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Joel Arends on Bosworth: She’s Not Crazy!

There goes the insanity defense....

Lawyer Joel Arends, the Sisyphus trapped on the mountain of fake U.S. Senate candidate Annette Bosworth's woes, just rolled a boulder at David Lias. The Vermillion Plain Talk editor published a punishing non-endorsement Saturday, urging South Dakota Republicans not to waste their votes on the erratic, possibly mentally ill Bosworth.

Of all the things he could have been doing this primary election afternoon, Bosworth's attorney Arends called Lias in what looks like a pretty transparent call for a retraction. Lias summarizes his conversation in an update to the editorial:

On Tuesday afternoon, June 3, the Plain Talk was contacted by Joel Arends, Annette Bosworth’s attorney. According to Arends, Bosworth has never been diagnosed with a mental illness. The Plain Talk notes that KELO-TV reported on Nov. 28, 2012, that Bosworth’s June 2012 reprimand by the South Dakota Board of Medical Examiners included an agreement “to seek treatment for a mental illness in order to continue her practice.” Tuesday’s phone conversation with Arends also touched on claims that have been made by Assistant Attorney General Bill Golden, who serves as a lawyer for the state medical board staff.

“Assistant Attorney General Bill Golden has asserted that she has been diagnosed with a mental health disease or defect,” Arends said. “He is wrong, but I am informing you today that she has not been diagnosed with a mental health disease or defect.”

Arends refused to provide any documentation that shows earlier news reports about Bosworth have been incorrect.

“Her attorney in fact is telling you that what you wrote in your article is incorrect. Documents from the hearing are protected information that she has never released,” Arends said during Tuesday’s phone call. “None of the records have been open to the public, and Dr. Bosworth won’t allow that to happen.”

The editor’s opinions and conclusions shared in this opinion piece remain unchanged [David Lias, Editor's Note to "Consider This Political Non-Endorsement," Vermillion Plain Talk, updated 2014.06.03].

Illness, disease, defect—anyone who has watched the Bosworth campaign can recognize that Bosworth is a few noodles short of a casserole.

Arends ignores the fact the the media reported Bosworth's mental illness as fact in 2012. Arends ignores the fact that the assertion of a diagnosis of mental illness comes not simply from Assistant Attorney General Bill Golden but from the South Dakota Board of Medical and Osteopathic Examiners, which cited the Kansas Professional Renewal Center's diagnosis in its May 7, 2012, petition for suspension or revocation of Bosworth's medical license. Arends ignores this exchange between Mr. Golden and Dr. Robert Ronald Perkinson, clinical director of Keystone Treatment Center, a licensed psychologist whom Bosworth enlisted to provide the treatment prescribed by the SDBMOE:

Golden: So let's talk about her Medical Board file. At the moment what do you know about it?

Perkinson: I have read the Board file, at least all of the files that have been sent to me, I read those on many occasions.

Golden: When you say file, I have no idea what was sent to you. Could you please describe them?

Perkinson: Well, I have them all here.

Golden: Okay. Do they include the PRC report, Professional Renewal Center?

Perkinson: Yes, sir.

Golden: And so you are aware of Dr. Bosworth's diagnosis?

Perkinson: Yes, sir.

Golden: And you started to treat on September 3rd with Dr. Bosworth according to Exhibit Number 15 which is currently on the screen?

Perkinson: You mean these files?

Golden: Yes. So you are familiar with them?

Perkinson: Yes, sir.

Golden: So you are aware of Dr. Bosworth's current diagnosis of a personality disorder, not otherwise specified, with narcissistic and histrionic personality traits?

Perkinson: Yes.

[hearing transcript, South Dakota Board of Medical and Osteopathic Examiners, Sioux Falls, SD, 2012.11.09]

Arends brought Perkinson as a witness. Arends was in the hearing room during Golden's cross-examination. Arends offered no objection to Perkinson's confirmation that Bosworth has a diagnosis of personality disorder with narcissistic and histrionic personality traits. Perkinson confirmed this statement in a hearing that was open to the public thanks to Bosworth's waiver of confidentiality, made explicit by Arends at the beginning of the hearing.

In short, everything Arends said to Lias was wrong. Arends is simply recycling the strategy he used after Jonathan Ellis's February exposé of Bosworth's shady finances, throwing patently false accusations to smear former employees and distract from Bosworth's sins. Lias is right not to change the opinions or conclusions stated in his editorial.

43 Comments

  1. Rocky Racoon 2014.06.03

    Someone just stick a fork in her already.

  2. Dave Baumeister 2014.06.03

    I am crying right now. I miss my newspaper so much. Moments like this are what we editors live for. I would have made Arends so sorry he ever called me, and then I would have run another editorial on the power of editorials to call out the worst of the politicians and used only the fodder he had given me to make Arends look like a sniveling fool. GOOD WORK, DAVE! It is a editor's responsibility to the public to do do exactly what you did. I can't say it enough: your are Da Man!

  3. Caitlin Collier 2014.06.03

    LOL! I am sorry but it was the "a few noodles short of a casserole" that got me. So South Dakotan. Dave Lias is a great editor and he actually cares about his community and his State. He is thoughtful and exercises a great deal of discretion considering the crazy things he sees and hears. With the returns looking like 6 % or less for Dr. B, maybe she will just go away and take her minions with her.

  4. Jackilope 2014.06.03

    Bosworth isn't going gentle into this night. No, her Facebook page indicates she's started a PAC.

    Little old ladies and gullible folks are writing checks and giving away money to the grafting duo.

  5. SDBlue 2014.06.03

    It appears Dr. Boz has already figured out how to keep fleecing people out of money even with today's primary loss. A post on her Facebook page states she has started her own PAC. (Hey Jackley! It's over. Will you prosecute her now?)

  6. Lynn 2014.06.03

    Her Fox interview tonight was very brief and another trainwreck. Megyn Kelly cut her off.

  7. Roger Cornelius 2014.06.03

    Is criminal insanity a defense?

  8. WestRiver 2014.06.03

    So thankful for Megyn Kelly tonight! Thank you for cutting her off! Wish the rest of the media would do so! So, I didn't get to catch the Fox show, did anyone tape it, have a link?

  9. caheidelberger Post author | 2014.06.03

    Get me a link to that interview! Transcript?

  10. caheidelberger Post author | 2014.06.03

    Lynn -- ha! Did Ryan Gaddy really think Fox News would want to talk to his crew about their art? Who did they think they were talking to, a real news organization? Fox viewers want to see Megyn Kelly and attractive female conservatives. Putting Ryan and friend on screen lowers ratings 25%.

  11. Nick Nemec 2014.06.03

    Immediately after the interview Megyn Kelly chewed out her producer for not properly vetting the crazies. When you play with fire sometimes you get burned.

  12. Doctor Not Bricklayer 2014.06.03

    Wow! She made Megyn Kelly look like Edward R. Murrow!

  13. Roger Cornelius 2014.06.03

    FOX "News" didn't want to South Dakota pot heads? Go figure.

  14. Doctor Not Bricklayer 2014.06.03

    Amazing video, actually. In her self centered world she actually seemed genuinely surprised and mortified that she lost. The moment the narciccist came face to face with her failure, captured live on video!

  15. grainofsalt 2014.06.03

    Joel Arends doesn't have all his ducks in a row, you know. This was the guy who thought it took "wild leaps of reasoning" to think that Annette Bosworth COULDN'T be in both the Phillipines and in South Dakota simultaneously. I mean seriously, why can't someone be in two places at once. Joel believes it. Why can't you get with the program, Cory?

  16. WestRiver 2014.06.03

    Hey now Fox isn't real news? I thought tonight with how Ms Kelly treated Boz she proved herself to be great!

  17. Rorschach 2014.06.04

    Doctor not a bricklayer is right. She did seem shocked that she lost. It threw her entirely off her talking points and she babbled like an idiot for about a minute or two before Megan Kelly pulled the plug.

    Now the question is, will the AG's office prosecute? With her out of the race there is no longer any excuse for authorities to ignore the the financial victimization, the electoral fraud, and the overall lawlessness that these folks have been perpetrating.

  18. Jeff Endrizzi 2014.06.04

    I prefer the phrase "a few tater tots short of a hot dish", but I grew up in MN....

  19. larry kurtz 2014.06.04

    Endrizzi's food reference belches his being the poster boy for GOP overconsumption.

  20. Steve Sibson 2014.06.04

    Here I thought you cultural Neo-Marxists would have enjoyed the woman are victim propaganda.

    So what's next Cory, a crusade to take away Bosworth's Second Amendment rights?

  21. Rorschach 2014.06.04

    Yes, Steve Sibson. That's one of the things you lose with a felony conviction.

  22. Jim 2014.06.04

    Ahrends comes off as a parent who says, my child is not fat, he's just a little husky.

  23. Steve Sibson 2014.06.04

    When did that happen Rorschach? My point is that there will be a crusade to use mental illness to attack the Second Amendment. Where else has mental illness been used by a government to take away rights?

  24. owen reitzel 2014.06.04

    so Steve do you want people with a mental illness to have guns? Do you agree with Joe the plumber that his right to own a gun trumps someones life?
    Just curious

  25. Nick Nemec 2014.06.04

    Steve, every time we have one of these mass shootings the NRA tells us we need to focus on mental illness, are they not to be believed?

  26. Steve Sibson 2014.06.04

    First we have to define mental illness and who determines the definition. And based on recent violence they should not have knives, right? No steak for the nut cases, right?

    Third question, should Bosworth have her gun rights taken away based solely on her mental status and by whom? And should all her live with her, including her husband also lose their gun rights?

    Bonus question, who said that those who are willing to give up rights in order to have safety deserve and will have neither?

  27. 96 Tears 2014.06.04

    Fifth Commandment of Politics: When you're in a hole, stop digging.

    First Commandment of Bosworth/Arends Politics: Keep digging. We'll hit China any minute now. God says so.

    Actually, Annette did win. Mike Rounds hired the Underwear Gnomes to sneak away every ballot marked for God's Choice for U.S. Senate: Dr. Annette Bosworth.

  28. larry kurtz 2014.06.04

    Who is the we defining mental illness, Steve: your church? You denounce medical science, remember?

    Dipshit.

  29. caheidelberger Post author | 2014.06.04

    Steve, you are off point and trying to distract. This is not a discussion of gun rights. This is a discussion of the chronic lying and public intimidation Joel Arends engages in on behalf of his client Annette Bosworth. If you want a blog post on gun rights and mental illness, write it yourself and post it on your blog.

  30. Steve Sibson 2014.06.04

    "This is a discussion of the chronic lying and public intimidation Joel Arends engages in on behalf of his client Annette Bosworth."

    OK I will lay off, because I do agree with the point you are making.

  31. caheidelberger Post author | 2014.06.04

    Thank you, Steve. And note, I'm not saying lay off completely; I'm saying take it elsewhere, to a post of its own, where it won't distract from the main point here, which is to show that Arends is wrong and that Bosworth's mental illness and treatment are publicly documented.

    There is quite possibly an interesting blogpost to write about mentally ill Annette and her regular fondling of firearms... but this post is not that post. I look forward to the post you write on the topic. I'll even let you put the link here, if you want to share.

  32. PNR 2014.06.04

    STEVE - First, mental illness is defined (see DSM V). A "personality disorder" is a subset of mental illnesses defined as "...an enduring pattern of inner experience and behavior that deviates markedly from the expectations of the individual’s culture, is pervasive and inflexible, has an onset in adolescence or early adulthood, is stable over time, and leads to distress or impairment. " Per Cory's account of the proceedings regarding her medical license, she has been diagnosed with a specific personality disorder (mental illness) in accordance with the standard reference work (DSM V) by competent psychiatrists and was remanded for treatment.

    Usually there would be a second between first and third, but whatever.

    Third, if the disorder under which she suffers is such that having access to fire arms would constitute a threat to herself or others, then yes, she should not be permitted to have a gun. The physicians treating her should be able to assess that.

    Bonus, it has been said by many and attributed to several, but it seems to have been original to Ben Franklin in a letter to the Pennsylvania governor in 1755 - "They who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." is the verbatim quote (per Wikipedia, but I'm fairly confident they've got it right). Personally, I think it essential to my liberty and my safety that someone like Bosworth be restricted in her access to guns.

  33. Jeff Endrizzi 2014.06.04

    Mr. Kurtz, I feel blessed that I've resonated so well with you to be deserving of your anger, very well displayed on a post concerning mental illness. If I'm the poster boy for anything, it's competition BBQ, home brewing, and bourbon. Yes, they can all be overconsumed.

  34. larry kurtz 2014.06.04

    It should be noted that DSM is evolving to explore organic causes such as environmental pollutants for mental illness diagnoses. That Bosworth presents with hystrionic personality disorder is clearly indicated.

  35. Steve Sibson 2014.06.04

    PNR, thanks for you comment. I will not respond here and now out of respect for the point Cory I is making regarding Arends' methods of intimidation. I have seen that more than once, and is an important point that needs to be better understood.

  36. Nick Nemec 2014.06.04

    Cory, has Mr. Arends made any reportable campaign contributions to any of the candidates in the Senate primary? He seems like a slimy character and dirt dug on him might be pretty interesting. What connections does he have to Rounds and Ravnsborg?

  37. mike from iowa 2014.06.04

    Oh,please. Giving Megynecologist Kelly credit for anything is like lionizing a broken clock for being right twice a day.Kelly finally got her dream interview-a female with a lesser grasp on reality than Fake Noize. Bosworth should sue for dimwitted abuse.

  38. mike from iowa 2014.06.04

    Sibby, don't believe PNR because it doesn't seem to fit your narrative.

  39. Steve Sibson 2014.06.04

    Nick, Arends is the legal mind behind the Robo Caller Civil suit brought by Dan Lederman. This again demonstrates an intimidation method that stifles the First Amendment free speech of those who want to expose voting records of legislators, but are afraid of retaliation.

    I consider Arends far more dangerous than Bosworth. Actually I am starting to feel a little sad for Annette. I believe she needs a closer relationship with Jesus Christ more than she needs a shrink. Of course that goes for all of us.

Comments are closed.