Greetings
Greetings to all you Gnusies, Gnewbies, occasional drop-ins, silent regulars, and first-timers! Come sit with us to find and share messages of hope and to celebrate all the ways good people are triumphing over the evil-doers in power. The task we have set ourselves here in Gnuville is to search out hope no matter how difficult the situation might be. Fortunately, hope can be found even in the darkest days, as we’ve learned over the past almost four years. And now, as we come to the end of the collective nightmare of the ‘Rump years, hope is everywhere!
This is a collaborative effort. After you read a Good News Roundup, we warmly encourage you to add your own good news finds in our comment section, The Best Comment Section on the Internet™, where sanity reigns, Gloomy Guses and Debbie Downers are encouraged to see the light, and pie fights are forbidden.
Let’s get started!
Introduction
Since this is my last Good News Roundup before the election, I want to use my introduction to toss out a bouquet of thanks to everyone who has made this little corner of the internet into an oasis of hope and healing during almost four years of this maladministration. Goodness knows I needed hope and healing in early 2017, when after the brutal shock of the 2016 election we began to see clearly that the *Resident was not going to “pivot” or “grow into the office” or even begin to show the slightest hint of normal humanity. Dark days indeed. And of course they got darker still.
But through it all, the Good News Roundup kept finding reasons for hope. Kept encouraging us to keep showing up, keep resisting, keep helping each other. I don’t think I’d have made it through the *Rump years without the support all of you have given me. And it has been a genuine honor to have been accepted as a roundup writer myself.
So thank you to all my fellow Good Gnus rounder-uppers (in alphabetical order): 2thanks, chloris creator, Jessiestaf, karij, MCUBernieFan, Mokurai, niftywriter, NotNowNotEver, oldhippiedude, and pucklady. And a whole different level of thanks to GoodNewsRoundup her own Goodie self, in the “thank you for saving my life” category of thanks that can never, ever be said enough.
While I’m tossing out bouquets, I want to make sure that our regular commenters, especially those who are masters of annexes and other long-form comments, get some, too. The valuable information, insightful analyses, fascinating trivia, and beautiful or funny photos and videos you bring on a daily basis make our comment section a joy to read.
And I don’t want to forget our readers who may comment only occasionally, but who are part of our community. We need all of you.
Now on to the good news!
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First musical break
This is one of the rare songs written specifically for Playing for Change:
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Good news in politics
Great news yesterday, thanks to Judge Emmet Sullivan.
Court sets plan to make sure Postal Service delivers ballots quickly
From CNN:
One week ahead of Election Day, Judge Emmet Sullivan of the DC District Court told the Postal Service to inform its employees that late delivery trips are allowed and the delivery of ballots by state elections deadlines is important.
The order is some of the most aggressive oversight USPS has faced yet in its handling of election mail. It adds to several directives the Post Office has weathered in court in recent months, after state governments won injunctions that would prevent policy changes put in place by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy that could have disrupted the quick delivery of mailed ballots to election officials.
Sullivan's order largely follows a proposed plan agreed upon by the USPS and by those suing the Postal Service, which includes the NAACP and the group Vote Forward.
States and other groups had sought for courts to monitor and enforce the injunctions they won, which Sullivan agreed to do in the USPS cases he oversees.
The Postal Service also must provide daily updates to the court on mail delivery data and will appear daily before the judge.
New Data Shows Large Early Youth Voter Turnout in 2020 Election
We need to keep encouraging even more of them to vote!
From Teen Vogue:
Kei Kawashima-Ginsberg, director of Tisch College's CIRCLE at Tufts University, told Newsweek that the data surrounding early youth voting is encouraging. “Even in the face of significant barriers to youth participation, we are encouraged by this level of early voting and by the tremendous engagement of young people on the ground,” Kawashima-Ginsberg said. “They are leading movements and engaging their peers...”
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...a new poll from Axios and Survey Monkey shows that young voters support Biden over Trump by vast numbers. According to their data, voters 18-34 are solidly leaning towards Biden in 45 out of 50 states. “These scattered red spots in a sea of blue vividly illustrate Trump's peril if young people were to actually turn out this year,” they wrote in their findings. “Put another way, Trump's path to re-election depends heavily on younger adults staying home.”
Labor unions are on board to react if the Orange Stain won’t let himself be scrubbed out of the White House:
America's biggest unions get ready to fight Trump if he refuses to concede
From The American Independent:
Members of the country's largest labor union are preparing to strike if Donald Trump refuses to concede defeat after the presidential election.
On Monday, the AFL-CIO's Western Massachusetts chapter passed a resolution to defend democracy from "Trump's neo-fascist tactics, including his repeated refusal to denounce white supremacy, the drastic inequality of wealth and power, and other crises facing our country and the world."
The resolution went on to name the numerous attacks Trump has launched against working people across the country, ending with a call to use "the most powerful tool of the Labor Movement in our history" — a general strike — if Trump refuses to concede defeat."
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The Massachusetts affiliate's call for a rapid mobilization of its members follows a similar statement from the Rochester AFL-CIO Labor Council. ...[and] the MLK Labor Council — which represents 100,000 Seattle-area workers — called for a general strike, should Trump attempt a post-election coup.
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Last week, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka called for an "emergency meeting" of labor leaders to plan how to counter attempts by the Trump administration to undermine a free and fair voting process.
On Tuesday, dozens of labor officials met to discuss their election response, NBC News reported. The briefing included possible Election Day outcomes, intelligence on Trump's plans, mapping out "hot spots," message research, and period-by-period threat assessments.
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...Association of Flight Attendants-CWA President Sara Nelson said any post-election strike plans would need to "strategically place pressure in places that are going to have a major impact."
"We actually don’t have to have a general strike across the entire country," Nelson said. "We can have a major impact if we know that we can shut down one specific place, and it doesn’t even have to be for a very long period of time. If we take control of the schedule of the country, we can have a tremendous effect."
Maybe we won’t have to deal with these guys any more??
Jack Burkman and Jacob Wohl Indicted AGAIN Over Voter Intimidation
From The Daily Beast:
Conservative operatives Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman have been indicted in Ohio, once more over a racist robocall aimed at minority voters.
Wohl and Burkman, who rose to some level of infamy online for blundering attempts to manufacture sexual assault allegations against Democratic politicians and other Trump foes, have each been charged in Ohio’s Cuyahoga County with eight counts of telecommunications fraud and seven counts of bribery, a charge that includes attempts to convince people not to cast ballots. The indictment only adds to the growing mountain of criminal and civil problems facing the notorious pro-Trump pair.
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Michigan’s attorney general charged Wohl and Burkman in a separate case on Oct. 1 for the same robocall, which was also sent to voters in that state. They have also been sued in New York in a civil lawsuit by people who received the call.
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Wohl is also facing felony charges in California over alleged violations of securities laws. And the FBI is investigating the pair over the leak of juror questionnaires in the trial of former Trump adviser Roger Stone, according to sealed court documents obtained by The Daily Beast.
Mainers for Accountable Leadership nails Susan Collins
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Good news from Portland
County Commissioner Publicly Suggests Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office Absorb Portland Police Bureau
This could be a breakthrough. As the commissioner who suggested it said, the county “has a much broader, integrated, upstream and holistic approach toward public health, safety and justice.” That would definitely be a welcome change around here!
From Willamette Week:
As numerous groups and elected officials ponder how to reform the Portland Police Bureau, Multnomah County Commissioner Sharon Meieran last week made public one of the ideas that many officials have discussed privately: folding PPB into the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office.
Meieran voiced the idea at a meeting of the Local Public Safety Coordinating Council. The rationale: The two agencies have many duplicative functions, and the county already covers prosecution, jailing and post-incarceration supervision, as well as mental health and addiction services and public health functions that overlap with police work.
Students Tutor Students helps kids struggling with online learning
Here’s their mission statement from their website:
Students Tutor Students is a Portland-based organization created by students for students. We want to spread the message of student collaboration and involvement especially during this time of disconnection and distancing. We believe that education is imperative to the development of every person and should under no circumstances become compromised. By providing a service that establishes connections between students who are willing to tutor and those who need tutoring, Students Tutor Students hopes to forge a community of learners.
They operate in schools not only in Portland but also in several nearby communities, and they’re working on an app! Here’s the demo video for the app to give you an idea of how totally these kids have it together:
And local parents are contributing their skills to help on-line learners, too.
Parent-teacher club in Beaverton comes up with A+ idea to help students learn from home
From KGW:
“Watching kids last spring, you know they were doing Zoom and doing school on their beds, on the floor, on the couch” explained [Ric] Shewell. "And we thought, 'What could we give the kids to help them succeed this year?'”
The answer was found in a material most have somewhere around the house: cardboard. The idea is to use it to make desks for every student and create a personal space for learning at home.
“When their bodies are in that space, their minds say, 'I’m ready to learn, I’m ready for education,’” said Shewell.
The Parent Teacher Club teamed up with a local box company, then one of the engineers in the club worked with the company to come up with a design strong and safe enough for students.
They raised enough money through a GoFundMe campaign to order 350 desks. That’s a free desk for each student at McKay Elementary School. “We are actually working on the extra desks going to kids and families that are experiencing houselessness right now, so we’ll make sure that a few extra people get some desks that need them," said Shewell.
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Good news from Oregon
Oregon Lawmakers Consider Making It a Crime to Dox Someone, and Banning Law Enforcement From Posting Mugshots
From Willamette Week:
Oregon lawmakers are working on a pair of bill concepts for the 2021 legislative session that would make it illegal to post someone's personal information online with the intent to humiliate them, and that would prohibit law enforcement from releasing mugshot photos to the public in many circumstances.
If the first bill concept is passed into law, "doxxing," which entails posting an individual's private and identifying information online, would become a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to 364 days in jail and a fine of $6,250. If the doxxer has a prior conviction, they could be charged with a Class C felony.
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The second legislative concept would prevent law enforcement from releasing a person's booking photo, also known as a mugshot, except to other law enforcement agencies, upon criminal conviction if the booking photo led to the person's arrest, upon requests from the media when there is a public interest, and to the public in situations where law enforcement agencies need assistance finding a suspect, or is asking for the public's help to identify someone.
As WW reported in September, some Portland protesters said their lives were upended when a conservative pundit named Andy Ngo published their mugshots on his Twitter account accompanied by personal information, including where they work.
Ngo's posts appears [sic] to be legal, WW previously reported. The new proposed legislation would likely make it more difficult for conservative activists like Ngo to access photos of those who've been arrested.
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Good news from around the nation
This Non-Profit is Hard at Work Designing New Forests to Cure California’s Wildfire Curse
From Good News Network:
After recent devastating fires in California, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is teaming up with a specialist non-profit forest management organization to re-engineer the typical Californian forest to be more fire resistant.
For decades in California, forest restoration consisted of planting pine trees like rows of cabbages. The theory behind it was that sunlight would be especially limited on the forest floor, preventing a flood of grass shrubs and weeds from taking over the ground in between the trees.
This “Pines in Lines” strategy also created the perfect forest as far as fires were concerned, as it allowed the fires enough fuel to reach the canopies, and places to spread in every direction.
American Forests, the non-profit in question, works hard to replant forests in a way that’s much more like how many forests existed before the arrival of Europeans—namely clumps of different kinds of trees, not just pines, spaced far enough apart to prevent wildfires from spreading.
This also protects from drought, as the small clumps, excluded from the company of other trees by open ground, have a greater monopoly on the supply of water that falls on them.
Firefighters are not only heroes, they’re also really caring guys.
Firefighters leave letter for owner after saving cabin from Colorado fire
From The Colorado Springs Gazette:
“If this note finds you we must have done something right.”
That was the first sentence of a note attached to Dan Stones’ cabin near Lake Granby. The note was left by Meeker Fire Engine 1446, who had just saved the cabin from the East Troublesome fire.
The note apologizes for not being able to save the owner’s shed and for cutting part of the house’s wood fence. “Things got really hot we stayed as long as possible,” it said.
The note was discovered by a contractor Sunday afternoon who was brought in by the Sheriff’s Office to shut off water and clear out pipes before the winter storm hit.
Stones said he read the note over 100 times that day.
“We just burst into tears when we read that note,” Stones said. “If the whole world came together and said 'thank you,' it wouldn’t be enough.”
I love, love, love The Internet Archive! I truly believe that the work they do saving books for posterity is heroic. BTW, you can volunteer to help them!
The Internet Archive rescues a precious library collection
From The Internet Archive:
In October 2020, the collection of Detroit-based Marygrove College Library, comprising more than 70,000 books and journals, starts a new life online with the support of the Internet Archive. With the college closing in December 2019, concerns arose about the future of the library’s collection, which offers a uniquely African American perspective, reflecting the historical and cultural influences of its local community in Detroit. The importance of amplifying these voices led to the decision by the Board of Trustees to donate the full collection to Internet Archive, a non-profit library.
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“When I heard that the library was going to be digitized, I felt like it was going to be a stroke of genius, “ said poet, Valerie Deering, Marygrove College alumna Class of 1972. “That there was not going to be a book burning, that these books weren't going to end up at the Salvation Army where nobody really knew or understood or would appreciate what they've been to generations of students.”
The collection is now available for free through the Internet Archive’s website and will also be preserved in its physical archives. Internet Archive hopes that making the collection available online will expand access for marginalized groups such as those with disabilities that affect reading.
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Second musical break:
To successfully build a new, better world starting in 2021, we’ll all need to be hands-on!
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Good news from around the world
Women’s rights have improved in several important areas in the past 25 years
From Future Crunch:
A new analysis from the IRC reveals some dramatic gains, including a 110% increase in women serving in national parliaments, a 49% increase in women in ministerial positions, a 38% decrease in maternal deaths, and an 18% increase in female literacy. Is it enough? Not even close. But it is progress.
Russian woman plants over a million trees since 2010
From Future Crunch:
Meet Marianna Muntianu.
For the past ten years, she's been planting trees all over Russia. A lot of trees. Together with an army of volunteers, she's been responsible for reforesting the equivalent of 1,350 football fields in 24 regions, well over a million trees.
She first got the idea in 2010, when wildfires tore through the forests of Kostroma, her home in western Russia. … “By planting a tree, I wished to move from destruction, to creation."
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Within a few years, she'd set up an online platform called Plant the Forest, that gathered volunteers through social media, and raised funds and awareness through a mobile game. They've now planted hundreds of thousands of seedlings in areas all around the country that were badly in need of reforestation, and the movement is going from strength to strength, bring together Russians united by their love of nature. Her latest initiative is a "Russian Climate Fund" that aims to plant 1 billion trees by 2030.
These Wind Turbines Attached to Highway Street Lights Are Powered By Traffic
From Good News Network:
A revolutionary new design for onshore wind turbines that can be attached to lamp posts and powered by traffic has been unveiled.
The English businessman behind the new concept that can be installed along highways believes they will help hit renewable energy targets in the UK and beyond because they do not rely on natural wind.
The turbines, fixed to existing street lights, would use the wind created by vehicles speeding past to generate electricity to power both those lights and eventually a lot more.
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The company believes a turbine attached to each lighting column could collectively generate around 6mw per day—enough to power a small village.
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This highway-powered concept would blend in with existing infrastructure. “This is a retro-fit solution,” explained [CEO Barry] Thompson, “so it attaches to what we already have.
“We’re not blighting the landscape with massive turbines, we’re making use of existing infrastructure.”
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Good news for and about animals
Bird Sets New Record for Longest Bird Migration–7,500 Miles Without Making a Single Stop
Good News Network:
Every time you see a bird, there is a chance you may be looking at the greatest marathon athletes in the world; particularly if you live near mudflats in the U.S. state of Alaska in late-summer, and happen upon a bar-tailed godwit.
These little shorebirds were recently found to travel 7,500 miles (12,000 kilometers) in an eye-watering, lung-busting non-stop flight of 11 days from Alaska to the Firth of Thames near Auckland, New Zealand.
It’s not the longest migration ever—that title goes to the Arctic tern which goes from the Arctic to the Antarctic along the west coast of North and South America—or straight down the Atlantic every year for a total of around 14,000 kilometers.
However, it is the longest non-stop flight known to scientists. Unlike the tern, the godwit weighs a much heavier one-fifth to four-fifths of a pound, and relies on a muscular build much like a modern jet, with aerodynamic features like narrow pointed wings and a sleek body to reduce air drag.
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Along with having an incredible fuel-to-energy ratio, the birds have the ability to shrink their internal organs. This lightens their bodies to make flying easier.
What scientists hope to learn from a beetle that can survive being run over by a car
From the L.A. Times:
It’s a beetle that can withstand bird pecks, animal stomps and even being rolled over by a Toyota Camry. Now scientists are studying what the bug’s crush-resistant shell could teach them about designing stronger airplanes and buildings.
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The species — the aptly named diabolical ironclad beetle — owes its might to an unusual armor that is layered and pieced together like a jigsaw...
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When compressed, [researchers] found the structure fractured slowly instead of snapping all at once.
“When you pull them apart,” [Purdue University civil engineer Pablo] Zavattieri said, “it doesn’t break catastrophically. It just deforms a little bit. That’s crucial for the beetle.”
It could also be useful for engineers who design vehicles, including aircraft, and buildings with a variety of materials such as steel, plastic and plaster. Currently, engineers rely on pins, bolts, welding and adhesives to hold everything together. But those techniques can be prone to degrading.
In the structure of the beetle’s shell, nature offers an “interesting and elegant” alternative, Zavattieri said.
Sexy firefighters posing in calendars for charity isn’t new, but this calendar is something special.
Australian Firefighters Pose With Adorable Rescue Animals for Sizzling Wildlife Charity Calendar
From Good News Network:
What may be the world’s most popular calendar, now in its 28th year, is back, and this year the hunky heroes have been photographed with heart-melting dogs, cats, koala bears, and even kangaroos.
Setting out to brighten the doom and gloom of the last eight months, all proceeds will be donated to the native animal charities that are vital to supporting local wildlife.
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As COVID-19 restricted the team’s access to many rescue animals, the Aussie public was asked to bring their own rescued furry friends to the photoshoot to help create these calendars.
Funds raised will allow the organization to help less fortunate animals find a new home through rescue organisations like Safe Haven Animal Rescue and All Breeds Canine Rescue.
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My favorite animal video of the week
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An amazing art video
Some of you may be aware of the exquisite work of Andy Goldsworthy, who creates sculptural forms in forests, fields, rivers, and beaches using the natural materials at hand. Pontus Jansson is also an environmental artist, but he works only with stones stacked on top of each other. The results are astounding and beautiful.
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Hot lynx
www.newyorker.com/...A President Looks Back on His Toughest Fight. The first published excerpt from Obama’s upcoming memoir, A Promised Land, describing the bruising fight to pass the ACA.
www.motherjones.com/....Why Won’t Democratic Mayors Crack Down on the Cops? A long and thoughtful piece about an infuriating problem.
www.alternet.org/... Here's the case for impeaching Clarence Thomas — the most corrupt Supreme Court Justice. He lied in his annual financial statements for over a decade, and of course he lied during his confirmation hearings. There are historical precedents for removing him.
www.newyorker.com/… How We Discovered Water on the Moon. We’ve all read the news reports, but this article is a vivid and detailed narrative about how this was done and by whom.
www.bloombergquint.com/...Fast-Fashion heiress asks shoppers to buy less in green push. The fashion business produces 20% of the world’s wastewater and 10% of carbon emissions - more than all international flights and maritime shipping combined. Veronica Chou hopes to begin to change that with sustainable and recycled textiles and eco-friendly technology.
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How YOU can help us win — there’s still time!!
Many thanks to Yosef 52 for his indefatigable work in bringing us the info we need to GOTV. Most of what I wrote below is copied from him.
GET INFORMED at the new Biden/Harris site, Blue Vote. A one-stop resource!
And another new one-stop resource: The Best Way to Vote in Every State
Important!! 5 mistakes that can disqualify your November mail ballot and how to avoid them.
Very important information for Wisconsin voters!!
Yesterday’s disastrous SCOTUS decision to disqualify any Wisconsin ballots received after Election Day means that there’s an important new message that needs to reach every Wisconsin Dem voter:
Return your absentee ballot, but don’t use the mail.
If you live in Wisconsin, preferably hand-deliver your absentee ballot to your election clerk’s office, otherwise drop it in a drop box. DO NOT MAIL YOUR WISCONSIN ABSENTEE BALLOT! If you have friends or family in Wisconsin, please phone them to let them know this. (More info in this NY Times article.)
Now back to our usual GOTV info:
TEXT Democratic voters:
Text Out the Vote via the DNC.
The MoveOn Text Team
PHONE BANK with Beto: Powered by People — TURN TEXAS BLUE!!!
BE A POLL WORKER:
Work Elections
DONATE to Biden/Harris: JoeBiden.com
And if you — or anyone you know — is in need of more inspiration, go straight to Goodie’s phenomenal series, “100 Days of Loving Joe Biden.” You’ll come away loving him more than you ever imagined.
DONATE to our priority Senate candidates:
Sen. Doug Jones (D. AL)
Dr. Al Gross (I. AK)
Mark Kelly (D. AZ)
John Hickenlooper (D. CO)
Jon Ossoff (D. GA)
Theresa Greenfield (D. IA)
Paulette Jordan (D. ID)
Dr. Barbara Bollier (D. KS)
Amy McGrath (D. KY)
Cal Cunningham (D. NC)
Adrian Perkins (D. LA)
Sen. Gary Peters (D. MI)
Sen. Tina Smith (D. MN)
Mike Espy (D. MS)
Steve Bullock (D. MT)
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D. NH)
Jaime Harrison (D. SC)
MJ Hegar (D. TX)
DONATE to our priority House candidates:
See Ballotpedia’s list of U.S. House Battlegrounds and Ballotpedia’s list of State Legislative Battleground Chambers.
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Closing music
There's a new world comin'. and it's just around the bend.
There's a new world comin', this one's comin' to an end.
❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ ❤️
Thanks to each and every Gnusie for your smarts, your hearts, and
your faithful attendance at our daily Gathering of the Herd.
❤️💙 RESIST, PERSIST, REBUILD, REJOICE! 💙❤️