Old School Hot Rodders of Virginia Fall Cruise In & Swap Meet November 1
See all the photos at Album - opens to a new window

COP30 Comes Amid Rising Skepticism, Falling Donations

From The Epoch Times
The COP30 climate conference taking place this week near the Amazon rainforest in Brazil has been a hot, crowded, and occasionally chaotic event that, though well attended, comes at a time when many are doubting the narrative that the earth is facing a climate emergency.

The summit is the 30th annual Conference of the Parties (COP) that signed a 1992 United Nations climate treaty pledging, among other things, that rich countries take responsibility for planet-warming emissions and support poor countries in their struggle to cope with a changing climate.

While the leaders of China, India, and the United States—the three largest emitters of greenhouse gasses, according to Worldometer—were notably absent from the event, attendance was otherwise strong, with more than 50,000 people registered, including delegates from 195 governments, making this one of the largest COP summits to date.

Speaking at the summit, former Vice President Al Gore listed a number of extreme weather events and asked, “How long are we going to stand by and keep turning the thermostat up so that these kinds of events get even worse?”

But other major backers of the cause are breaking ranks. Bill Gates, who had once predicted more deaths from climate change than from COVID-19, stated in an October message to COP30 delegates that the “doomsday view” of climate change was wrong and that “people will be able to live and thrive in most places on Earth for the foreseeable future” despite rising temperatures.

And climate activist Ted Nordhaus, who wrote in 2007 that “the heating of the earth will cause the sea levels to rise and the Amazon to collapse, stated in an August blog, “I no longer believe this hyperbole.”

The flow of funds to support the climate agenda appears, likewise, to be drying up. while the amount of money that rich countries must pay to poor countries to compensate them for climate change would reach between $310 billion and $365 billion per year by 2035, the funds flowing from rich to poor countries fell from $28 billion in 2022 to $26 billion in 2023, according to a UN report released earlier this year.

Inger Andersen, UN Environment Programme executive director, stated in the report’s foreword that “while the numbers for 2024 and 2025 are not yet available, one thing is clear: unless trends in adaptation financing turn around, which currently seems unlikely, the Glasgow Climate Pact goal will not be achieved, the [New Collective Quantified Goal] will not be achieved, and many more people will suffer needlessly.”

Climate ‘Consensus is Gone’

The United States is currently taking the lead in withdrawing from various global climate pacts, but other nations appear to also be wavering in their climate commitments.

A report published in July by the U.S. Department of Energy, authored by a working group of five independent experts in physical science, economics, climate science, and academic research, stated that warming caused by human activity “appears to be less damaging economically than commonly believed.”

In January, President Donald Trump ordered the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Agreement and all other UN climate accords, while also canceling any prior U.S. commitments. He has since pushed to increase America’s production of oil, gas, and coal, as well as nuclear energy.

In July, the European Union struck a deal with the Trump administration to buy approximately $750 billion in liquefied natural gas, oil, and nuclear fuels and technologies from the United States over the next three years.

Earlier this month, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer stated that, while the UK was still “all in” on cutting CO2 emissions, the “consensus is gone” on fighting climate change.

Starmer announced at the leaders’ summit prior to the start of COP30 that the UK would not be contributing to the Tropical Forests Forever Facility, which was to be a key initiative of COP30 that seeks to raise $125 billion to protect tropical rainforests in the Amazon and Congo river basins.

In October, Brazil, host of COP30, approved exploratory drilling by state-run oil-giant Petrobras just north of the summit, near the mouth of the Amazon River.

To ease traffic in Belem, the port city that is hosting the event, an 8-mile, four-lane highway was cut through the rainforest, taking out thousands of acres of protected trees and displacing wildlife. Regardless, attendees reported that the deluge of people was proving overwhelming for the remote locale.

“It’s way too small a venue to host that many people, and so we’re experiencing enormously long lines,” Craig Rucker, president of the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT) and a skeptic regarding the United Nations’ net-zero agenda, told The Epoch Times. Rucker has attended 27 of the 30 COP summits and said COP30 was “the most disorganized one yet, that I’ve seen.”

“They brought [attendees] here to look at the rainforest, but they had to actually clear cut a 14-kilometer road right through the heart of the Amazon in order to bring the delegates here in their private limos or whatever they’re taking,” Rucker said. “They’re trying to draw attention to the plight of the rainforest, and here, for an environmental summit, they’re hacking it down.”

Chesterfield Career and Technical Center Car and Truck Show November 2
See all the photos at Album - opens to a new window.

Meme Time

What is the Virginia Clean Economy Act and What is RGGI

Overview of the Virginia Clean Economy Act The Virginia Clean Economy Act (VCEA) was signed into law in 2020, aiming to transition Virginia to a clean energy future. It mandates that the state's major utilities, Dominion Energy Virginia and Appalachian Electric Power, achieve 100% renewable electricity by 2045 and 2050, respectively.

Key Components
Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard (RPS)
Goal: Achieve 100% renewable electricity.
Utilities: Dominion Energy and Appalachian Electric Power.
Deadlines: 2045 for Dominion Energy, 2050 for Appalachian Electric Power.

Energy Efficiency Standards
Establishes energy efficiency standards to reduce waste.
Utilities must comply or face penalties.

Economic and Environmental Impact
Job Creation and Savings
Expected to create up to 13,000 jobs annually in the clean energy sector.
Virginia households could save approximately $3,500 over 30 years due to lower energy costs.

Environmental Benefits
Aims to eliminate carbon emissions from utilities by 2050.
Supports initiatives to combat climate change and protect coastal communities.

Transitioning to 100% renewable energy in the U.S. is estimated to cost around $4.5 trillion, factoring in the necessary infrastructure and technology investments.

The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI, pronounced "Reggie") is the first mandatory market-based program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by the United States. RGGI is a cooperative effort among the states of Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Virginia to cap and reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from the power sector. RGGI compliance obligations apply to fossil-fueled power plants 25 megawatts (MW) and larger within the 11-state region. North Carolina's entrance into RGGI has been blocked by the enactment of the state's fiscal year 2023–25 budget.

RGGI establishes a regional cap on the amount of CO2 pollution that power plants can emit by issuing a limited number of tradable CO2 allowances. Each allowance represents an authorization for a regulated power plant to emit one short ton of CO2. Individual CO2 budget trading programs in each RGGI state together create a regional market for CO2 allowances.

The RGGI states distribute over 90 percent of allowances through quarterly auctions. These allowance auctions generate proceeds, which participating states are able to invest in strategic energy and consumer benefit programs. Programs funded through RGGI have included energy efficiency, clean and renewable energy, greenhouse gas abatement, and direct bill assistance.

An initial milestone program's development occurred in 2005, when seven states signed a memorandum of understanding announcing an agreement to implement RGGI. The RGGI states then established individual CO2 budget trading programs, based on the RGGI Model Rule. The first pre-compliance RGGI auction took place in September 2008, and the program became effective on January 1, 2009. The RGGI program is currently in its fifth three-year compliance period, which began January 1, 2021.

The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) has been associated with increased energy costs for consumers, as the costs of CO2 allowances are passed on from power generators to electricity distribution companies. This has led to higher electric bills in the participating states, although the program aims to invest in clean energy and efficiency to provide long-term benefits.

Cruise-In at Steel Horse Harley-Davidson November 8
See all the photos at Album - opens to a new window.

Jewels Found On Ebay

Here are a couple of hot finds from Ebay Motors.

eBay item number: 267457903009
$3800 or best offer
eBay description: 1970 FORD MUSTANG PROJECT NEEDS RESTORATION
ROLLER PROJECT
SOLID BODY GOOD PROJECT
ORIGINAL V8 CAR
HAVE A 302 ENGINE AVAILABLE FOR EXTRA COST
HAVE ANY QUESTIONS
LOADED WITH TRIM AND PARTS IN THE TRUNK
SERIOUS BUYERS ONLY

Looks like another Mustang is trying to escape the bone yard. And take a look at that interior photo - not only is the steering wheel and column gone but so is the steering gearbox. Might have some trouble getting a car that doesn't steer onto the trailer. I did it once with the help of 3 guys with one each on a front wheel trying to keep the wheel straight. Seller has a 302 to go with it but this car not only needs a bunch of parts but the VIN reveals it came with a 351 engine. The trunk is loaded with parts some of which might fit this car. At least it has a title.

Next up is a "project".

eBay item number: 376622008726
$3,000
eBay description: 1969 CHEVROLET CORVETTE STINGRAY SPORT COUPE BARE BODY. COMES AS SHOWN WITH LEFT AND RIGHT SIDE T TOPS. MOST ORIGINAL PAINT HAS BEEN REMOVED. SOME PREVIOUS BODY DAMAGE. ALL PANELS APPEAR TO BE GM PRESS MOLDED FIBERGLASS. SOME FLOOR DAMAGE TO THE DRIVERS SIDE CAN BE SEEN IN THE PICTURES. ORIGINAL GM VIN AND TRIM TAGS AND CLEAR VIRGINIA TITLE. MUST BE PAID FOR WITHIN 7 DAYS OF LISTINGS END AND MUST BE PICKED UP IN VA BEACH VA. WE CAN ASSIST IN LOADING. THANKS FOR LOOKING. VISIT OUR EBAY STORE. JESUS LOVES YOU!!!

If you are on the hunt for Corvette yard art you've found it. Could someone actually build a car from this? And why would they? If you want a Corvette there are plenty of them for sale that run, drive, stop, etc. But this could be cool yard art or hung from the ceiling of a garage or restaurant or whatever.

eBay item number: 326822314892
$11,000
eBay description: “For sale is a 1970 Plymouth Barracuda Project Car, a solid foundation for a restoration or custom build. The car has been sand blasted, so you can clearly see all the flaws and areas that need attention. While it's missing the driver's door, most of the glass is included, along with several boxes of parts to help with the rebuild. The car comes with most of the required patch panels, making it easier to tackle rust repair and body restoration. An original T/A hood in very good condition is also included, a great find for any classic car enthusiast. Please note, this car does not currently have or come with an engine and the mileage is unknown. However, it’s a great base for building custom or bringing it back to its original glory. If you want a 1970 Barracuda with solid parts and a great starting point, this is the one for you!”

In case you didn't notice this vehicle has been reduced in price to only 11K. It has rust in the usual areas along with rust in the a-pillars and other places you don't expect to find rust. It is missing a door, I saw no interior pieces nor any engine or transmission. It does have wheels and should roll so it's better than the above Corvette but it is priced 8K more. I know these Mopars are getting stupid money paid for them but 11K for this? Time for another price reduction.

Chester Rotary Annual Fall Festival Veteran's Car Show November 15
See all the photos at Album - opens to a new window

Modern cars are always watching us. Should we be worried?

From Hagerty
Nearly 20 percent of drivers admit to picking their nose in their cars. That admittedly gross statistic (based on a U.K. survey) alludes to a larger truth: We tend to think of our cars as private sanctuaries. Yet technology for self-driving cars, much of it already on the market, threatens to turn that sanctuary into a place of intense and constant observation.

“Imagine a world where every car on the road has multiple cameras filming all at the same time,” said Tifani Sadek, a former GM lawyer who’s now director of the University of Michigan’s Law and Mobility program. “We’ve created a massive surveillance state that just didn’t exist before.”

There are a number of ways in which modern cars can watch us. Exterior cameras (the Tesla Model 3 has eight) survey the road, while interior cameras monitor driver alertness. What those cameras see in many cases gets transmitted and used for further development of autonomous vehicles. For instance, Mobileye, one of the leading suppliers of cameras for vehicles, uses the stream from millions of vehicles for what it calls Road Experience Management—a continually updated map of roads around the world.

The greatest shield for our personal information is the U.S. Constitution. In particular, the Fourth Amendment prevents search and seizure without “probable cause.” However, this right is not absolute. For one thing, a private individual or corporation can simply ask for consent to collect and use information—it’s usually buried in those multipage disclosures we all mindlessly accept. Even without that, a court will ask whether your expectation of privacy was “reasonable.” What exactly qualifies as reasonable depends on several factors, including where you are (in your home, you might reasonably expect a lot of privacy; walking down Times Square, very little) and from whom you want privacy (there’s generally greater protection against government intrusion than from individuals or companies). The standard has also evolved over time. Forty years ago, you’d never expect a company to know or care what photos you looked at or what news stories you read. Nowadays, companies like Google and Facebook monetize such information to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars.

Therein lies a Catch-22: Intrusions into our privacy have a way of lowering the threshold for the next intrusion. “Government and private-industry surveillance techniques created for one purpose are rarely restricted to that purpose, and every expansion of a data bank and every new use for the data opens the door to more and more privacy abuses,” warned the ACLU back in 2001, when it was advocating against traffic-light cameras.

The constant encroachment not only erodes our legal rights but needles us psychologically. We’re already being tracked by our phones and getting eavesdropped on by Alexa. Does it really make that much of a difference if we’re also being watched in our cars?

It very much does, says Sadek, because of how we use our vehicles and, more specifically, whom we put in them. “We have passengers, and we have minors in the car,” she notes. “If I get into an autonomous vehicle that has a camera, it’s watching my kids, too.”

Granted, most companies aren’t out to steal your individual information. Mobileye, for instance, says it scrubs identifying details from its camera footage, not just because doing so is ethical but also because it makes the data easier to transmit and process. The fact that you told your boss you were at home when you were actually driving to a Taylor Swift concert is a boring waste of bandwidth (but beware that if you’re in a company car, your boss might be able to track your location).

Most automakers who operate in the United States have committed to “Consumer Privacy Protection Principles,” a document created by the Alliance for Automotive Innovation. Some of those principles are distressingly vague (“Participating Members commit to collecting Covered Information only as needed for legitimate business purposes”) but at the very least reflect a desire to protect privacy beyond the letter of the law. It’s worth acknowledging that real-world driving data has the potential to dramatically improve safety on public roads, as well. Most of us trade privacy for far less. “I know Google is crawling through my emails, and I don’t mind it, because it tipped me off that I’m going to be late due to extra traffic on the road,” says Sadek.

In any event, shutting down the car cameras is likely impossible. It may be more reasonable to expect laws that clarify what kind of information a car (or any technology) can collect from an individual. In many places, such laws already exist. In 2016, the EU passed the General Data Protection Regulation, which stipulates an individual’s “fundamental right” to certain levels of data protection from both public entities and private companies. Some U.S. states, like California, have passed similar bills. Given how easy it is for data to cross state lines, the need for federal regulations seems obvious. “We’re trying to read this 200-year-old document to figure out what it means about autonomous vehicles,” says Sadek. “It would be much easier simply to pass some legislation that clearly states what rights you have, and what rights you don’t have.”

The Briefs

General Motors is laying off about 1,700 workers across manufacturing sites in Michigan and Ohio, as the auto giant adjusts to slowing demand for electric vehicles. The Detroit News first reported the cuts on Wednesday — covering about 1,200 jobs at an all-electric plant in the Detroit area and 550 workers at Ultium Cells battery cell plant in Ohio, in addition to hundreds of other employees slated for temporary layoffs. GM later confirmed the news to The Associated Press. “In response to slower near-term EV adoption and an evolving regulatory environment, General Motors is realigning EV capacity,” the company said in a statement, while maintaining it “remains committed to our U.S. manufacturing footprint.” GM added that Ultium Cells is also “adjusting production in response to recent changes in customer plant demand.” The company said that battery cell production in Warren, Ohio and a facility in Spring Hill, Tennessee would be paused beginning January 2026.

On October 19, 2025, a Tesla Model Y driven by South Australian veterinarian Dr. Andrew Melville-Smith encountered an extraordinary “edge case” on the Augusta Highway. While operating in Full Self-Driving (FSD) Supervised mode at night, a mysterious object—suspected to be a meteorite—slammed into the windshield, shattering it and spraying hot glass fragments into the cabin. The impact, reaching temperatures over 1,500°C, melted and resolidified the glass, leaving scorched patterns unlike any terrestrial damage. Melville-Smith, bleeding from cuts and in shock, credits FSD for maintaining control and safely continuing down the dark road, averting disaster for him and his passenger. Sentry Mode footage showed no debris or vandals, ruling out earthly causes. The South Australian Museum’s Dr. Kieran Meaney is analyzing samples, noting the upward trajectory and heat suggest a high-velocity space rock—potentially the world’s first documented meteorite strike on a moving vehicle. Tesla enthusiasts hail it as proof of autonomous tech’s life-saving prowess, turning a cosmic fluke into engineering legend!

California’s largest public pension system has recorded a stunning 71% loss on a nearly half-billion-dollar clean-energy investment, underscoring the risks of politically driven finance and opaque private-equity ventures. According to state filings, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) poured $468 million into a private equity fund dedicated to clean energy and technology in 2007. As of early 2025, that investment has dwindled to just $138 million — a shortfall exceeding $330 million. With CalPERS pensions only 79% funded, independent analysts estimate an overall gap of $180 billion — a liability taxpayers could ultimately be asked to fill, writes The Center Square. The pension fund’s losses reveal “the combined dangers of private equity and ESG investment — you have a very opaque investment choice that appears to have been chosen because of its green credentials, and yet it’s now generated a huge loss for taxpayers and retirees.” In his view, “CalPERS would be better off focusing on a diverse portfolio of publicly traded equities to get better long-term returns.”

OPEC+ countries agree to raise oil production by 137,000 barrels a day in December, won't increase output through the first quarter of 2026.

The Department of the Interior unveiled plans for the first oil drilling lease sale in the Gulf of America and another proposed auction in Alaska’s Cook Inlet.

In a rare case of a pumpkin DOING the smashing, a Utah man used a 1-ton gourd to destroy his 1991 Geo Metro. Alan Gebert, a pumpkin farmer, had driven the car for nearly 35 years, KMPH reported on Oct. 29, but it had finally given out. Such a trusty vehicle deserved a memorable send-off, so Gebert devised one: death by prize-winning produce, dropped from a height of about 14 stories. Before sealing the Geo's fate, the pumpkin in question won first place at the Utah Giant Pumpkin Festival, weighing in at 1,917 pounds.

During a virtual hearing in the 36th District Court in Detroit on Oct. 27, police officer Matthew Jackson showed up to testify about a woman charged with drag racing and disorderly conduct. But, WXYZ-TV reported, he forgot one important part of his uniform: pants. "You got some pants on, officer?" asked Judge Sean Perkins. Jackson replied, "No, sir" and moved his camera up so his bare legs could no longer be seen, and the hearing continued. Jackson was apparently wearing underwear with his uniform shirt. Detroit police apologized and said they would remind all officers about proper etiquette and dress codes for virtual hearings. "It was an interesting day, to say the least," said TaTaNisha Reed, the defendant's attorney.

If you missed this year's Tar Barrels event in Ottery St. Mary, England, make plans to attend next year. On Nov. 5, the BBC reported, selected residents of the town ran through the streets with flaming barrels of tar held over their heads in an "exhilarating" tribute to ... something. Even historians aren't sure what, but the tradition goes back to 1605, "when bonfires and effigies were burnt and barrels were plentiful," said Andrew Wade, president of the Tar Barrels Committee. "The barrels used to be rolled, that's why the people are called barrel rollers." At some point, the barrels were picked up and carried. A total of 27 are carried throughout the event. Surprisingly, "None of the participants are allowed to drink," Wade said. "It will carry on as long as there are people in Ottery who want to do it."

Traffic was brought to a halt in a Massachusetts Turnpike tunnel when an escaped dog found its way inside and was spotted wandering in the roadway. Massachusetts Department of Transportation surveillance footage shows the black and white dog weaving in and out of fast-moving traffic in the Ted Williams Tunnel. Massachusetts State Police were summoned to the scene and blocked traffic so the dog could be coaxed into the back seat of a cruiser. The dog, which had earlier been seen wandering near the economy parking lot at Boston Logan International Airport, was taken to Boston Animal Care and Control and was later returned to its owner.

Drivers on a Washington state road came up against a surprising road hazard during a recent rain storm -- a large sea lion. The Cosmopolis Police Department said on social media that the "large friend" was spotted loitering in traffic on Blue Slough Road during heavy rains on Thursday afternoon. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife was informed of the semi-aquatic pedestrian's presence in the roadway and enforcement officers arrived with a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration agent. The rescuers were able to haze the sea lion out of the roadway and back into a nearby river. Experts said sea lions are known to visit land for numerous reasons, including resting, avoiding predators and regulating their body temperature.

Raymond Loewy designed the bodywork for the Studebaker Avanti. He also designed Coke's contoured glass bottle, paint scheme on US presidential plane, Air Force One and the Shell Gasoline logo.

The nation’s largest police fleet of Tesla Cybertrucks is set to begin patrolling the streets of Las Vegas in November thanks to a donation from a U.S. tech billionaire, raising concerns about the blurring of lines between public and private interests. “Welcome to the future of policing,” Clark County Sheriff Kevin McMahill said during a recent press conference, surrounded by the Cybertrucks while drones hovered overhead and a police helicopter circled above him. The fleet of 10 black-and-white Cybertrucks of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department with flashing lights and sirens are wrapped with the police department’s logo. About 400 officers have been trained to operate the trucks that will use public charging stations. The all-electric vehicles are equipped with shotguns, shields and ladders and additional battery capacity to better handle the demands of a police department, McMahill said. The donation has raised concerns from government oversight experts about private donors’ influence on public departments and the boost to the Tesla brand. The department is the latest U.S. city to turn to Tesla models even as Elon Musk ’s electric vehicle company has faced blowback because of his work earlier in the year to advance the president’s political agenda and downsize the federal government.

Ford has 5,000 job openings for mechanics offering a six-figure salary, a sign of skilled manual labor shortage facing the United States, the company’s CEO, Jim Farley, said.

Ford partners with Amazon to sell certified used vehicles on the retail giant's auto marketplace, becoming second brand name to do so after Hyundai; initial rollout is in Los Angeles, Seattle, and Dallas.

The Norfolk casino operator is asking City Council for permission to install several controversial automatic license plate reader cameras near the proposed casino site. On Tuesday, Norfolk City Council members plan to vote on an ordinance that would allow casino operator Boyd Gaming to install Flock Safety cameras and mobile camera trailers at eight locations clustered around the casino site and Harbor Park. In total, Boyd plans to place 11 license plate reader cameras on Park and Lovitt avenues. The four mobile trailers would be placed close to parking lots along Park Avenue, Lovitt Avenue, Clay Avenue and Interstate 264, according to city documents. However, only some of the cameras require permission from City Council to encroach the public right-of-way, according to the ordinance. The Norfolk Police Department has installed more than 170 Flock cameras around the city, and the cameras are used extensively by law enforcement across Hampton Roads. The cameras photograph every car that passes and log the license plate, vehicle make, body type and color. That information is temporarily stored on a cloud server and can be shared between law enforcement agencies. Police say the systems are instrumental in helping solve a wide range of crimes. Privacy advocates have expressed concern that the cameras could violate Fourth Amendment rights against unlawful searches and seizures and have sought to challenge warrantless use of Flock surveillance in criminal cases. However, a three-judge Virginia Court of Appeals panel reversed a previous decision and ruled against two Hampton Roads citizens in late October, saying drivers do not have a reasonable expectation of privacy on public roads.

The Trump administration announced on Nov. 20 that it was approving new oil drilling leases off the coasts of California, Florida, and Alaska, as President Donald Trump seeks to surge U.S. oil production to reduce energy costs. The Department of the Interior said Thursday that Interior Secretary Doug Burgum had signed an order, “Unleashing American Offshore Energy,” directing the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to take steps to terminate President Joe Biden’s 2024–2029 National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program. The order will replace it with Burgum’s 11th National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program, which, among other actions, proposes up to 34 potential offshore lease sales throughout 21 areas off the coast of Alaska, seven in the Gulf near Florida, and six along the California coast. “By moving forward with the development of a robust, forward-thinking leasing plan, we are ensuring that America’s offshore industry stays strong, our workers stay employed, and our nation remains energy dominant for decades to come,” Burgum said in a statement.

INSANE Backyard Full of RARE Muscle Cars!

Repair Mistakes & Blunders

From Rock Auto
"Hey sweetheart my low tire pressure light is on," said my wife recently. I headed to the garage and plugged in the compressor. I grabbed the tire inflator, and while I waited for the compressor to top off, I checked the pressures on all the tires. They all had 35 psi as they should per the sticker on the drivers door post of the 2018 Ford Escape.

I scratched my head, unplugged the compressor, and headed into the house to research possible reasons why. I only got more confused as the low tire pressure light was not flashing which would indicate a system malfunction.

There is no reset button for the system so I tried a few of the suggestions including airing the tires down to 10 psi below the pressure specification, raising the pressure back up to where it should be and then driving for 15 minutes over 50 mph so the sensors had time to recalibrate. Well, as you might have guessed that didn't work. I borrowed my friend's TPMS learning tool and re-educated the sensors while driving the car for a day or two. The light remained illuminated....

On day four, I finally broke out my laptop and connected to the car with diagnostic software to do a deep dive into the TPMS data which is found in the Body Control Module.

Up first was the list of all the low pressure warnings from the numerous times I deflated and inflated plus all the past low pressure warnings. Now not being a whiz with the diagnostic software, it took me a bit to find the actual tire pressures at their current state in kPa (kilopascal). They were all within three kPa of each other. Scratching my head before finally thinking to convert kPa to psi, I discovered all the tires were nine psi low!

Lesson learned? Just because you have a name brand tire inflator doesn't mean it works right. I inflated the tires watching my laptop screen and no more low tire warning light. It took four days to figure out my tire inflator was reading nine psi high!

Steven in Missouri

Enhanced Democratic Trifecta in Richmond Grants Them Control Over Energy Policy

From Thomas Jefferson Institute For Public Policy
The return of the political trifecta Democrats enjoyed during the 2020 and 2021 General Assembly sessions – now bolstered with a 64-36 majority in the House of Delegates – leaves the question of how to deal with Virginia’s energy issues entirely in their hands.

Only if the Democrats suffer a significant division within their own ranks will the Republican legislators cast votes in committee or on the chamber floor that decide any issue. And with 64 votes in the House (meaning Democrats will also have at least two-thirds of committee seats), it would have to be a deep Democratic split for Republicans to matter.

Most of the new Democratic members including those who ousted sitting incumbent Republicans expressed commitment to the Virginia Clean Economy Act (VCEA) and its goal of ending the use of coal, natural gas and oil. Many in Northern Virginia are also eager to slow down the growth of the data center industry, which is driving up electricity demand across the state.

Incoming Governor Abigail Spanberger has been short on details about efforts to limit data center development and remained vague in this long piece put together by the anti-hydrocarbon advocacy outlet Inside Climate News. As was the case with the pro-solar Clean Virginia rallies described in this earlier report, supporters of maintaining the VCEA mandates and target dates used their interviews to build a defensive line against any in their own caucus who might waver.

Inside Climate News didn’t quote anyone from the Republican side or anyone else advocating changes to the VCEA. The state’s dominant electricity supplier Dominion Energy Virginia passed on issuing a long statement but indicated it still maintains that new natural gas plants are needed and soon, despite the VCEA’s roadblocks.

Dominion was busy this year bolstering its own defensive lines, but with money. It spent at least $16 million on campaign donations in this two-year election cycle, most given to Democrats. House Speaker Don Scott and his political action committee received $2.15 million, which quickly went out to various Democratic House races.

The State Corporation Commission will soon decide on Dominion’s pending application to build the first post-VCEA natural gas generation plant, a 944-megawatt plant that will only run to provide power on peak demand, to be constructed in Chesterfield County. The VCEA did grant the SCC authority to approve new natural gas plants if reliability is under threat.

Voters believe that energy prices have risen faster than is justified and are stressing their household budgets. The perception was widespread and captured in polling. Democrats across the Commonwealth made it a major talking point and promised to fix things somehow. Few if any Republicans were pushing back by showing how the Virginia Clean Economy Act itself is contributing to those higher costs, with far more expensive mandates still to come. The VCEA’s impact is easy to track down to the penny.

In fairness, there was a much more robust debate on energy policy in the New Jersey race for governor, with the Republican candidate very focused on challenging the Democrats’ demand for weather-dependent solar and wind power. The offshore wind projects there are far more controversial than Dominion’s. Yet the result on November 4 was the same, a thrashing of that Republican.

New Jersey and Virginia are in the same regional transmission organization, PJM Interconnection. The refusal to add reliable generation in either state weakens the grid in both. A return to energy sanity in either state helps both.

About two weeks before the election, Dominion published and sent to the State Corporation Commission an update on its long-range planning document, called an integrated resource plan. For the first time, it was a 20-year plan and thus included the 2045 deadline for full compliance with the Virginia Clean Economy Act.

Dominion offered planning scenarios based on the massive demand increase created by the data centers. All the options assumed it would build the solar and wind generation demanded by VCEA. But one scenario assumed it could also build additional natural gas plants going forward and keep them all open after 2045 despite the VCEA. Another scenario assumed all those plants would have to close come 2045.

The plan with full VCEA compliance and an end to hydrocarbons was the most expensive, largely because Dominion rejected the claim that solar, wind, and batteries can carry the load. It asserted the only choice to meet demand without hydrocarbons is a massive buildup of nuclear power, more than three times the power of its current fleet of reactors. The plan that retired all the natural gas and coal plants also relied more heavily on batteries than current law requires.

The utility then projected pricing on the options.

When the VCEA passed in 2020, the residential price of 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity was $116.18. As of October 1, that had reached $159.57, a $43.39 or 37 percent increase in five years. The plan that complies with VCEA mandates except the mandate to retire hydrocarbons would add about another $100 in cost for each 1,000 kWh of power by 2035, reaching about $256, a 120% increase over 15 years.

Go with the plan that fully retires the hydrocarbons, replacing them with the more massive nuclear and battery option, and that price would reach just under $290 for 1,000 kWh, a 150% increase in the 15 years since passage of the VCEA. Adding further wrinkles and perhaps more cost uncertainty, Dominion would remain a major energy importer in every option put through the model.

As dramatic as those price increase projections are, the SCC staff has another model it uses and under its pricing model, the plan that retained the hydrocarbons past 2045 could reach $309 per 1,000 kWh by 2035. Using that model, the more expensive scenario that retired the hydrocarbons and built all the nuclear plants instead would reach a cost of $354 per 1,000 kWh by 2035. That triples the $116 cost from just five and a half years ago.

Dominion did not produce a model of how it might meet Virginia’s energy needs if the Virginia Clean Economy Act were just repealed, or what that might cost going forward. Only with a model on that basis can Virginians really see a test of the Democratic claims that the VCEA route is the cheapest route.

Such a model may never be produced by the utility again, as one of the first acts of the new Democrat majority will be to further wed the integrated resource plan to the VCEA’s various mandates and demand accounting for a “social cost of carbon” to make hydrocarbon fuels look more expensive compared to solar.

There is no grass growing under their feet. The bill doing both those things and more was discussed two days after the election in the Commission on Electric Utility Regulation, which is likely to bless it before January. It is a bill that outgoing Governor Glenn Youngkin vetoed, but incoming Governor Spanberger is very likely to sign. It will be the first of many.

Cost of Gas Holds Steady From Last Year Despite Sharp Drop in Oil Price

From: The Epoch Times
But refinery issues in California might have skewed the national average.

Oil prices have fallen sharply this year, but the cost that drivers pay at the pump has remained steady.

The national average price for a gallon of gasoline was $3.08 on Nov. 14, according to the American Automobile Association—unchanged from a year ago.

By comparison, West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures have plummeted 17 percent year to date to below $60 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

If crude oil generally accounts for about 50 percent of the retail gasoline price, then why hasn’t there been a solid decline in this span?

One reason is that California skews the national average.

Motorists in the Golden State pay $4.67 per gallon. That is a $1.59 gap, meaning California prices are 34 percent higher than the country’s average.

Gas prices have been elevated due to refinery maintenance in California, which has reduced production and contributed to the pain at the pump.

“Refinery maintenance in California is part of the reason for the increase: when refineries pause production, gas prices in the area temporarily go up,” the American Automobile Association said in a Nov. 6 report.

California undergoes planned seasonal maintenance in the spring and fall, ahead of peak summer and winter demand.

At the same time, the state has faced a significant challenge in its aging infrastructure, with a 36 percent decline in refining capacity and a 70 percent drop in the number of refineries over the past 40 years.

The situation could deteriorate further, says Edward Ring, director of water and energy policy for the California Policy Center.

The Phillips 66 refinery is planned to shut down next year, leading to total refinery capacity falling to 1.483 million barrels per day, compared to 1.395 million barrels per day of consumption.

Refinery issues, meanwhile, have also been prevalent in the Great Lakes region.

Still, despite these obstacles, almost two dozen states have seen average gas prices fall below $3 per gallon.

Gas Demand, Oil Supply

Another factor has been solid demand for gasoline, with U.S. inventories shrinking for six consecutive weeks. For the week ending Nov. 7, gasoline stocks declined by 945,000 barrels, according to the Energy Information Administration, following a 4.729-million-barrel withdrawal in the previous week.

Supplies are also about 5 percent below the five-year seasonal average.

Conversely, crude oil stockpiles soared by 6.413 million barrels, up from the 5.202-million-barrel build in the previous week.

The Energy Information Administration, in its latest Short-Term Energy Outlook, predicts that growing crude oil production and tumbling prices will contribute to downward pressure on gas.

In the year ahead, crude output is projected to average 13.6 million barrels per day, virtually unchanged from 2025.

Last week, domestic production reached an all-time high of 13.9 million barrels per day.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries—widely known as OPEC—abandoned its deficit forecast and now expects a balanced global energy market.

Officials noted in the latest Monthly Oil Market Report that non-OPEC countries, such as the United States and Brazil, continue to produce substantial amounts of crude, which supports the cartel’s revision.

“OPEC’s crystal ball does not exactly predict (a) world swimming in oil,” Phil Flynn, energy strategist at The PRICE Futures Group, said in a Nov. 13 note.

“OPEC also says that global thirst for crude will be hitting 106.2 million barrels daily, but even that can’t flip the OPEC script to a deficit.”

He said OPEC’s October prediction of a supply deficit has been replaced by a forecast of a perception that supply and demand are in balance.

But energy economist Anas Alhajji says a reversal in Brazil’s output is likely to happen.

“Brazil’s oil production rose to a record high, driving crude exports to a record high in October,” Alhajji said in a Nov. 14 note. “This increase exerts downward pressure on prices, but as seen in September, large surges often lead to sharp declines, supporting prices and boosting volatility.

“As a result of more supply coming to market—at home and abroad—Brent, the global benchmark for oil prices, is anticipated to average approximately $55 per barrel, the Energy Information Administration stated.

“This is an upward revision by $3, driven by updated assumptions about inventory builds in China and sanctions on Russia.”

Gas prices are forecast to fall below $3 per gallon on average next year, a 10 percent decrease from 2024.

Gasoline futures, which reflect wholesale prices, have declined nearly 2 percent this year to below $2 per gallon on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

In other energy markets, U.S. and Brent crude futures climbed about 2 percent.

Natural gas futures plunged 3 percent to around $4.7 per million British thermal units.

Heating oil futures rose 0.6 percent to $2.48 per gallon.

"We Just Won": Trump Gloats After Bill Gates Admits Climate Change Won't End World

From ZeroHedge
In the late 1970s, after 'global cooling' armageddon science fell out of fashion, a well-oiled machine comprised of billionaire-funded NGOs, the MSM, Hollywood, woke Wall Street, and a robust fact-checking / censorship cartel - started pushing a cult narrative about the planet's imminent demise in a hellish inferno of global warming. They've blamed everything from cow farts and Taylor Swift's private jet to two-stroke chainsaws, petrol-powered cars, and whatever else these climate Marxists wanted banned - and forced people into authoritarian bullshit like 'electric stoves only' and '15 minute cities' and 'eat the bugs,' etc.

Now, as data centers are coincidentally projected to need record amounts of electricity, Bill Gates has changed his mind about all of that.

And of course the climate cult was one giant grift - or as one former DOGE worker put it, "a heist on the U.S. Treasury" carried out through propaganda that allowed 'virtuous' climate bills to be passed easily.

To see this machine in action, look no further than the number of news articles which warned of a "climate crisis" going back 10 years:

And yet, despite decades of gospel over melting ice caps and doom, Gates simply shreds it and decides it's ackshually not such a big deal.

To wit, his new forecast is that climate change "won't lead to humanity's demise."

And now, Trump is gloating!

"I (WE!) just won the War on the Climate Change Hoax. Bill Gates has finally admitted that he was completely WRONG on the issue. It took courage to do so, and for that we are all grateful. MAGA!!!" Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Weird that Gates didn't come to this conclusion before Big Tech needed tons of energy, fast, which means fossil fuels.

It's important to understand that there is a war being waged on the minds of the American people. The last five years of fake climate doom headlines were merely a move to enrich Democrat allies, such as climate NGOs, with taxpayer funds.

Keep in mind, anyone who questioned the climate change narrative was silenced. Very authoritarian by Democrats and their billionaire 'Kings' ...

The Nobel Of Nonsense: Why Gore’s Climate Crusade Was Built On Lies

From American Liberty
Al Gore’s celebrated documentary, “An Inconvenient Truth” (2006), was hailed as a watershed moment in environmental awareness. It won two Academy Awards, earned Gore a Nobel Peace Prize, and launched him into a moral pantheon as the conscience of a planet in peril. But beneath its sanctimony lay a problem: much of it was false. Nearly two decades later, the film’s signature claims have collapsed under scrutiny. What remains is not a triumph of science but a masterclass in propaganda. The honors Gore received, from the Nobel Committee to Hollywood’s Academy, were built upon exaggerations, misrepresentations, and outright scientific errors and lies. Those accolades should be returned, not out of spite, but out of respect for truth.

Consider Gore’s most iconic claim: that melting ice sheets would cause sea levels to rise twenty feet “in the near future.” The image of cities drowning under water seared itself into public imagination. Yet scientists at the time already knew that such a rise would take millennia, not decades. A British High Court judge reviewing the film found this scenario “distinctly alarmist,” ruling that the film’s educational use required a disclaimer. Actual sea-level rise since then has been measured in inches, not feet. Even the U.N.’s most extreme projections foresee two to three feet of rise by 2100. Gore’s image of coastal apocalypse was designed to terrify, not to inform.

The same alarmist pattern repeated with his claims about the Pacific atolls supposedly “being inundated” and forcing mass evacuations. The facts say otherwise. No island nation has vanished beneath the waves. On the contrary, studies have shown that most atolls have remained stable or even grown in landmass, as natural sediment deposition and coral growth keep pace with sea-level change. The supposed “first climate refugees” never materialized because the crisis was largely imagined.

Equally speculative was Gore’s warning that global warming might “shut down the ocean conveyor belt,” plunging Europe into a deep freeze. This was pure science fiction. The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, which drives the Gulf Stream, has indeed shown some slowing, but every major climate body, including the IPCC, considers a near-term shutdown “very unlikely.” Europe remains temperate; no new ice age has come. Yet this scenario, presented as plausible, was crucial to the film’s apocalyptic tone.

Gore’s manipulation of paleoclimate data was another sleight of hand. He displayed ice-core graphs showing a tight correlation between CO2 levels and global temperature over hundreds of thousands of years, implying a simple causal chain: more CO2, higher temperature. What he failed to mention is that temperature increases preceded CO2 rises by roughly a thousand years. The warming came first, driven by solar cycles; then CO2 amplified it. This distinction matters because it undercuts the film’s central message, that human-emitted CO2 alone drives climate catastrophe. Gore’s graph was visually compelling but scientifically misleading.

Some of Gore’s examples were simply false. Mount Kilimanjaro’s melting snowcaps, he claimed, were proof of global warming. Yet studies by climatologists Philip Mote and Georg Kaser found no significant warming at the summit; the retreat resulted from local conditions, less snowfall, dry air, and sublimation, not from rising global temperatures. Most of the glacier loss occurred before 1950, long before the modern spike in CO2. Kilimanjaro’s snows were a casualty of regional weather, not planetary warming.

The drying of Lake Chad offered another convenient symbol, which Gore attributed to global warming. But hydrologists have long known that human water use, population growth, and over-irrigation were the main culprits. The British High Court again noted the film’s “alarmism,” citing population pressure and over-grazing as the true causes. Gore transformed a complex ecological and human problem into a simplistic morality tale.

Then came Hurricane Katrina. Gore suggested it was a product of climate change, an emotional manipulation that exploited tragedy. Yet attribution studies at the time and since have found no definitive link between global warming and single hurricanes. In fact, after 2005, the U.S. entered a twelve-year stretch without a single major hurricane landfall. Gore’s implication that such storms were becoming more frequent or more intense was premature at best, deceptive at worst.

His use of polar bears as icons of doom was equally dishonest. The “drowning polar bear” image came from a study that found four bears dead after a storm, not a population collapse. Since the film’s release, polar bear numbers have risen from roughly 22,500 to about 30,000. That increase coincided with Arctic sea-ice fluctuations, suggesting the species is resilient, not vanishing. Gore’s portrayal of dying bears floating on melting ice floes was an act of emotional theater, not empirical reporting.

Even coral reefs, depicted as dying en masse, tell a more complicated story. While heat-induced bleaching events have occurred, subsequent research shows that reefs can and do recover. Some regions, including large portions of the Great Barrier Reef, have recently recorded their highest coral cover in decades. Gore’s film offered no such nuance. It was a sermon, not a study.

When a 2007 British court reviewed nine key inaccuracies in “An Inconvenient Truth,” it ruled that the film contained “errors of fact” and could be shown in schools only with guidance notes correcting its falsehoods. Yet instead of damaging Gore’s reputation, the ruling elevated him further, turning criticism into proof of martyrdom. The irony is stark: the man who preached about the moral costs of misinformation became one of its great practitioners.

The financial rewards were considerable. Gore parlayed his fame into a fortune, investing heavily in green-energy funds that benefited directly from the very panic he helped incite. He became a partner at Generation Investment Management, whose holdings surged as governments subsidized renewable ventures. In effect, Gore monetized fear. He branded himself the planet’s savior while building a private empire on carbon guilt.

Some defenders argue that Gore’s exaggerations were merely rhetorical devices to spur awareness. But this utilitarian defense collapses on ethical grounds. A falsehood told for a good cause is still a falsehood. Democratic societies depend on public trust in evidence. Once leaders begin manipulating facts “for the greater good,” they erode the foundation of honest debate. If Gore believed the ends justified the means, he betrayed the very scientific integrity he claimed to champion.

The damage extends beyond Gore’s personal credibility. His brand of climate alarmism distorted public policy and poisoned discourse. It turned a legitimate discussion about stewardship into a moral panic. Those who questioned his claims were vilified as “deniers,” a term chosen to echo Holocaust denial. That rhetorical move silenced nuance and cast dissenters as villains. The result was a decade of polarization, in which skepticism became heresy and science became ideology.

The broader cultural impact was profound. Hollywood, academia, and media institutions used “An Inconvenient Truth” as moral validation for an entire political agenda. Governments worldwide poured trillions into green subsidies, many of which failed or fueled corruption. Meanwhile, genuine environmental issues, like deforestation, overfishing, and pollution, were overshadowed by speculative climate models that failed to predict real-world outcomes. By elevating Gore as prophet, the establishment mistook narrative for knowledge.

It is time to confront that mistake. Awards like the Nobel Peace Prize, the Prince of Asturias Award, and the Oscars for “An Inconvenient Truth” were not just premature, they were undeserved. They enshrined deception. If these institutions care about credibility, they should reclaim their honors. Doing so would send a message that truth matters more than politics. Gore’s intentions, whatever their sincerity, do not excuse the consequences of misleading billions.

The moral of this story is simple. Science must remain grounded in evidence, not animated by ideology or profit. The world does face environmental challenges, but exaggeration is not enlightenment. Al Gore’s legacy is not the salvation of the planet but the corruption of its discourse. His laurels, won through distortion, belong not on the mantle of heroes but in the museum of propaganda.

Dodge Slipped a Hemi V8 Into the New Charger With One Catch Nobody Saw Coming

From The Patriot Pulse
Dodge fans have been crying for a Hemi V8 in the new Charger since the electric Daytona debuted.

The backlash hit hard when Dodge killed the beloved powerplant.

And Dodge slipped a Hemi V8 into the new Charger with one catch nobody saw coming.

Dodge finally gave muscle car faithful what they've been demanding — a Hemi V8 in the new Charger.

There's just one problem: you can't drive it on the street.

The 2026 Dodge Charger Hustle Stuff Drag Pak by Direct Connection packs a supercharged 354-cubic-inch Gen III Hemi V8 under the hood.

This isn't some watered-down publicity stunt. The engine features forged internals built around a new aluminum block with H-beam connecting rods, Diamond aluminum pistons, and a forged-steel eight-counterweight crankshaft.

A Whipple 3.0-liter twin-screw supercharger sits on top, force-feeding this beast enough air to run sub-eight-second quarter miles.

But here's the catch — this Charger exists solely for NHRA Factory Stock Showdown competition.

Only 50 will be built by Riley Technologies in Mooresville, North Carolina, with a starting price of $234,995.

The Drag Pak represents Dodge's first project under the newly reconstituted Street and Racing Technology (SRT) Performance division.

Dodge even dangled a $26,000 bounty for the first racer to win an NHRA Factory Stock Showdown event in the Hustle Stuff Drag Pak — the highest payout ever offered under the contingency program.

The electric Charger Daytona landed with a thud when it hit dealerships in late 2024.

Muscle car purists rejected the battery-powered replacement for their beloved Hellcats and Demons despite Dodge's marketing push claiming it was the "future of American muscle."

Most Charger and Challenger buyers over the past decade picked V6 models, but the Hellcat variants got all the attention and defined the brand's image.

When Dodge killed the Hemi entirely and went all-in on electrification, longtime fans felt betrayed.

The Daytona's fake "Fratzonic Chambered Exhaust" — speakers hidden in the rear bumper generating synthetic V8 sounds at 126 decibels — became a punchline.

Reviews acknowledged the electric Charger's performance credentials, but reviewers kept circling back to the same truth: it felt like every other EV on the market, just louder.

Dodge tried spinning the narrative that only a "small minority" of hardcores cared about the V8, but those hardcores are the ones who made the Charger and Challenger cultural icons.

The company's attempt to eliminate two cylinders with the upcoming Hurricane straight-six models didn't help either.

Production kept getting delayed, and the four-door versions still haven't hit showrooms as promised.

Meanwhile, reports surfaced in March 2025 that Dodge engineers were actively working to bring Hemi V8s back to the street Charger by late 2026.

Dodge CEO Matt McAlear hinted at the possibility when he told The Drive that "V8s are no longer a bad word around the company" after leadership changes at Stellantis.

The Drag Pak proves Dodge still has Hemi V8 production capability and engineering expertise.

The Hustle Stuff Drag Pak comes loaded with carbon fiber components that cut 100 pounds compared to the previous Challenger Drag Pak.

The hood, doors, front fascia, and rear hatch all use carbon fiber construction.

Despite its size, Dodge managed to keep weight near the NHRA's 3,600-pound minimum requirement for the Factory Stock Showdown class.

Inside, the Drag Pak retains surprisingly civilized touches with carpet on the floor and the stock door cards and dash structure.

An NHRA-approved chromoly roll cage protects the driver down to 7.50-second elapsed times.

The drivetrain sends power through a Coan Racing XLT three-speed automatic transmission to a Mark Williams Enterprises 9-inch rear axle with 4.30:1 gears.

Weld Racing and Mickey Thompson handle the rolling stock, with skinny 17×4.5-inch front wheels for minimal drag and wide 15×11-inch rear slicks.

Four-piston Brembo brakes and a parachute haul the Charger down beyond the finish line.

Buyers can choose from 18 exterior colors beyond the standard White Knuckle, including classic Mopar shades like B5 Blue, Plum Crazy, and Sublime.

Three optional graphics packages include a red-and-blue striped version featuring the Direct Connection logo on the hood.

The Charger makes its competition debut at the NHRA Gatornationals in Gainesville, Florida, scheduled for March 5-8, 2026.

Dodge's track-only Hemi Charger sends a clear message to muscle car fans: the V8 isn't dead yet, even if Washington regulations and corporate bean counters tried killing it.

Whether this leads to street-legal Hemi Chargers remains to be seen, but at least drag racers get to keep the dream alive.

The ad says it needs minor rust repairs

Pepper’s Last Gift

From Reader's Digest via Chicken Soup for the Soul Publishing, LLC © 2013 ~ This is a great story and one I like because I've watched several dogs and cats grow old and cross the rainbow bridge ~ Fred

Whatever life threw at us each year, come Christmas our family had one constant tradition: our dog Pepper opened our presents for us. When our beloved Black Lab mix had been a gangly adolescent puppy, we had only given her unbreakable gifts to unwrap—things like pajamas and steering wheel covers. She proved to be so careful that we soon gave her any gift that wasn’t edible. Every time, Pepper found the seam in the wrapping paper with her snout and held the present down gingerly with her forepaws. Her front teeth pried up the lip of paper with the utmost care. Then she removed every inch of wrapping paper before stepping back to lie in the midst of our gathering. She never bit or scratched the gifts themselves.

Friends and relatives who joined our family celebrations never believed Pepper could be so delicate until they witnessed her talents. Watching our sweet dog unwrap gifts always warmed the holiday, which was often a little bittersweet because college, studying abroad, or work commitments often kept my two sisters and me away.

One year, everyone made it home for a Christmas together. I was back from Ireland, Kaci flew in from Arizona, and Kara visited from college. Mom’s jubilance kept her busy baking cookies for us all. Our Christmas season should have been perfect.

It couldn’t feel perfect, though, because Pepper’s health was deteriorating. Her life had already been longer than we expected—she was fourteen—and yet her mind was still sharp. Her enthusiasm for life made us feel better. But her body could not keep up with her spirit. She’d already shown the usual signs of deafness and stiffness. That year, her hips and back legs started giving out on her. We knew we would soon have to make a difficult decision.

It was likely Pepper’s last Christmas, so we decided to make sure she enjoyed it. On Christmas Eve, we gathered around the tree to open an early present. We each took a turn and then called Pepper to open one more. But her tangled legs could not navigate the boxes and shredded wrapping paper on the floor. She stumbled over the obstacles, and soon she disappeared into the next room. She crumpled back to the floor, as out of the way as she could get.

We were heartbroken. Could Pepper even participate in her last Christmas?

Pepper stayed on the periphery of all our holiday activities. Throughout the day, we gave gifts but did not feel very giving. We shared stories over cinnamon rolls that tasted bland. We played games by the tree whose twinkles had dimmed.

That evening, Kaci said what we’d all been thinking: “I wish Pepper could have helped open presents this year.”

We all put down our mugs of spiced tea. “Maybe she still could,” Kara said.

“But there’s none left,” Mom reminded her.

Kara jumped up and left the room. We heard her opening drawers and cabinets in the kitchen. She returned with a box of dog biscuits, scissors and a roll of tape.

“Hand me that green paper,” Kara told me, pointing at a large sheet at my feet. She cut a small section from the paper and wrapped a single dog treat in it. She held it up as if she had just struck gold. “Now there’s a present for her!”

I knelt on the floor next to Kara and wrapped another dog treat. Kaci and Mom joined in, too. Soon, we had four elegantly wrapped dog biscuits in a row on the floor. We cleared the floor of discarded wrapping paper. We tucked our legs under us as we perched out of the way on the furniture.

“Go get Pepper,” we urged Mom. We all bounced like eager children.

Mom went into the next room. “You want to open a present, girl?” she coaxed. In a moment, Pepper stuck her head into the room. Her ears were fully perked with anticipation and curiosity.

She skidded on stilted legs to the row of presents. She sniffed all four in order, and looked back and forth between them. She’d never had such a wide choice of gifts before.

Soon, Pepper selected her first Christmas gift. She nimbly turned the present with her forepaw, just like she was a spry young dog once more. She tugged every last scrap of paper off the dog treat before she chewed it with her customary grace.

Our family swelled with glee.

Pepper licked the last crumb from the floor. She eyed the remaining three presents, then turned to Mom as if asking, “May I please open another?”

“Go ahead, girl!” Mom encouraged.

For the next few minutes, Pepper opened each of her Christmas presents. While she did, she reminded us of the sheer joy of being together. Our family felt whole—not because we were in the same room, city, or country, but because our love bonded us together.

In the new year, Pepper let us know it was time to call the veterinarian. Her passing, while tearful, was peaceful. In its own way, her passing was also a celebration of life, because she gave my family so much love and laughter.

Long after I forgot each of my presents, I still cherish Pepper’s final Christmas gift. She taught me that no matter where we each spend the holidays, and no matter what the passing year brings, the smallest act of heartfelt giving can unite our family through our love. For me, that knowledge is the longest-lasting gift of all.

Funny and Embarrassing Christmas Stories

From Jontic
1. A Holiday Party Surprise No One Expected
“When I was a little over two years old, I had an unfortunate accident during one of my parents’ Christmas parties.

Right in front of the door, where all the guests’ shoes were neatly lined up, I decided to, well… go number two.

My parents weren’t too thrilled, but they didn’t notice right away. That is, until a drunk party guest loudly exclaimed, “Who the hell pooped on my shoes?!”

Safe to say, it wasn’t my proudest moment.” – Jason Carter

2. The Christmas Party Gift I’ll Never Live Down
“When I was 16, I worked my first job at a restaurant. The staff was always so kind to me, treating me like their little sister.

At my first Christmas party there, we had a Yankee gift swap. I brought my useless 18-year-old boyfriend as my date, which, looking back, was mistake number one.

When it was my turn, I chose a cleverly wrapped gift, only to discover… a box of condoms.

The room went completely silent. Mortified, I quickly traded them for a roll of toilet paper just to make them disappear.

To this day, people still love telling that story to embarrass me!” – Courtney Baker

3. The Scissors Chase I’ll Never Forget
“When I was about 9 years old, I got a better toy than my brother, which apparently didn’t sit well with him. He ended up chasing me with a pair of scissors!

Terrified, I bolted out of the house, screaming, and ran to my aunt’s house about a block away.

My aunt heard me yelling and rushed outside to see what was going on. I told her someone had chased me with scissors, conveniently leaving out the part where it was my brother.

She immediately called the police, and they showed up at our house.

When they arrived, my older brother started crying, then yelling at me for getting the cops involved.

I was around 9 years old, and I still think about that day sometimes. It’s such a wild memory, equal parts hilarious and a little crazy.” – Sarah Reynolds

4. The Table Slide That Ended in Stitches
“Last year at my work friend’s Christmas party, I drank way too much beer.

I didn’t know many people there, so I thought it’d be a good idea to show off by sliding across their long kitchen table on my stomach.

With some help from others pushing me for extra speed, I flew across the table… and straight through the sliding glass door.

I ended up with cuts all over my hands and face from scrambling in the broken glass and had to go to the hospital for stitches.

The party ended right there, and, unsurprisingly, I didn’t get an invite this year.” – Jake Thompson

5. The Soapy Turkey Incident
“One Christmas, my little cousin decided to help clean the turkey.

Without anyone noticing, he filled it with dish soap! When we started eating, his mouth began foaming at the table.

Luckily, I must’ve gotten a part of the turkey that didn’t have soap on it.

Most people saw my cousin’s foaming mouth and lost their appetite before even trying their food! It was chaotic and hilarious all at once.” -Lauren Hayes

6. The Hair-Flaming Holiday Mishap
“I accidentally backed into a candle and set my hair on fire.

Luckily, I put it out quickly, but the whole house smelled like burnt hair for the rest of the day.” – Jessica Lane

7. The Unexpected Dance Partner
“At a family Christmas party, my cousin’s fiancée (who’s female and straight) got pretty drunk and started grinding on my mom.

Let’s just say it was awkward for everyone involved!” – Karen Blake

8. A Series of Unfortunate Christmas Events
“Last week, my husband’s car broke down because the fuel pump went out.

Two days ago, I got sick. And yesterday, my car had to be towed home because the thermostat failed, while my husband was driving it.

Merry Christmas, indeed.” – Lisa Morgan

9. Mismatched Gifts
“One year, my grandma decided not to label anyone’s presents because she was confident she’d just remember who each one was for.

On Christmas morning, my 6-year-old cousin opened a box to reveal some lacey lingerie meant for my aunt, and my aunt unwrapped a cozy pajama set meant for the cousin.

The room went dead silent before my grandma blurted out, “Oh, well, at least they’re both for bedtime!”

That line has become a family classic, and we now double-check all the tags every year.” – Jessica Miller

10. Stranded in 1985, A Winter Adventure I’ll Never Forget
“Back in 1985, things were a bit different, no cell phones, and ATMs were just becoming a thing.

I was driving the six-hour trip to my parents’ house around 2 a.m. when my car’s clutch burned out.

With no other options, I grabbed some supplies, bundled up (it was in the 20s), and walked about 10 miles to the nearest town.

Luckily, the convenience store was open, and an old farmer happened to be there. He kindly drove me to my car, hooked it up with chains, and towed it to the local auto shop. But that’s where the real struggle began.

Since the hotel wouldn’t accept out-of-town checks, I was effectively homeless for the next three days while waiting for my car to be fixed.

I wandered around town, sleeping near a grocery store incinerator when they were burning boxes, or digging a trench and building a fire to warm up the ground before sleeping.

One kind clerk even let me crash in the game room of the convenience store for a night.

After three long days, the part finally arrived, my car was fixed, and I was able to finish my trip. It’s a memory that sticks with me to this day.” – Frank Miller

11. The Turkey with a Plastic Makeover
My mom was getting older at the time, and during one Christmas dinner prep, she accidentally put the turkey in a regular Ziploc bag instead of an oven bag. When the bag melted in the oven, it shrank and created a perfect plastic layer stuck to the turkey skin.

No matter what we tried, we couldn’t get that plastic off! Needless to say, it was one memorable holiday dinner. -Michael Carter

© 1999 - 2025 Car Club Council of Central Virginia, Inc - All Rights Reserved