Public hysteria whipped up by the chattering class

Remember the "outta gas" scare of the 1970s? We're running out of oil, the world is almost a dry hole. It's curtains!

---

Our illustrious president Jimmy Carter was singing that tune during his brief (but not brief enough) tenure in the White House. I believe his prediction of the last drops of fuel was ten years. No one talks about that today, the thought of rusting motorcars littering the roadways with empty gasoline tanks, public hysteria whipped up by the chattering class, both politicians and media. Maybe we're finally about to run out, forty years or so late, even though we are now told there is plenty of available gas, especially in North Dakota. Also, I recall cover stories in such "reputable" (?) magazines as Time and News "Weak" warning us of the coming Ice Age in the early 1970s; freezing temperatures in July, millions searching for a little warmth in summer. Climate experts were warning us of impending climate doom and they didn't mean warming. Maybe that's coming soon. I think I'll stock up on firewood with August coming up. Have you ever been in South Georgia or Houston in the summertime? If the experts say it, it must be true. What's next in America's continuous freak show? No problem with gas shortages today. Our president has the answer: Inflate your tires. And does anyone still subscribe to those newsrag mags I mentioned? Marshall Miller Lilburn, Georgia

---