicken giant continues its established path to affirm pro-homosexual nonprofits despite telling Christians that it has not caved to the pressure of the “LGBT” agenda.
In its press release on Monday, the Chick-fil-A Foundation outlined that it would be “expanding [its] partnership” with Covenant House International in its desire to continue to address youth homelessness. The organization had been one of the recipients of Chick-fil-A’s 2019 True Inspiration Awards, which honors the legacy of founder S. Truett Cathy and recognizes the work of nonprofits that the restaurant chain applauds.
In May, the Chick-fil-A Foundation posted an update on how two organizations it supports financially — Atlanta Mission and Covenant House International — were “making an impact in the area of youth homelessness.” It noted that many young people who age out of the foster care system or the juvenile justice system become homeless.
“Still others find themselves without a home after coming out to their parents or caregivers,” Chick-fil-A wrote. “A 2017 Chapin Hall report found that LGBTQ youth disproportionately experience homelessness. In fact, LGBTQ young adults had a 120% higher risk of reporting homelessness, even though they make up just five to 10 percent of the overall youth population.”
In providing various details on the work of Covenant House International, the Chick-fil-A Foundation specifically noted that Covenant House California works with the True Colors Fund, which addresses homelessness among homosexual youth and works to make partner organizations more “LGBT-inclusive and affirming.”
True Colors Fund was co-founded by secular rocker Cyndi Lauper and her agent Jonny Podell, and states on its website, “We believe in a world where every LGBTQ young person, wherever they live, is celebrated for being their authentic selves.”
“In California, Covenant House California — also a 2019 True Inspiration Award winner — is partnering with the True Colors Fund and enhancing its services to LGBTQ youth,” Chick-fil-A noted in its writeup. “The True Colors Inclusion Assessment was designed to help agencies implement best practices to welcome and serve LGBTQ youth. Based on the assessment outcome, the True Colors United team guides the agency through the necessary steps to create a more LGBTQ-inclusive and affirming program and environment.”
Rodney Bullard, vice president of Corporate Social Responsibility at Chick-fil-A, Inc., and executive director of the Chick-fil-A Foundation, then remarked in a statement, “We’re proud to work alongside Atlanta Mission, Covenant House International, Covenant House California and many other organizations that are working to understand and address the root cause of youth homelessness.”
Covenant House International has a page on its website dedicated to “LGBT Youth and Homelessness,” which outlines its works both nationally and internationally to “ensure that our houses are welcoming, affirming, and safe for LGBTQ youth.”
Covenant House International NYC Pride
Covenant House at NYC Pride parade. Click to enlarge.
A press release also “proudly” announces“that the True Inclusion Assessment to increase lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ) inclusivity has been completed throughout 16 US and Canadian Covenant House programs.” Another page provides photographs from Covenant House International’s participation in the NYC pride parade, as its float was trimmed with rainbow colors.
According to the Chick-fil-A Foundation, in 2018, “Covenant House received $225,000 in support of national and local programs (in California and Georgia) that support youth facing homelessness” and “The Chick-fil-A Foundation has since committed to a significant partnership with Covenant House in 2020.”
As previously reported, in March, Think Progress reported that Chick-fil-A had advised the outlet that “[i]n 2017, a decision was made by the Chick-fil-A Foundation to no longer donate to the [Paul Anderson Youth Home] after a blog post from 2010 surfaced that does not meet Chick-fil-A’s commitment to creating a welcoming environment to all.”
Click to enlarge.
On Monday, controversy began stirring over whether or not Chick-fil-A had caved to complaints and resistance from homosexual advocacy groups after reports revealed that the company had discontinued donations to The Salvation Army and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Comments from Chick-fil-A President and Chief Operating Officer Tim Tassopoulos, as quoted by Bisnow, implied that the matter at least had some degree of influence in the decision.
“There’s no question we know that, as we go into new markets, we need to be clear about who we are,” Chick-fil-A President and Chief Operating Officer Tim Tassopoulos was also quoted as stating. “There are lots of articles and newscasts about Chick-fil-A, and we thought we needed to be clear about our message.”
Tassapoulous serves on the advisory board of the Atlanta Area Council for the Boy Scouts of America.
As a result of the report, the Salvation Army released its own statement asserting that the charity was being mischaracterized in terms of its relationship to those who identify as homosexual. The organization, founded by evangelist William Booth in 1865, contended that it provides more assistance to homosexuals in poverty than any other charity.
“We’re saddened to learn that a corporate partner has felt it necessary to divert funding to other hunger, education and homelessness organizations — areas in which The Salvation Army, as the largest social services provider in the world, is already fully committed,” the organization wrote. “We serve more than 23 million individuals a year, including those in the LGBTQ+ community. In fact, we believe we are the largest provider of poverty relief to the LGBTQ+ population.”
“When misinformation is perpetuated without fact, our ability to serve those in need, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, religion or any other factor, is at risk,” it continued. “We urge the public to seek the truth before rushing to ill-informed judgment and greatly appreciate those partners and donors who ensure that anyone who needs our help feels safe and comfortable to come through our doors.”
The organization also linked to a page on its website that is dedicated to information about its efforts surrounding those who identify as homosexual or transgender.
“Almost one-third of transgender people have been rejected from an emergency shelter. The Salvation Army created a dorm in Las Vegas to offer safety and shelter to this group, which is statistically more vulnerable to assault,” it reads.
“LGBTQ Americans are more likely to be poor. Many face disproportionate job and housing insecurity due to discrimination. Your donation could mean rental and utilities assistance,” the page also outlines.
However, the Christian Post released an article the same day with the headline “Chick-fil-A denies capitulating to LGBT activists; Christian groups won’t be excluded from donations.”
“Beginning in 2020, the Chick-fil-A Foundation will introduce a more focused giving approach, donating to a smaller number of organizations working exclusively in the areas of hunger, homelessness and education,” the company told the site. “We have also proactively disclosed our 2018 tax filing and a preview of 2019 gifts to date on chick-fil-afoundation.org. The intent of charitable giving from the Chick-fil-A Foundation is to nourish the potential in every child.”
“Our goal is to donate to the most effective organizations in the areas of education, homelessness and hunger. No organization will be excluded from future consideration — faith-based or non-faith based,” it added.
On Tuesday, Franklin Graham took to social media to outline that he personally called Chick-fil-A CEO Dan Cathy, who contended that the company had not changed because of pressure from homosexual advocates.
“I picked up the phone and called Dan Cathy. Dan was very clear that they have not bowed down to anyone’s demands, including the LGBTQ community,” he wrote.
“They will continue to support whoever they want to support. They haven’t changed who they are or what they believe. Chick-fil-A remains committed to Christian values. Dan Cathy assured me that this isn’t going to change. I hope all those who jumped to the wrong conclusion about them read this.”
However, Mat Staver of Liberty Counsel soon released an op-ed opining that Graham hasn’t done his research.
“Franklin, you have done a huge disservice by not doing more investigation into Chick-fil-A’s betrayal and capitulation to the LGBT agenda. While Dan Cathy may say the company has the same values, the company’s statements and actions tell a different story,” he wrote.
Staver noted that, as stated, Chick-fil-A dropped the Paul Anderson Youth Home several years ago, and that Covenant House International is active in its homosexual advocacy.
“Covenant House also proudly supports the New York City Gay Pride parade with its own float, banners, t-shirts, and hashtag #CovUnity. Covenant House is recognized as a national funder of LGBTQ causes,” he outlined. “And Covenant House does not stop at LGBTQ activism; it also takes girls to abortion clinics.”
“To save its own corporate skin, Chick-fil-A has thrown good, biblical, organizations under the bus and legitimized the false narrative of the LGBT activists.”
As previously reported, Chick-fil-A has repeatedly stated since the original controversy in 2012 that the company intends to “leave the policy debate over same-sex marriage to the government and political arena.”
________________________________________________________
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EX-SECRET SERVICE AGENT DAN BONGINO SPEAKS AT RESTORATION WEEKEND 2019

EX-SECRET SERVICE AGENT DAN BONGINO 
SPEAKS AT RESTORATION WEEKEND 2019 
Fox News' superstar delivers a rousing speech
SEE:https://cms.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2019/11/dan-bongino-speaks-restoration-weekend-2019-frontpage-editorsrepublished below in full unedited for informational, educational and research purposes:
Popular podcaster and Fox News commentator Dan Bongino delivered a rousing speech at the David Horowitz Freedom Center's annual Restoration Weekend in Palm Beach, Florida this past weekend. Don't miss the video below:
Dan Bongino from DHFC on Vimeo.

EUROPEAN UNION OPPOSES POLISH BILL TO PROTECT CHILDREN FROM SEX ABUSE

EUROPEAN UNION OPPOSES POLISH BILL 
TO PROTECT CHILDREN FROM SEX ABUSE
BY  Dorothy Cummings McLean
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational and research purposes:
BRUSSELS, Belgium, November 20, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) ― Over 400 members of the European Parliament have voted to pass a resolution criticizing a Polish bill called “Stop Pedophilia” that seeks to protect minors from sexual abuse by adults.
The “Stop Pedofilii” bill seeks to make the incitement of minor children to sexual activity illegal in Poland. According to Euronews, the 471 MEPs who voted on November 14 to condemn Poland for the potential legislation were particularly concerned about the possibility of teachers and activists being sent to prison for promoting or approving underage sex.
That part of the bill states that “anyone who promotes or approves sexual intercourse or other sexual activity by a minor, in connection with performing the position, occupation, or performing activities related to upbringing, education, health care or care of minors, or operating on school premises or other educational or child care institution, is liable to imprisonment up to three years.”
The opening items in the bill stipulate fines, restricted liberty, or imprisonment for anyone who promotes or praises pedophile activity.
The age of consent in Poland is currently 15. According to the “AgeofConsent.net” website,  anyone who has sex with a  child under 15, including another child under 15, in Poland can be charged with statutory rape.
Opponents of the bill described it as seeking to “criminalize sex education in Poland.” However, defenders of the bill said it was designed simply to stop adults from encouraging minors to have sex and to protect the right of parents to direct their children’s sexual education themselves.
Polish journalist Krystian Kratiuk told LifeSiteNews via email that the European Parliament’s resolution was an “obvious scandal.”
“The EU Parliament has no right to interfere in Poland's internal affairs, including its education system,” he said.
Kratiuk explained that the “Stop Pedofilii” bill was submitted by Polish citizens themselves. The Polish Constitution allows for the introduction of a bill by ordinary citizens as long as it is signed by a group of 100,000 or more Poles who have the right to vote. The “Stop Pedofilii” citizen’s project has been signed by 265,000 Polish voters.
“It’s curious that the Left in Brussels wants to intervene in a legislative process based on the will of citizens,” Kratiuk said.
“After all, what is this about? A citizens’ project that prohibits inciting minors to have sex!”
The journalist underscored that the bill is not a ban on all sexual education.
“If someone during a sex education lesson persuades minors to have sex, according to this project they should, of course, be punished, but this is absolutely not about banning sex education as such.”
An explanatory note attached to the “Stop Pedofilii” bill gives some historical context for the proposal. It says some sex education teachers have been promoting sexual activity, including homosexual acts and masturbation, to Polish children, thanks to sexual education standards for Europe composed by the World Health Organization and the German Federal Center for Health Education (BZgA). These standards were introduced to Poland for the first time in 2013.
“According to the Standards, children of the age of 0–4 should learn information regarding masturbation and enjoying pleasure by touching their bodies,” the note states.
Apparently, the Standards also stipulate that children from the age of 4–6 are supposed to know how to express their own sexuality and sexual feelings as well as “take pleasure and joy in” masturbating. Children aged 6–9  must learn about sexual consent and different methods of intercourse and contraception. Children between 9 and 12 are supposed to learn how to use condoms, learn about their first sexual experiences, and receive information about orgasms. Children between 12 and 15 should be able to communicate about their own and their partners’ desires “in order to have safe and pleasant sex.”
“According to the Standards, at every step of development there is also intensive familiarizing of children with homosexuality,” the note adds.
Krystian Kratiuk sees the debate over the “Stop Pedofilii” bill as another battle between a left-leaning European Parliament determined to impose its worldview and a proud nation that cares deeply for its children.
“The Left dominates the EU Parliament,” he told LifeSiteNews.
“Although Poles were promised before they joined the EU that they would always be sovereign in worldview, the Left wants to decide from Brussels what Polish teachers teach Polish children,” he continued.
“Poles will never agree to this.”  
Kratiuk believes that his countrymen will particulary resent the attempts of MEPs to condemn a bill against pedophilia as an attempt to deprive people of their freedoms and their right to education.
However, he admits that there are Poles among the MEPs and activists who object to the “Stop Pedofilii” bill. Kratiuk told LifeSiteNews that left-wing Polish activists invite their “progressive colleagues from all over Europe” to Poland.
“They are common traitors to the Polish cause ― to Polish religious beliefs, to Polish tradition, and to the Polish family.”
Kratiuk is pessimistic about the chances that “Stop Pedofilii” will gain a majority vote in the Sejm, the lower house of Poland’s Parliament.
“MPs will probably ‘freeze’ it, just as they did with the citizens’ bill completely prohibiting abortion,” he said.
The journalist was referring to the “Stop Abortion” (“Zatrzymaj aborcjÄ™”) bill that was signed by more than 830,000 Polish citizens and supported by the Catholic Church. The bill seeks to outlaw the abortion of unborn children on the grounds that they are sick and disabled. Besides so-called “fetal abnormality,” the other circumstances under which abortion is permitted in Poland is if the unborn child is the result of a criminal act or poses a severe threat to the life or health of his mother. 
One hundred twenty-eight MEPs voted against the condemnation of the “Stop Pedofilii” Bill, and 57 abstained.

LIFESITE JOINS LEGAL ACTION AFTER BEING BLOCKED FROM COURT IN CHILD "GENDER TRANSITION" CASE

Watch: Infowars' Pre-Gag Order Interviews With Father of Boy Saved From Chemical Castration

LIFESITE JOINS LEGAL ACTION AFTER 
BEING BLOCKED FROM COURT IN CHILD 
"GENDER TRANSITION" CASE
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational and research purposes:
DALLAS, Texas, November 21, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) – LifeSiteNews and another independent news agency filed legal action against the judge who locked them out of the James Younger trial ruling
LifeSiteNews and The Texan have filed a joint Writ of Mandamus requesting Judge Kim Cooks allow media access to her courtroom for all future hearings for this case and that she remove the “unconstitutional” gag order placed on Jeffrey Younger, the father who objected to his seven-year-old son, James, being “transitioned” to a girl.
LifeSiteNews and The Texan “seek emergency action to prevent further infringement, requesting mandamus to require Judge Cooks to respect Relators’ freedom of the press, lift the trial court’s illegal, unnoticed, and unsupportable order preventing disfavored media coverage, and to lift the trial court’s gag order of Mr. Younger.”
On October 24, 2019, LifeSiteNews, The Texan, and other independent news agencies were locked out of Judge Kim Cooks’ courtroom for her final ruling on the contentious custody battle while other media were allowed in. The only reason the case eventually gained national media attention was because of coverage from LifeSiteNews and The Texan.
Mr. Jeffrey Younger was fighting to prevent his ex-wife Dr. Anne Georgulas from subjecting James to a gender “transition.” Dr. Georgulas had enrolled James in school as a girl since kindergarten and medical records indicate she planned to seek a medical “transition” for him as early as next year. 
The battle sparked a public outcry after a jury ruled against Mr. Younger’s request for sole managing conservator. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called for an investigation into the situation, as did other conservative leaders.
Prior to the jury ruling, no mainstream media reported on the trial. Only LifeSiteNews and The Texan were present for the entire trial. A Russian reporter was present for the first part of the trial, but not for its entirety. At no point during the trial were any of the reporters asked for credentials.
On October 24, however, close to 75 people were waiting in the foyer to listen to Judge Cooks read her ruling on the case. At the appointed time, the bailiffs opened the doors and allowed only media members with a hard card press pass to enter the courtroom. 
Despite showing other credentials, business cards, news pieces, drivers’ licenses, and other forms of identification, independent media was denied access. A personal friend of Judge Cooks, Cydney Walker, was allowed into the courtroom without a press pass. 
After the ruling, LifeSiteNews asked Ms. Walker how she was able to enter the courtroom without a press pass. Ms. Walker informed LifeSiteNews that Judge Cooks had texted her asking her to come. She showed the text to the bailiff and was allowed entry without a press pass.
The Writ of Mandamus argues that Judge Cooks violated “freedom of press as guaranteed by the Constitution of the State of Texas and the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.” The filing questions the legality of the institution of an arbitrary restraint for media entrance to the courtroom. 
Additionally, the writ of mandamus argues that the gag order placed on Mr. Younger is unconstitutional. 
The filing highlights the lack of “imminent and irreparable harm” to the children needed to legally justify a gag order. Judge Cooks’ ruling states the gag order was implemented “due to serious concern for the protection and welfare of the children.” 
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