Georgia woman wages single-handed fight for open government

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press


Kate Brumback, Associated Press Updated 4:01 pm, Friday, February 24, 2017





ATLANTA (AP) — When Nydia Tisdale turned her camera on a north Georgia city council meeting, the mayor ordered her to stop recording and had a police officer forcibly remove her and the camera.

Two years later, as she filmed a Republican midterm election campaign rally, a sheriff's captain led her away shouting, her arm pinned behind her back, as candidates and spectators looked on.

Armed with a video camera and a thorough knowledge of her legal rights, the 53-year-old self-described citizen journalist has made it her mission to promote transparency in local government.

Tisdale goes to city council meetings, county commission meetings and events where politicians are speaking. She uploads the videos, or "nydeos," to her website. She doesn't interview people or provide commentary, preferring to simply document.

Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/crime/article/Armed-with-camera-Georgia-woman-fights-for-open-10956738.php

[benld74]

1. Very brave woman, armed with the law, the truth and a camera

[BumRushDaShow]

2. At least here in a big city like Philly

the City Council meetings (held on Thursdays) are broadcast on a local cable channel set aside for them.

[Hortensis]

3. Thanks, Judi Lynn. I just "followed" her.

[Judi Lynn]

5. Good idea, Hortensis. She has real spirit. n/t

[IronLionZion]

4. Like a boss!

This is a great idea! One has to ask why the local government doesn't want it recorded. And keep asking until you get an answer. This is awesome.

[Glitterati]

6. ummmm NO

I am from the hometown where this woman started her "career."

She's nothing more than Bev Harris with a camera, a grifter.

Everything she does is based only on how much money she can grift from state/county/federal governments.

Do NOT support this woman.

THIS man is her mentor. (In the story it says he "retired" from his blog.........he turned it over to this woman):

The judgment is Milum’s fourth related to blog posts.

A 2006 Forsyth County Superior Court ruling ordered Milum to pay $50,000 to local attorney Rafe Banks III.

A jury found Milum had libeled Banks on his Web site in 2004 by accusing the lawyer of delivering bribes for drug dealers to judges.

According to the Media Law Center, Milum was the first blogger in the country to lose a libel suit, a case that received national attention.

In October 2007, a Superior Court jury ruled against Milum for malice and ordered him to pay former Forsyth County employee Joseph Gooden $100,000 in damages and $50,000 for attorney’s fees.

The lawsuit was filed against Milum in 2005 for alleging on a Web site that Gooden accepted bribes and extorted money from county vendors.

In 2012, he was ordered to pay $25,000 in punitive damages to Matt Murphy, a former Forsyth County planning commissioner in what was also a default judgment.

Milum “said or implied that plaintiff Murphy engaged in public drunkenness” and participated in obscene behavior in a truck outside Milum’s home, according to the complaint.

http://www.forsythnews.com/archives/18062/

[mr_lebowski]

7. Ouch ... she sounds like her mentor was the Westboro Baptist Church ...

SAD!

Oh well, I'm okay sticking w/Obama, Carter, Big Dog, Gore, Bernie & Elizabeth as my 'heroes' (along with with many others of course ... Dalai Lama, Mandela, Ghandi, Michael Stipe, Bono, Prince, etc) ...

[Glitterati]

8. About as bad

The guy is a serious wackadoodle.

While this woman is a little smarter than he is, she's nothing but a right wing grifter.

She is NOT on our side - she has no "side" except the side of her pocketbook she plans to drop some more taxpayer dollars into as she sues every county/city/state in her sights.

[mpcamb]

9. Just wondering, 'cause videoing events doesn't seem evil, do you have a relationship with anyone in

this story?
Murphy,
local attorney Rafe Banks III.
Milum
former Forsyth County employee Joseph Gooden
Nydia Tisdale
?

[Glitterati]

10. No, none

not that it's any of your business, but just a taxpayer tired of paying this grifter and seeing my taxes go up because of it.

[NutmegYankee]

14. Maybe your government should stop violating people's constitutional rights.

And then taxes wouldn't go up.

[Glitterati]

17. Westboro Baptist Church must love you

same kind of person here.

She walks in and provokes looking for a payday.

[NutmegYankee]

18. Westboro would rip their eyes out upon seeing my ACLU card.

You didn't counter my point that heavy handed actions by local governments are what raised your taxes.

[Glitterati]

19. I did below.

You just choose to ignore it.

Moving on.......

[Glitterati]

11. Making my answer to your PM public

She lives in the county south of me (Tom Price's district, BTW) yet does all her filming in my county. Why? Because it's considered one of the richest counties in the country.

Her most recent episode has her actually facing criminal charges for her behavior.

She went to a local pumpkin farm where a Republican campaign event was going on - from the Governor to local yokels running for dog catcher. Basically, all the Republican big wigs running for statewide re-election.

So, the owners of Burt's Pumpkin Farm (the local venue) asked her to stop filming. She ignored him.

Then, his private security officer approached her and asked her to stop filming and she ignored him, too.

Turns out the security officer is a local off duty cop. So he proceeded to forcibly remove her from the property after repeated requests that she leave private property were ignored.

She punched him, kicked him, screamed and screeched and then claimed he sexually assaulted her.

She's been charged with assaulting a police officer.

It's all about who has the most money, how much of a scene she can make, and if she can provoke someone into being her next lawsuit victim.

[mpcamb]

12. Thanks. Enlightening. Good follow up.

[Glitterati]

13. The reason she was asked to leave was.......

just a few weeks prior, she had filmed the local Republican debate for County Commissioner (all Republicans running) and selectively edited the footage to make her preferred candidate look better.

The Republican party was thoroughly pissed off over it and asked her to leave the function.

Shortly before that she had caused another scene at the Republican Women's luncheon at a local restaurant and sued them too.

[mpcamb]

15. Ah, lawyers.

They gotta make a living somehow...

[Glitterati]

16. She hasn't paid an attorney a dime

She uses the AG of the state to make her claims and then forces a settlement.

Her first court appearance is going to be on the criminal charges and she is being represented by a DEM activist attorney pro bono.

BTW all these meetings she films are available to the public within 24 hours on the county website, provided by the County/City. Anyone who chooses can watch every excruciatingly boring minute of public meetings. They have been available to the public for years.