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8 Comments

  1. April Brown
    April 15, 2015 @ 9:47 am

    I think it’s important for your readers to understand that YOU are collateral damage because you decided to stand with me and Ellis’ targets. Linda rightly understood that your voice and power is far greater than any that I might have. She needed to silence you and she did for a very long time. I do believe she has gotten away with her extortion scheme for far too long an we likely know very little about who she’s intimidated and harmed over the years.

    I also believe that when my book “Poetic Justice” is read and spread, we are going to learn more about who she has pulled these same stunts on. Linda Ellis knew that Betsy McBride would believe her. Why? Is it the notion that women ARE victims because they say so? I did not know that any attorney would be so invested in winning that they would not bother to investigate their own client and thoroughly vet evidence given to them.

    Don’t forget that Betsy had access to the forum before the case was heard in the lower court. You will never convince me she did not read those posts for herself in context. Which means she knew she was involved with altered evidence. Listen to her words carefully on the Supreme Court tapes. She talks about the Forum as if she’s seen it for herself. This means she was a party to the altered evidence.

    One can only imagine how many lives McBride and McCormack and even Judge Jordan have ruined. I think you have uncovered just the tip of the iceberg. I do hope you will consider conducting an investigation on both attorneys. My guess is people will beat a path to your door to tell their own story of being railroaded. You are a very good writer and that is a book I want to read – yesterday.

    BTW, I noticed in Ellis’ slander video about you the “voice” says that “Matthew Chan got the case heard before the Georgia Supreme Court through legal rangling”. You might explain the details as to exactly how your case actually got there.

    • Matthew Valor
      April 15, 2015 @ 11:36 pm

      Honestly, I refuse to become like Linda who DESPERATELY begs to play the victim. There is no question I was inconvenienced and “victimized” by this situation and I am part of the collateral damage. I am happy to say that my team of lawyers and non-lawyers worked with me to reverse the legal travesty from 2013. But I think very few realized how much of a huge ripple effect that drew in so many others. I suspected it might get much larger once I had access to the right ears but I admit I was uncertain. Linda unwittingly put Betsy in the line of fire and now she (like myself) have to deal with the collateral damage effects.

      I have always said that I cannot guarantee I will win every battle I engage but I do promise that whoever wants to do battle with me will know they have been in one. I have studied war, combat, business, and PR strategies to know that I don’t fight alone or unarmed with certain pieces of knowledge. I refer to myself online as a “web strategist” but I don’t restrict my resources to online ones and I am always looking for ways to “game change” any unhappy situation I am in. I am not going to just roll over and let someone mow me over.

      One thing that you are correct about and reminded me that I forgot. Betsy DID have access to the old Linda Ellis/Linda Lyrics/Dash Poem Letter forum as the public did. She could have vetted Linda and her exhibits to the original forum postings that were available to everyone. But she didn’t due to her own carelessness and lack of foresight. Betsy is a smart lawyer. She was probably well-intentioned. But the crucial mistake she made was she went too far in trampling over my First Amendment rights as an individual, blogger, and a website owner. All of these roles are well-protected by federal statutes. I’ve been told that some unnamed local judge(s) in the greater Columbus/Muscogee County circuit dislike federal statutes. They are seen as “inconvenient”. When I heard that, I was in utter disbelief and it worried me. Because I was never given any names, I do not know which judge(s) the person was referring to. Based on the context of that discussion, I am fairly certain it was NOT Judge Frank Jordan the person was referring to.

      If Betsy had responded to me when I emailed and called her two years ago, I could have saved her a lot of headache back then. But she chose to ignore my emails and phone calls following the hearing to further discuss the matter. Betsy left me no choice but to embark on the road I took.

      Regarding further stories, Oscar has stories he wants to tell himself. He has a unique perspective to several stories where it was just he and I on the phone or on Skype. And how he had to figure out as an out-of-state, non-Georgia lawyer a game plan to fight back. Oscar is a legal genius and very open to creative ideas and suggestions. He is secure in himself to not feel threatened or intimidated when others bring up “crazy” our “out-of-the-box” ideas.

      We have begun discussions of when and how we want to share untold stories of Chan v. Ellis. I think there are many people interested in the personal journey and how this all came together. My immediate concern is to deal with the immediate issues at hand. When the immediate issues are dealt with, I can then confer with my supporters and legal team to discuss future plans.

  2. Sunny
    April 15, 2015 @ 12:01 pm

    Congratulations on your legal victory.

    You do not need to apologize for taking steps to protect your reputation.

    • April Brown
      April 15, 2015 @ 6:42 pm

      Sunny. Agreed. But I am glad he is writing about this. It’s so interesting to understand the story and case in context.

    • Matthew Valor
      April 15, 2015 @ 11:45 pm

      Hello Sunny, thanks for the congrats.

      What I find annoying is the time and energy suck in having to protect my reputation. And the foolish person known as Linda Ellis can only further push me to reveal more and more true stories into the light. The are SO MANY stories about so many copyright extortionists (whom are already tremendously hated in their own right) that I have not shared. If she wants to be the catalyst for me telling those untold, true stories then so be it. We can engage in this one big online reality show and see how much mud we can sling. For now, I am not going to be lured into doing something stupid or reckless as she seemed to encouraging.

  3. April Brown
    April 16, 2015 @ 10:12 am

    Speaking of collateral damage. Linda wants people to believe that her targets are horrible lying, cheaten, low down thieves who have profited from sharing that stupid poem. The fact is, I’ve now met phone to phone with scores upon scores of her targets. I know the back stories of why they shared the poem. I also know how they felt when the letter was received. When she targets and organization the chain of reactions and harm is measurable and lasting. First the person who posted is sickened, next the boss of that person is worried, then the Board becomes fearful, then the attorney gets involved, and the insurer and the people the organization serves. Hundreds of people are affected by one letter. I know of one organization that nearly folded because she demanded that organization pay her $7500 per chapter because they shared the poem in a printed newsletter. They have chapters all over the world. Their attorney finally settled with Elis for $2500 flat. So they were happy to pay so little when she originally wanted over a hundred grand. Worse, the poem was used to honor their director and founder while that person was alive and before she passed from cancer. So the founder KNEW the organization was harmed by her death before she died. The situation was horrible. Linda wants people to believe Matthew and I are her only dissenters, but the truth is she has spent nearly 2 decades fostering anger and regrets for having ever read and shared that stupid poem. Can you think of one other author who would spend nearly every waking minute making sure that thousands upon thousands of people will never buy your book? Only if that author is raking in loads more money from extortion rather than book sales.

    • Matthew Valor
      May 1, 2015 @ 8:24 pm

      Linda really doesn’t “get it” and so she wants to vilify everyone who disagrees with her. She will never admit that the financial part is hard to give up. It is easy money when she finds uninformed, shame-based, publicity-shy, or conflict-averse victims. She didn’t like it when I used the phrase “collateral damage”. But ironically enough, she is the one causing it all over the place affecting even the people who work with her!

      • April Brown
        May 1, 2015 @ 8:41 pm

        “She will never admit that the financial part is hard to give up.”

        Extortion Money has always been the inspiration behind The Dash and not “protecting her legacy” as she claims. She can have her legacy but she can’t have that easy money any more. People are no longer stupidly believing the words of her extortion letter. Lately I’ve noticed she’s churning out one sappy poem after another that few people read or buy and have no desire to share.

        She’s selling more stuff with Live Your Dash etched on it – soaps, plaques, jewelry, posters. It seems to be lost on her as well that people expect Linda Ellis to live her brand and she’s proven she either does not want too or is incapable. That can’t be good for the bottom line. The glory days are over for Linda Ellis and The Dash and The Dash Extortion plot.