BILLY GRAHAM: A BIOGRAPHY - ON THE NIXON VISIT

THIS IS THE SECTION OF THE BILLY GRAHAM BIOGRAPHY INVOLVING THE NIXON VISIT TO THE KNOXVILLE CRUSADE AND THE PROTESTS.

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To the president, the University of Tennessee seemed a relatively safe place to break out of his relative isolation at the White House. This , after all was not a campus known for its political progressivism or notable for its anger at the war in Vietnam. It is true that following the news of Kent State a large contingent of students, along with a number of professors, had boycotted classes and that some 1,500 protesters had marched to the campus field house that housed the ROTC offices It si also true that student had lowered the flag to half staff in honor of the student slain at Kent State.
Nevertheless there had been no extensive violence. Nixon felt generally comfortable in the South, where his popularity remained relatively stable and where his wartime policies were supported in greater numbers than in any other part of the country
For the 5I-year-old Billy Graham. lean and youthful-looking with side-burns and over-the-collar hair, the Knoxville crusade was another chance to echo the themes he had pursued in other recent meetings — that the youth of America, hungering for identity and sense of family, could rally around a revolution for Christ.
The first days of the crusade in Knoxville featured music legends Johnny Cash, Cart Perkins, and the Carter Family. Although a few pro-testers mingled outside the stadium handing OUT antiwar leaflets, those who attended the crusade were treated to what they had come to hear — a rousing evangelical show, capped by the inimitable Billy Graham Sermon.
On May 27, It all changed. The announcement of President Nixon’s VISIT a day before the event was a last minute surprise, even to Graham. The president decided the crusade would be a perfect way for him to connect to the people at a time of devastating national tension. He would become the first sitting President ever to speak at a Billy Graham Crusade. Excited but apprehensive about the President’s appearance, Graham said to a reporter, There will not be anything political— I hope 0 in this visit. :
The announcement that the President would make the University of Tennessee his coming-out event enraged antiwar protesters on campus. And they reacted quickly. Aided by several university professors, student protesters decided to carry signs printed "Thou Shalt Not Kill" and "Peace Now* Knowing that the national media would hone in on the event, the planners decided not to heckle or chant. Fearing that such a demonstration would alienate many from their cause. After all, the crusade was supposed to be a religious event. They decided to join in the throng when Graham called for converts but they would bow their heads and make the two fingered peace sign gesture. It was to be a silent, nonviolent protest.
Susan Nixon, editor of the student newspaper The Daily Beacon, wrote an editorial that began. “Billy Graham’s one-man circus has everthing except an elephant. And now he has one of those.";
The student newspaper announced the planned demonstration and a printed a telegram sent to President Nlxon by organizers that declared. "We are angered by your announced presence on this campus and we are

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outraged that you would capitalize on a religious function, particularly in the South.
May 18, 1970, was unlike any day ever seen at the University of Tennessee. The contrasts were striking, This was a religious gathering Yet, on the stage at the 20-yard line were President Nixon and his wife Pat, Billy Graham, Senator Howard Baker, Congressman John Duncan and Knoxville Mayor Leonard Rogers Among them, only the Reverend and the First Lady held no elected political office.
In the stands were Presidential advisor HR Haldeman, Presidential friend Bebe Rebozo Presidential secretary Rosemary Woods, Secretary of Commerce Maurice Stands, and the Presidents chief foreign policy advisor Henry Kissinger. In the crowd were dozens of protesters, many wearing garments fit for a depiction of Galilee in the time of Christ. Indeed one of the protesters, with a long beard and hair and wearing a white robe with sandals looked as if he were ready to play the lead part. On the field mixing in with the demonstrators were dozens of Knoxville police and members of the secret service from Washington protecting the chief executive from the motley group. Their signs reading THOU SHALT NOT KILL had been confiscated before they had entered the stadium.
As Graham began his introduction of the President, demonstrators chanted "Politics! Politics!"1 When Nixon rose to speak a number of demonstrators began chanting antiwar slogans, only to be drowned out by a roar of pro Nixon boos. When the President began he said that being in the football stadium reminded him of his four years on the bench at Whittier College. Quickly the address began to sound as if the President were running for office Only a few remarks about spirituality invaded his string of political references., His remarks were not as forthright a witness for Christ as I had wished for, Graham later recalled, “but I rationalized that he was extremely tired from carrying many burdens”
Before the actual religious service began, most of the protesters began to file out singing the John Lennon song GIVE PEACE A CHANCE. Some stayed throughout the service and, adhering to the original plan, stood with bowed heads and flashing Peace signs. Photographers milled around the crowd taking pictures of the demonstrators. Police arrested nine and charged the with the crime of disrupting a religious service. A state law that none of the arrested even knew existed.
The following week police made the rounds of the University of Tennessee campus arresting those students and professors whose faces showed up in the photographs. Eventually most of the charges were dismissed when judges agreed with the defendants that Nixon’s speech was not a religious one.
In reporting the University of Tennessee debacle much of the national press was kind neither to President Nixon nor to Graham, asserting that the event mixed politics and religion in dangerous ways. Journalist and author GARRY WILLS, for example, wrote a piece for ESQUIRE MAGAZINE entitled “HOW NIXON USED THE MEDIA, BILLY GRAHAM, AND THE GOOD LORD TO RAP TO THE STUDENTS AT TENNESSEE U”

Talking Ann Coulter Wet Doll Top Seller Over Holiday Weekend; Controversial Doll Causes Uproar

IRVINE, Calif., Dec. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Political junkies shaking presents under the Christmas tree this year beware! According to this weekend's sales figures at Talking Presidents, conservative political analyst Ann Coulter may be talking under the wrapping paper. The Ann Coulter Action Figure was the most popular seller at Talking Presidents over the holiday weekend, outselling Presidents Bush (father & son), President Clinton, and Donald Rumsfeld.
Fans and foes of conservative political analyst Ann Coulter have made the action figure an underground phenomenon by talking about the doll on the Internet. Many love the doll and many more hate it. "Just type Ann Coulter doll into any search engine and you'll see how much the liberals hate this doll," said John Warnock, co-owner of Talking Presidents.

1)"In the past twenty years, one-hundred percent of terrorist attacks against this country have been by Muslim extremists"
2)"There is a one-hundred percent chance that the next terrorist attack will be made by a Muslim extremist, it's no longer a profile, it's a description of the suspect."
3)"Timothy McVeigh, The Unibomber, and Eric Rudolph were muslim extremists"
4)"We should invade Muslim countries, kill their leaders, and convert them to Christianity"
5)"Joseph McCarthy was the greatest Senator in US History"
6)"Anybody who doesn't agree with me is a traitor"
7)"Paula Jones is poor white trailor trash"
8)"Whether they are defending the Soviet Union or bleating for Saddam Hussein, liberals are always against America. They are either traitors or idiots."
9)"Liberals demand that the nation treat enemies like friends and friends like enemies."
10)"..no one is allowed to call liberals unpatriotic. Liberals relentlessly attack their own country, but we can’t call them traitors, which they manifestly are.."
11) "My only regret with Timothy McVeigh is he did not go to the New York Times Building."
12)"The good part of being a Democrat is that you can commit crimes, sell out your base, bomb foreigners, and rape women, and the Democratic faithful will still think you're the greatest."

Within a week of the doll's release, TalkingPresidents.com made the Democratic Underground's top 10 list of Conservative Idiots. "It was great to make the same list as George W. Bush, Donald Rumsfeld and Arnold
Schwarzenegger," said Warnock, who was far from offended by the insult. "We are proud to have her doll in our product line. Some people may not like it, but plenty of people do."
Sales of the controversial doll have exceeded the company's expectations. The Ann Coulter action figure is Talking Presidents' biggest seller this season, with the Top Gun George W. Bush, dressed in a flight suit, and the Talking George W. Bush action figure taking second and third.

Ann Coulter beats out Vancouver for the 2010 Winter Olympics

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FINALLY A real use for Ice Queen Annthrax

2003/9/4 22:11:44 NewsHax wire -- Beating out a strong challenge from Vancouver and Stockholm, Ann Coulter put on a masterful presentation and was chosen as the host for the upcoming 2010 Winter Olympics. Citing the consistently cold climate surrounding her, daily snows and perfect ski-jump nose, Ann was immediately hailed by IOC members as a nearly perfect site to host the games.

This will be the first winter games held on someones face, as most of the previous games have taken place in small resort towns. (2002 Salt Lake City, USA - 1998 Nagano, JPN - 1994 Lillehammer, NOR - 1992 Albertville, FRA) (more...)

Ann Coulter has a mean winter temperature of -18C, perfect for ice formation and very conducive to powder, which can be found in copius amounts on Ann's cheekbones, the site of the slalom races and snowboard competitions. Ann is familiar with television and will have no problems adapting to the rigorous demands of being on camera for extended periods of time, say officials. She is also surrounded by ravenous fans who can add the spice of drama and scandal to any event- a perfect way to reach a newly frenzied and easily led generation which is guaranteed to record immense profits, says Olympics media advisor Rupert Murdoch.

This will also be the first game held at sea level on a fan-friendly warm beach, due to Ann's ability to maintain her frigid temperatures at any time, even with the growing heat surrounding her.

The other major difference with the Ann Coulter games is that the opening and closing ceremonies are scheduled to take place indoors at Ann's inaugural signing of her next book, "To Kill A Democrat: A Patriots Primer", This will mark the first time that the opening and closing ceremonies are held indoors at a Barnes & Noble store.