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Touchstone was a professional researcher and writer and owned and for a time and operated the largest retail book store in Shreveport. He was an avid reader and was known for his extensive vocabulary and for remembering and quoting large portions of published books and poetry. For eight years, he published in his print shop in Bossier City numerous weekly newspapers in Louisiana and [[Texas]], including the former ''Bossier Press'' and the ''Waskom Gazette'' in Waskom, in Harrison County in east Texas.<ref name=obit/>

Touchstone was a professional researcher and writer and owned and for a time and operated the largest retail book store in Shreveport. He was an avid reader and was known for his extensive vocabulary and for remembering and quoting large portions of published books and poetry. For eight years, he published in his print shop in Bossier City numerous weekly newspapers in Louisiana and [[Texas]], including the former ''Bossier Press'' and the ''Waskom Gazette'' in Waskom, in Harrison County in east Texas.<ref name=obit/>

Before owning and operating his newspapers, he worked during the 1950s on Capitol Hill as an administrative assistant for five years for [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] [[U.S. Representative]] Thomas Overton Brooks (1897-1961) of Louisiana's 4th congressional district. Touchstone researched and authored the bill to construct the Veteran's Hospital in Shreveport, which is named for Representative Brooks. As a legislative aide, Touchstone claimed to have encountered several [[Puerto Rico|Puerto Rican]] nationalists who were running down the steps of the Capitol. This small group of armed radicals had assaulted several congressmen and wounded two in the arm.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/28/insider/1954-in-harms-way-on-capitol-hill.html|title=Five Congressmen Shot in House by 3 Puerto Rican Nationalists; Bullets Spray from Gallery|publisher=''[[The New York Times]]''|date=March 2, 1954| accessdate=August 24, 2019}}</ref>

Before owning and operating his newspapers, he worked during the 1950s on Capitol Hill as an administrative assistant for five years for [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] [[U.S. Representative]] Thomas Overton Brooks (1897-1961) of Louisiana's 4th congressional district. Touchstone researched and authored the bill to construct the Veteran's Hospital in Shreveport, which is named for Representative Brooks. As a legislative aide, Touchstone claimed to have encountered several [[Puerto Rico|Puerto Rican]] nationalists who were running down the steps of the Capitol. This small group of armed radicals had assaulted several congressmen and wounded two in the arm.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/28/insider/1954-in-harms-way-on-capitol-hill.html|title=Five Congressmen Shot in House by 3 Puerto Rican Nationalists; Bullets Spray from Gallery|publisher=''[[The New York Times]]''|date=March 2, 1954| accessdate=August 24, 2019}}</ref>

Another legislative aide on Brooks' staff was [[Billy McCormack]], later the pastor of the University Worship Center in Shreveport and a founding director and vice president of the [[Christian Coalition]].<ref name=mccormack>[[Billy McCormack]] Mission Group.com, June 10, 2012; no longer on-line.</ref>​

Another legislative aide on Brooks' staff was [[Billy McCormack]], later the pastor of the University Worship Center in Shreveport and a founding director and vice president of the [[Christian Coalition]].<ref name=mccormack>[[Billy McCormack]] Mission Group.com, June 10, 2012; no longer on-line.</ref>​

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==Publishing ''The Councilor''==

==Publishing ''The Councilor''==

In 1962, Touchstone became the editor of ''The Councilor," the official publication of the White Citizens' Council, of which his mailing list included a worldwide readership of more than 106,000 but a paid circulation of 18,000. The Citizens Council was formed in the middle 1950s to oppose the [[civil rights movement]] in the South. Led in Louisiana by [[William Rainach]], the council was composed of avowed [[Segregation|segregationists]] who sought to exert financial pressures on civil rights supporters. The greater part of the members were medium to lower-income whites who were staunch supporters of what was commonly called "the southern way of life."  The Citizens' Council grew in numbers until the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]] was signed into law by [[President of the United States|U.S. President]] [[Lyndon B. Johnson]], a frequent target of Touchstone's editorials, along with Johnson's intra-party rival, [[United States Attorney General]] [[Robert F. Kennedy]], subsequently a U.S. senator from [[New York]] for fewer than four years.<ref name=thecouncilor>{{cite web|url=http://faculty.ferris.edu/ISAR/Institut/cca/touchstone_cca.htm|title=Ned Touchstone: The Citizens Councils and The Councilor|publisher=Institute for the Study of Academic Racism|date=1983|accessdate=March 25, 2017}}</ref>​ In December 1963, a confidential informant (NO 1223-R) identified Touchstone as a member of the Original Knights of the [[Ku Klux Klan]]. The informant further revealed that the KKK had "documented proof" that President Johnson early in his political career joined the KKK, much as his friend [[Robert Byrd]] did in [[West Virginia]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://madworldnews.com/trump-democratic-president-kkk/|title=Trump Reveals Which Democratic President Was Also KKK Member, Liberals in Meltdown Mode|date=October 30, 2017|publisher=Madworldnews.com|accessdate=August 25, 2019}}</ref>

In 1962, Touchstone became the editor of ''The Councilor," the official publication of the White Citizens' Council, of which his mailing list included a worldwide readership of more than 106,000 but a paid circulation of 18,000. The Citizens Council was formed in the middle 1950s to oppose the [[civil rights movement]] in the South. Led in Louisiana by [[William Rainach]], the council was composed of avowed [[Segregation|segregationists]] who sought to exert financial pressures on civil rights supporters. The greater part of the members were medium to lower-income whites who were staunch supporters of what was commonly called "the southern way of life."  The Citizens' Council grew in numbers until the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]] was signed into law by [[President of the United States|U.S. President]] [[Lyndon B. Johnson]], a frequent target of Touchstone's editorials, along with Johnson's intra-party rival, [[United States Attorney General]] [[Robert F. Kennedy]], subsequently a U.S. senator from [[New York]] for fewer than four years.<ref name=thecouncilor>{{cite web|url=http://faculty.ferris.edu/ISAR/Institut/cca/touchstone_cca.htm|title=Ned Touchstone: The Citizens Councils and The Councilor|publisher=Institute for the Study of Academic Racism|date=1983|accessdate=March 25, 2017}}</ref>​ In December 1963, a confidential informant (NO 1223-R) identified Touchstone as a member of the Original Knights of the [[Ku Klux Klan]]. The informant further revealed that the KKK had "documented proof" that President Johnson early in his political career joined the KKK, much as his friend [[Robert Byrd]] did in [[West Virginia]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://madworldnews.com/trump-democratic-president-kkk/|title=Trump Reveals Which Democratic President Was Also KKK Member, Liberals in Meltdown Mode|date=October 30, 2017|publisher=Madworldnews.com|accessdate=August 25, 2019}}</ref>