Insiders began to roll off the press in books and articles, some being sold in the millions. Audio tapes and videos were produced and distributed across the country. Bookstores were opened and a national speakers bureau was established. From the standpoint of the Insiders, something had to be done. Since the Insiders could not refute the truth being told about them, they launched the most massive smear campaign that had ever been experienced by any private group in the United States. The CFR-controlled news media spearheaded the attack, spreading misinformation, and outright lies about the JBS on a daily basis. The attacks slowed down but never stopped the Society. Years later at the 35th anniversary celebration of the JBS in Indianapolis, Indiana, long time staff member Thomas Hill gave this account of the efforts to destroy the JBS: Thirty-five years ago in this city called Indianapolis, eleven men gathered to hear what another man was prepared to tell them. Thirty-two years ago, most of the National and International Press, political leaders in the federal government as well as political leaders in many state governments, liberal and pro-communist pundits from one coast to another, and a host of hacks and assorted opportunists of every conceivable description, assured their readers, and all who would listen, that this scourge of the country, this semi-secret, fanatical and undemocratic monstrosity known as The John Birch Society, would soon be relegated into obscurity. In 1968, some seven years later, The John Birch Society celebrated the 10th anniversary of its founding. 168 The Secret Side of History