Iowa Governor Declares Disaster, Mask Mandate For Everyone Over Age TWO

Today, Gov. Reynolds signed a new Public Health Disaster proclamation that imposes a number of additional public health measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19. These new measures will be effective at 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday, November 17 and will continue until 11:59 p.m. on December 10, 2020. To view a summary of enhanced mitigation measures, click here.

The proclamation requires that when people are in an indoor public space, and unable to social distance for 15 minutes or longer, masks are required to be worn. The same requirements apply to visitors and employees inside State buildings. Additional mask requirements are imposed for certain specific establishments and gatherings.

The proclamation also limits indoor social, community, business and leisure gatherings or events to 15 people. Outdoor gatherings are limited to 30. This includes wedding and funeral receptions, family gatherings and conventions. But it does not restrict gatherings that occur in the workplace as part of normal daily business or government operations.

With the exception of high school, collegiate and professional sports, all organized youth and adult sports activities of any size are suspended. This includes basketball, wrestling, gymnastics, swimming, dance, and group fitness classes at gyms. While high school sports and extracurricular activities are not prohibited, spectators at games or events are limited to 2 per student and are required to wear a mask.

Restaurants, bars, bowling alleys, arcades, pool halls, bingo halls, and indoor playgrounds are required to close at 10 p.m. and cannot host private gatherings of more than 15 people. Masks must be worn by staff who have direct contact with customers, and customers must wear masks when they are not seated at their table to eat or drink. The proclamation also requires masks inside casinos.

The proclamation also requires hospitals to ensure that inpatient elective procedures are reduced by 50%.

https://breaking911.com/breaking-iowa-governor-declares-disaster-mask-mandate-for-everyone-over-age-two/

Guilt by Partial Association: Airbnb Cancels Trump Supporter’s Account, Citing ‘Hate Group’ Ties

In the lead-up to the Million MAGA March on Saturday, the home-sharing and vacation rental company Airbnb unceremoniously booted a Trump supporter from its platform because he offered to host members of a “hate group” for the event. Airbnb canceled the man’s reservation and deleted his account after Twitter users complained about his use of the platform. The man later clarified that he is not a member of the Proud Boys, an organization the far-left smear factory the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has accused of being a hate group.

The man in question, identified as Ronald Gaudier, offered to host march attendees in a public Telegram chat run by the Proud Boys.

“I rented an apartment through AirBNB walking distance. There is room there for a couple other guys if you are interested message me,” Gaudier wrote on Tuesday. “I’m booked 13-15.”

Twitter users posted screenshots of the chat, warning Airbnb of Gaudier’s offer. Users attacked Airbnb for apparently agreeing to host someone loosely affiliated with the Proud Boys.

“Hey [Airbnb] what are your thoughts on members of white supremacist hate groups like the ‘Proud Boys’ using your platform?” We Will Be Ruthless, a Twitter account with more than 10,000 followers, tweeted at the home-sharing platform.

The company responded by announcing a total ban on Gaudier.

“We really appreciate you bringing this to our attention. Anyone affiliated with hate groups has no place on Airbnb. We’ve identified the reservation, cancelled it, and banned the user from our platform,” Airbnb announced.

Ben Breit, a spokesman for Airbnb, told PJ Media that Gaudier “was removed because of the Proud Boy association and our ban on hate groups.”

Yet Gaudier made it clear that he is not a member of the Proud Boys.

“It turns out I was somehow outed to AirBnB and they canceled not only my reservation but my membership because they ‘won’t support members of hate groups.’ Funny thing is I’M NOT A PROUD BOY nor do I intend to ever be one!” he wrote on Telegram, The New York Post reported.

“I want to make it clear, I have no desire to be a Proud Boy. I was in the vetting room for a little while and when I saw some of the company I was with it gave me pause. But I 100 percent support your right to free speech,” Gaudier added, claiming that Airbnb’s ban was a “badge of honor.”

An Airbnb spokesperson told the Post that it would not cancel any reservations or ban people merely for attending the pro-Trump rallies without any connection to hate groups.

https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/tyler-o-neil/2020/11/16/guilt-by-partial-association-airbnb-cancels-trump-supporters-account-citing-hate-group-ties-n1150541

HIT PIECE

Trump Sought Ways to Attack Iran's 'Main Nuclear Site' in 'Coming Weeks', Report Claims

President Trump's advisors dissuaded him from a military strike, warning that it could escalate a conflict between the United States and Iran "in the last weeks of Trump's presidency",according to a report by The New York Times.

Donald Trump was mulling a possibility to attack Iran's "main nuclear site" in "the coming weeks", asking his advisors whether he had such an option during a meeting at the Oval office on Thursday, The New York Times reported, citing "current and former US officials".

The advisors, among whom were Vice President Mike Pence, State Secretary Mike Pompeo, acting Defence Secretary Christopher Miller and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark A. Milley, reportedly dissuaded Trump from an attack, voicing concerns that it might escalate "into a broader conflict in the last weeks of Mr. Trump’s presidency".

After advisors warned Trump on the possible aftermath of a strike, they reportedly left the office believing that "a missile attack inside Iran was off the table".

According to The NYT, the strike, if conducted, would "almost certainly" target Natanz - an Iranian nuclear plant that is generally considered to be a central facility for uranium enrichment.

The alleged Oval office meeting took place a day after the International Atomic Energy Agency reported a significant increase in the Iranian stockpile of nuclear material - 12 times larger than allowed in the nuclear accord that Trump unilaterally exited in 2018.

https://sputniknews.com/us-elections-2020-news/202011171081185999-trump-sought-ways-to-attack-irans-main-nuclear-site-in-coming-weeks-report-claims/

Mitch McConnell warns against 'premature American exit' from Afghanistan amid reports of Trump troop drawdown

'We'd be abandoning our partners'

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) warned Monday against rushing to pull more U.S. servicemembers from Afghanistan and other countries in the Middle East, saying that a "premature American exit" would harm U.S. allies and help its enemies.

His comments come as several outlets reported that President Donald Trump is planning a significant troop drawdown before Inauguration Day.

What are the details?

Politico reported that according to an unnamed defense official, "The White House has told the Pentagon to begin planning to bring the troop levels in Afghanistan and Iraq down to 2,500 each by Jan. 15, just days before President Donald Trump leaves office."

The outlet further noted:

The military is in the midst of drawing down from roughly 8,600 to 4,500 troops in Afghanistan under the terms of a peace agreement with the Taliban announced in February. The new order would roughly halve the number of American troops in the country again, to 2,500 ahead of the full withdrawal planned by May 2021 in exchange for a set of guarantees from the Taliban.

News of the purportedly pending drawdown was first reported by CNN, and came just days after Trump fired Department of Defense Secretary Mark Esper.

Speaking from the Senate floor on Monday, McConnell did not directly criticize the president. Rather, he said that in Congress, "a small minority in both parties seem to think it is in America's power to unilaterally remove conflicts by simply walking away from them."

The majority leader went on to praise the Trump administration for making "tremendous headway in creating the conditions that will secure the enduring defeat of the terrorists," but argued that there is still work to be done before the U.S. withdraws its troops too aggressively.

"The consequences of a premature American exit would likely be even worse than President Obama's withdrawal from Iraq back in 2011," McConnell said, according to The Hill. "It would be reminiscent of the humiliating American departure from Saigon in 1975. We'd be abandoning our partners in Afghanistan."

He added, "A disorganized retreat would jeopardize the track record of major success this administration has worked to compile."

https://www.theblaze.com/news/mcconnell-warns-against-premature-exit-from-afghanistan-amid-reports-of-trump-troop-drawdown