When Can You Safely Resume a Massage?

Dear clients, Clients are asking me if I will resume practicing massage therapy when guidelines are met under Governor Gavin Newsom Phases. As of today, there is nothing yet that has changed about the inherent risks of giving and receiving massage therapy during this pandemic except that we now better understand more of the risks directly associated to COVID-19 and massage therapy. Guidelines are given under the "personal services category" are simply suggestions in order to shift the liability from the state to the provider of service, with no recourse whatsoever. In other words, there is no real protection to you as a client or to myself as your massage practitioner. While California is being extremely cautious, I have found most guidelines to be flawed with contradictions such as the failure to address the asymptomatic spread of COVID-19. The importance of a client intake now has to be updated to checking for symptoms and temperatures. Even with these added steps, the screening will not prevent asymptomatic positive COVID-19 clients who have no symptoms, from exposing me and I could unknowingly become a vector for my other clients. Without testing, potentially weeks will pass before one of us tested positive and at that time, I would have broken my ethic to "do no harm" to each and every client I had contact after the fact. Guidelines calling for me to provide disposable masks to my clients and “medical” masks for ourselves, face shields, gloves, gowns to change between every client, and EPA certified disinfectant products are unrealistic when supplies are difficult to acquire, not to mention the high cost. Masks still leave a risk of the aerosolized virus from regular breathing within 6 feet of the person infected. As providers, the guidelines tell us to maintain 6ft physical distance at all times, except for when the service we perform prevents us from doing so. The spread of aerosolized virus is a greater risk when you are within 6ft of someone, even if you are both wearing masks and particularly if you are within 6ft for longer than 15 minutes. With the actual massage sessions averaging from 60-90 minutes, your safety cannot be guaranteed. As this virus attacks the world stage, we are learning more every day from doctors all over the globe who are sharing discoveries in order to best protect and treat us. A newly discovered from many doctors who agree is the risk of blood clots in COVID-19 patients. Mounting evidence now suggests that blood clotting is a symptom of COVID-19 even from those who present absolutely no other symptoms. Blood circulation from massage is directly relevant, due to the possibility of deep vein thrombosis (DVT), stroke and pulmonary embolism even with patients who were not at risk before COVID-19. DVT is one of the most concerning contraindications for massage and due to the difficulty in screening for it on intake because people never even know they have it. I am always concerned if muscle cramping and pain from DVT are actually the motivating reason for someone seeking a massage. So, my conclusion, as hard as it is on me financially and for the overall well-being I want my clients to have, is that I could meet and follow the guidelines, and still expose my clients to potentially serious health consequences that could even result in death. I cannot knowingly "cause harm" even if I lose my unemployment. This is a commitment I made that I am unwilling to break. There will be massage businesses opening when technically able to, and there will be as with everything else in this crisis, a lot of disagreement among professionals. I hope that each and every one of you are informed enough to make the right choices. I am here for all of you and I am happy to answer any of your questions, particularly on your safety to obtaining a massage. Thank you for your patience, and I look forward to working with you as soon as it is safe. Warm Regards, Dora Noble

A Plea to the President of the United States of America, Donald Trump

Dear Mr President, Donald Trump

Below is the statement by Andrew Anglin. Founder of Stormfront Nazi site.

“Had she not died yesterday, hundreds of thousands of dollars would have been spent on propping-up this gross creature who had failed to do her most basic duty and reproduce. "The real tragedy is what happened to the car. It was a very nice car, worth much more than the life of whoever died."
Anglin also said she was too fat to dodge the car and excused the man who killed her as an isolated road rage incident.

These are your loyalist supporters. They are wearing your hats, praising you. It is time to denounce these misguided punks and set them straight. America does not tolerate their views.
We are all human beings and shall treat each other equally with respect.
Heather was on the side of the American values. She stood up so that her fellow Americans would never be treated as less than an equal human being.

Your short speech called out hate on all sides. This implies her presence as on a side of hate also. This is not only incorrect, it's a kick in the gut to her family and friends.

The only side the White Supremacist Nazis are on is YOURS, and only YOU can set them straight.
Do not disappoint America, and especially do not disappoint Heather's family and friends.

I am pleading with you to do the right thing, denounce Neo-Nazi-White-Supremacist and remove your advisers and staff members #YOUREFIRED that are associated with this group of hateful beliefs.
Sincerely,
Dora Noble

BREAK ME

You want to fake me
You want to break me
You want to forsake me
You want to silence my voice
So I have no choice.

You want to stifle my chatter
because...
you think it doesn't matter.

You want us to live
by your rules
as if we were tools.


You want us to Hate
 instead of Relate.

You want us to tear apart
 instead of making a new start.

But...
We are wise
and see through your disguise
and we will not compromise
because of your lies.

We will not be fooled by
your supreme rule for few..
and not the rest.

Because...
we here in America
are the best.
So... go ahead
and put us to the test.

We are decent and just
and will do what we must.

We are a country of
We's and Just not Me's

So get our message loud and clear
We will not live in fear.

Our founding fathers said it right
without Liberty and Justice
We shall fight and fight, we will.

Because..
to us, there is no deal.
The Statue of Liberty
our woman in light and grace
Gives us the strength and guides us
for what we are about to face.

God grant us the courage to stand tall
so we all do not take a fall.

 Written By Maryanne Tracy-Baker
Maryanne was born disabled and was raised in Pleasanton, California. She is blogger, works in the law enforcement field. and has dedicated her career as a human rights activist and speaker.

I am a poet because
I love words and thoughts
because words tangle in my mind
and smooth on paper

and because my mind wanders
and my fears rise like bath water
and sometimes I am afraid to feel.

I am a poet because I am defiant
made raw and real
by love and nature

and sometimes I hurt until it festers
breaks loose

and because
I love to lie in my bed
with papers and pens
nailing love- cries to my heart

and because I sigh
under the baggage of the past

and I am a poet because I lived with ice blue shackles
and the pink eggshells of anger
and it needs to be told

and because I can breed moods
dramatic and still

and I am a poet because
I ache in secret and heal out loud

I am a poet because
German men killed baby Jews
and left mothers
with drooping, aching, empty breasts

and I am a poet because
someone killed John Lennon
for the fame of a skeletal moment

and I am a poet because
death makes us stupid with grief
and unbuttons vulnerability
making us cry glass tears

and I am a poet because
women are still ripped into sparks
and scattered like stale bread

and I am a poet because
I feel terror when I sleep
an insomniac woman
with a cottonmouth tongue
demanding to be heard

and I am a poet because
Sylvia Plath stuck her head in an over
leaving babies with bread and jam
and because Anne Sexton had more to say

and I am a poet because
racism needs to be thrown off like a cloak,
holding our hearts

and because bombs explode
and planes crash
and young boys are buried with American flags
and the world is still in secondary love

I am a poet because babies are thrown in trash cans,
left in bathrooms
because someone wished they were someone else

and because people are hungry
while others with meat-cutting knives
stab into human flesh

and because there is no apology for smoke billowing factories
spreading poison on playgrounds
where children laugh in homeboy-style
and 30 years later, die stiff-lunged

and I am a poet, because homophobes
hide behind velvet hats pressing hatred
against their lips
and the white crusted mouth sores of A.I.D.S.,
seal bodies in polished oak
and we make quilts to remember the silent sleepers

and because even though this world can be dangerous and unforgiving,
offensive and frantic,

I still believe still believe in you
and still believe in me
I still believe in love.

DianaMay-Waldman is an award-winning journalist whose articles and poetry have appeared in numerous journals. She was also co-editor with her husband,Mitchell Waldman (author of PETTY OFFENSES AND CRIMES OF THE HEART) of theanthologies HIP POETRY 2012 (Wind Publications, 2012)), and WOUNDS OFWAR: POETS FOR PEACE, and is Poetry Editor for Blue Lake Review.She is a strong women's and children's advocate.

Julie Rems-Smario's Response to "Women Who Voted for Trump."

As one of the founders of a national movement, Language Equality and Acquisition for Deaf Kids (LEAD-K), Julie Rems-Smario is currently involved in the legislative campaign to establish mandated language benchmarks for all Deaf children between the ages of 0 to 5, to academically prepare them for Kindergarten. For the work she has done to ensure that Deaf children acquire languages, ASL and English, she was honored by DeafLife as the Deaf Person of the Year in 2015. She was also recognized with international awards such as CNN Heroes 2007 and E-Women Network International Humanitarian Award for her work as an advocating for the rights of domestic and sexual violence survivors as the founding executive director of DeafHope in Oakland, California. "If I turned down every candidate who objectified women, I’d vote for no one." Rebecca Gregory, 46. Nurse. You forgot Hillary Clinton. She didn't objectify women. More than any other candidates, she knows what it's like to be objectified. " But I don’t get offended like some people do. You get through the bad and you focus on the good. Basically these were our choices, and I felt he was the better choice, and I had to overlook the negatives and focus on the positives." Sandy Pearson, 48. Studying to be a mortgage broker. You are not a person of color and/or disablity, nor are you part of the LGBTIQQ community... easy for you to overlook the negatives. Your life and livelihood are not threatened. But your womanhood already is threatened. ""I went to Minnesota and I had a Somali cabdriver who lectured me for 35 minutes to the airport about how women in America have too much freedom." My thought process on that is that I don’t like seeing people going through the hardship they go through, but I don’t want to go backwards in the feminist movement, either. But, but, but ... we are going backwards in the feminist movement with the Republican men making decisions about our uterus and banning Planned Parenthood. Congrats for playing a part sending us women backwards. "Do I think Trump’s trying to send women back to the kitchen? No, his daughter is a great example. She ran the women-who-work campaign long before he ran for president." His daughter is not the President-elected.... think again with his pussy grabbing comments and glorification of pageants. He objectifies women. Poor Melania is staying home in New York while he goes to work hundreds of miles away. "Don’t go back and forth. Don’t pander." (about Hillary Clinton). Himmm ... he earned the name Flip-Flop Donald. He cannot remember his lies. Good job with your voting choice. "A racist? ‘You don’t know me--I feel very, very badly for the people who are very scared for their way of life. From what I’m understanding, he’s only really wanting illegal immigrants that have committed crimes to be deported, which I agree with. I feel bad for the lesbian and gay and transsexual community that fear for their way of life. From what I understand, he says he’s not going to mess with that.... I’m looking for a brighter future for me and my children, and honestly I felt l like our country was kind of at risk if we did elect Hillary." Victoria Czapski, 45. Works in education. It's time for a little social justice training which doesn't hurt anyone: It's undocumented immigrants, not illegal immigrants. It is not transexual community -- It's transgender community. Oh, you feel bad for them and for the LGBTIQQ, but only vote for who is the best for yourself and your children. Bit self-serving, aren't you? I got news for you ...you are a racist and you are also not a friend of the LGBT community. You just put our nation at an "unpresidented" risk. One more thing ... your president-elected will be footing you the bill for the wall. "No time for political correctness ...This is a Christian country. The whole bending over backwards. He says what everyone’s thinking and is afraid to say. That doesn’t make anyone bigoted." Unpack much? This is not a Christian country. Christians stole the country from the Natives. Yes, he is bigoted and he is giving you the permission to stay bigoted. Best remedy for bigotry is a good dosage of social justice training. Thank you for confirming why social justice is important. "Can't put him in a box... Obama was out for himself. I don’t think he really respected the office. I think it was more about him being a celebrity than a president... He wants to bring America back to what it was before. I don’t think it’s taking us back to women have no rights or slavery days." Pam Cornett, 46. Formerly self-employed, now working in customer service. You voted for a reality show celebrity from "The Celebrity Apprentice" You had a hand in sending us backwards by opening the pandora box of racism and sexism. Go back into your box of denial. "He was egregious, but she lied. ...The Clintons got wealthy because of their position. I’d rather have someone there who doesn’t need the money. " Paula Filar, 71. Retired business owner. You must be in the twilight zone, because he is flooding the swamp and refusing to divest. As for lies, he is worse that Nixon. It seems that your internalized disdain for women blinded you from #notmypresident's evils. "When Trump became my only choice, I felt he was the lesser of two evils. I had major issues with Hillary as far as ethics was concerned. It seems she feels that she is above the law and nothing ever seems to stick." Tangie Wooden, 44. Learning facilitator for Blue Cross of Tennessee. You got your candidates mixed up. I think you meant that #notmypresident acts as if he is above the law and nothing ever seems to stick. "Good business sense." Kasia Riddle, 43. Substitute teacher. Have you checked his legal troubles? He screws people by not paying for their work. If this is your idea of good business, then God help America. "To say women are going backwards would be wrong. Look at how much Trump hires women, how much he does rely on women, how much he relies on his own daughter. I’m sort of amazed by her. She may pull him more into the middle. She’ll be a good voice for women." Guzin Karides, 49. Homemaker, former attorney Where is Ivanka's voice about saving Planned Parenthood? Follow Julie on twitter. @JulieRems

What Is Great About Twitter

I realize and understand why many people are not familiar or comfortable about twitter. It's foreign, nothing makes any sense and no one seems connected in a way you see on facebook.

Let me tell you, it's not simple to those of you who are new or are too busy to understand the potential value and advantages if you should decide to give it a chance.

Facebook allows you to connect to people you already know, used to know, know your family and by chance, are willing to get to know you without these benefits because of common friends and interests. Once these connections are made, they can be quite fulfilling and lasting. But....that is as far as you will go. The conversations/interactions will always remain private among just you and them, and that can be a blessing in many cases, but not always. If you are going to talk about private issues and want to remain safe, this is where you should stay.

Twitter isn't about that. It is like a ride all you want bracelet around the world. You don't need to request to follow and fall in awe/love with a person. It's all free....free for the taking and if you don't like it, unfollow and no one cares.

So what is the difference here? What if you want to expand out of your sheltered world? What if you are trying to build a business outside of your immediate circle. What if you or a friend's child went missing and you want to get maximum exposure of possible tips? What about when natural disaster strikes and you want to reach out to the other side of earth to see if people are okay? Here is where twitter can save you and be your best tool ever in times of crisis.

Tweets are public, so don't say anything you don't want the world to see. What you want the world to know you can say it OUT LOUD at no cost and it is entered forever into the Library of Congress. Scared? Go back to facebook. Twitter is powerful and permanent. Use your common sense and reap the awards. If there is a law that should or should not be passed, all you have to do is tweet your Congress. Face it, calls are a pain, as are sending faxes or emails. The huge advantage is not only how simply easy a tweet is to voice your opinion, but the fact that a copy is sent out to anyone across the globe that might do a hash tag search (aka #guncontrol).

My nicest friends, CEO's of missing children, Child Protectors from Online Predators, Can You Identify Me (John and Jane Does found murdered) actors, actresses, musicians,advocates, politicians, authors, athletes, models and just awesome people pretty much I encountered from twitter. So to you doubtful s, you have no idea what you are missing. I followed Ultimate Ears and won. They sent me a direct message asking for my address. I skeptically complied. Within a few days I received a $300 pair of ear phones that blew my mind. Two years later the connection was shot. I unwittingly tweeted how heartbroken I was, ready to put it to rest. UE surprisingly saw my tweet and told me to call their 800 #. I called and what do you know, they sent me a brand new pair, even better within a couple of days. Wow! Anything you tweet cannot be hidden or ignored. Companies want and have to keep you pleased. Smart people take advantage of this.

For centuries, the deaf have felt stupid and incapable. Times have evolved giving us more equality, which is FANTASTIC, but.....we still feel ignored. When Netflix refused to caption their movies/videos twitter finally gave us a voice. The overwhelming outcry of being shut out was finally heard. Commercials that don't bother to caption are finally realizing how many of us are out there, which is up to ten percent of the population. Think about it, if you are advertising, why would you ignore 10% of your market share? Stupid by all means but they just never knew. Emails and TDD/Video Phone (VP) were mostly ignored. Twitter has changed all that and the deaf are pleased to be acknowledged. And hey, what seems like us whining, is really a compliment, we want to hear every beat, every lyric of your beautiful art. If you are so kind to make small accommodations, we will contribute ten folds back by not only being loyal fans for life, but have the ability to enhance your world in return. Give it a chance, Karma is a good thing!

Another surprise is how fun it is to watch a TV show via Twitter. If I am away when my favorite football team or series is on, I just type #jets or #bachelor and read what everyone in the world is saying. I can honestly say I have never laughed so hard or thought I could enjoy anything more. People say the funniest things and gives me such wider sense of humor and awareness. My goodness, I just love all different people and many different ways to see the joy in entertainment.

It is fun to see some of the followers I have/had now. Starting with Jose Canseco, his agent, the former Governator, Amy Grant, and my personal favorite, Romany Malco (black dude in 40 yo Virgin, Weeds etc), who not only took the time to mail me a DVD about "Food for Life" but interacts and compliments his fans with such gratitude. He is really one of us, and for that, I thank Twitter.

Not all celebrities are likable once you can see what is below the surface. It is also fun to get responses or retweets from people like Marlee Matlin, Maria Shriver, Harlan Coben, Jason Alexander and a quite a few more just based on my comments. Just maybe the statement of the deaf being impossible to educate or contribute to society really are wrong? We have a voice that can and will be heard, no matter what used to hold us back, deafness or any other oppressed minority: the world finally is at our very fingertips, indeed.

Dream Big, Always and Forever,

Dora

We Can Do It Together

Written by Author Craig Murray: Watching a medical program on TV about some poor miserable bugger in Indonesia who is tortured by his skin which has completely bubbled up. He looks as if a million marbles are hidden beneath his skin. In steps America the Noble, America the great. Brilliant doctors and nurses, great medical facilities This is what made America great, the greatest, the noblest nation ever to grace this poor benighted planet. Whether you look back at the Marshall Plan with American fighter and bomber pilots flying massive amounts of food to those trapped and imprisoned by the Soviets. In the countless men and women on the front line or at home who put down their weapons and turned to rebuilding a shattered Europe and Asia. It is the compassion, the understanding, the willingness to do what is right, the "We Can Do It Together" attitude. It was watching hundreds of millions of people pulling together not for their own benefit but for the benefit of their nation and the world at large. This is America's true greatness. Rome's greatest power was not her military, it was not her conquering heroes. it was their ability to build. A Roman Legion moved into an area and got to work. Within a day was a defensive line, soon followed a wall, a gate, and then the all important trading post. These posts became centres for trade, they became villages, cities, culture. America's great power was not her ability to kill or control or be religious bigots and zealots. The great power always lay in her compassion, her ability to build, her drive to be free. These things I see you surrendering, throwing away. Zealots and bigots, insane greed, corruption and nationalised plundering. These are the antithesis of all you were, all you truly are, all you should be. I do not know what will happen to the poor diseased man and I do not know what will happen to the disease that plagues this great nation. All I can do is hope that the same dedication, the same nobility, the same genius will save both.