Mad #246 (Albert Feldstein) - Cold War Issue - April 1984

The Cold War was still raging into the fourth year of the presidency of Ronald Reagan (1911-2004).  Mad reflected the tensions between the U.S. and the Soviet bloc in its articles about nuclear evacuation plans ("C.R.E.E.P. of the Year") by Lou Silverstone and about war scares ("Mad's 'Early Warning' Signs") by Don Edwing.  We also received the full-page "Mad Mischief Poster" on the back cover announcing that "In case of Atomic Attack ... the Federal Ruling Against Praying in This School Will Be Temporarily Suspended!"  Many people give Reagan credit for ending the Cold War but tensions did not begin to ease until Mikhail Gorbachev became General Secretary of the Communist Party of the USSR in 1985.  Gorbachev's set policies of "perestroika" (restructuring) and "glasnost" (openness) that set the stage for the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War in 1991.  Mr. Gorbachev was the ultimate hero in the process. [JAM 2/14/2011]

On the cover, Alfred E. Neuman brought his own roll of wire for the act.

Departments:
Deja Review - Last Summer's Movies: Trading Races; Raunchy Business; Flashdunce
Sleazy Writer - Mad's Do-It-Yourself "National Enquirer" Cover
Reply-in-the-Face - A Mad Guide to Sure-Fire Ad Lib Lines
Don Martin - One Morning on a Corner Downtown; One Afternoon on a Corner Downtown; One Evening on a Corner Downtown
Berg's-Eye View - The Lighter Side
B-S.A.T. - Will You Make a Good Politician? (A Mad Aptitude Test)
Err Apparent - What's Wrong With This Picture (of a Fast-Food Restaurant)?
Sergio Aragones - A Mad Look at Photo Booths
Curriculumps - Other Crises in Our Public Schools
Joke And Dagger - Spy vs. Spy
Nah-Nuke, Nah-Nuke! - Mad's "C.R.E.E.P." of the Year (Crisis Relocation Emergency Evacuation Planner)
Fission Tips - Mad's Early Warning Signs (Or ... "You'll Know Sumptin's Up When ...")
Here's Looking Atchoo - A Mad Look at Cold Sufferers
Magnum Cum Lousy - Matt Houstink

Fold-In - Gas-Guzzling Car