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Howie Defends Bosworth by Misreading Schlekeway Precedent, Laying Fake Charges

I'm not sure what sector of the electorate Gordon Howie thinks he's targeting by investing so much of his blog energy in blowing smoke for Annette Bosworth. Continually stumping for an admitted lawbreaker and fake conservative who showed no ability to build a viable campaign in South Dakota serves neither Howie's objective of building an effective opposition voting bloc nor the higher aims of justice. Neither will defending Bosworth with errors of fact and law.

In his latest excuse for Bosworth's petition circulation felonies, the re-energized conservative blogger Howie repeats the charge that the Attorney General's prosecution of Bosworth is unfair given all the other alleged violations of petition rules that go unpunished or lightly punished:

Many petitions circulators have violated this “oath” by not “personally witnessing” every signature. In South Dakota, just a few years ago, six Republicans were found guilty in a case that involved as many as 1,400 signatures. Their penalty… a $200.00 fine. Now, for an alleged violation involving 37 signatures, Annette Bosworth is facing 24 years in prison, thousands of dollars in fines and the loss of her license to practice medicine. Seem fair to you?? [Gordon Howie, "Is Your Legislator Guilty?" The Right Side, 2015.01.22]

Howie refers to a ballot probe in 2004 that found six Republican get-out-the-vote operatives, including future state legislator Todd Schlekeway, notarized absentee voter applications without personally witnessing the applicants' signatures. Note that Schlekeway et al. were not circulating petitions; they were soliciting absentee voting applications, thus invoking charges under different law. As I explained in July, Schlekeway's violation of his notary seal was a misdemeanor. He pled guilty and received a misdemeanor penalty.

In the Schlekeway case as in the Bosworth case, the Attorneys General (Long then, Jackley now) have acted to uphold the letter and spirit of the law while protecting voters from disenfranchisement. If Howie wants to invoke the Schlekeway precedent, then the fair outcome would be that Bosworth would plead guilty to her felony and receive her felony penalty.

Trying to fabricate a defense for Bosworth out of thin air and grade-school excuses, Howie accuses a majority of South Dakota legislators of committing the same crime and challenges them to deny it:

Actually, the practice of “not personally witnessing” petition signatures is widespread, but rarely challenged. Certainly not to the level of felony charges.

Here is the question for every Legislator in South Dakota, both past and present:

Will you swear that you personally witnessed every single signature on every petition you have circulated?

There are, no doubt, some who can respond in the positive. They will be in the minority.

Howie made this same baseless and cowardly charge for the same Boz-crush purpose at the beginning of the month. His charge is logically, legally, and factually wrong because...

  1. Howie cannot name a single guilty party.
  2. Howie produces no example of a petition with evidence of a false circulator's oath.
  3. Howie confuses a rhetorical question for logical proof.
  4. Howie shifts the burden of proof from prosecutors (who can slam-dunk meet that burden against Bosworth in court) to the unnamed defendants under his blanket accusation.
  5. Howie forgets that every legislator who circulated a nominating petition has already answered Howie's rhetorical challenge by signing the circulator's oath.

Howie's last resort may be the appeal for mercy. Note his inclusion in the list of consequences for Bosworth the fact that a felony conviction could cause her to lose her medical license.

Commit one felony, get kicked out of your profession? Welcome to my world. State law says South Dakota teachers can lose their teaching licenses for committing any crime involving moral turpitude or drugs. The Professional Teachers Code of Ethics puts my teaching license at risk if I engage in any act the results in a conviction. I suspect other licensed professions have similar rules. Professional status carries special burdens.

If Howie wants to propose revoking all professional licensure requirements in South Dakota and declare that criminal records should bear no weight on allowing people to teach or practice medicine, I invite him to lay out that case. If Howie can produce evidence of petition fraud by other candidates, I invite him to lay out the evidence. So far in his fresh Boz-crush, he has done neither... and even if he does, such arguments and evidence will have no bearing in front of Bosworth's judge next month.

124 Comments

  1. Jaka 2015.01.23

    Politicians all profess in their 'profession' that "the voters will judge and have their 'say' ". Well, it appears all too often that the wheels of justice are greased so that they spin their sins out of the vision of the voters. Obfuscation and spin--they become pros at it.

  2. Nick Nemec 2015.01.23

    I witnessed every signature on every petition I ever circulated.

  3. JeniW 2015.01.23

    Perhaps Bosworth's attorney will fine Howie's opinion helpful when the court proceedings take place?

  4. caheidelberger Post author | 2015.01.23

    Me too, Nick, just the instructions told me.

    JeniW, if Mr. Van Norman has any awareness of Mr. Howie's agitation on his client's behalf, he's either gritting his teeth or thinking about quitting. I can't figure out why Howie would bother giving Bosworth this publicity.

  5. tara volesky 2015.01.23

    Cory, you're the one that started the publicity. He also knows her on a personal level.

  6. caheidelberger Post author | 2015.01.23

    I feel like I should freak out on Tara, just for fun. ;-)

    I started it, Tara? Bosworth decided to run for office. Bosworth decided to hire Base Connect to send fundraising letters to thousands (tens of thousands? hundreds of thousands?) of vulnerable, gullible retirees out of state to subsidize her unemployed husband and their failing financial schemes. Bosworth is the one who engaged in illegal acts and left evidence of their illegality lying around in public.

    What difference does knowing Bosworth "on a personal level" make to interpreting the evidence available to the public pertaining to the case before the Sixth Circuit Court? This "hear my story, get to know" ploy is standard Haber-Bosworth manipulation. They think life is Jerry Springer when sometimes it's really more like Law & Order, or old Dragnet, or maybe, most accurately, Mr. Spock ignoring all emotion and evaluating the situation with cold Vulcan logic. The "story" is a distraction; the facts and the evidence convict.

    Nothing personal, Tara. Let me repeat that, Tara: nothing personal. Think about that phrase hard, and apply it rigorously to your next comment on this topic.

  7. Donald Pay 2015.01.23

    I circulated a lot of ballot measure and a few candidate petitions. I witnessed every signature on every petition I circulated.

    I have seen candidate petitions circulated around a big room or set on tables with the circulator in the room somewhere, but not actually witnessing the signatures. That, I believe, violates the law and the circulator oath. In all the ballot measures I participated in I never witness that.

    What Bosworth admits to went way, way beyond that. She was nowhere in the room. It was fraud.

  8. tara volesky 2015.01.23

    So, what does her election attorney who notarized the signatures have to say about that?

  9. Joe K 2015.01.23

    Why don't you just ask Annette and then please Tara, let us know. This silly little game you are playing is getting old. No one here can call up Joel A. and get an answer out of him. Remember, his conversations with Annette are confidential, and bound by attorney/client privilege.

  10. jerry 2015.01.23

    Here is Howies man with the plan, Sibson's as well. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unDAYiRg4uo#t=31

    When you bring Howie, Bos and Haber into the conversation, you realize these bozoheads will get away with the scams they pull by saying God told them to do it. Then start speaking in tongues and its off to see the wizard.

  11. tara volesky 2015.01.23

    They aren't attorney/client privilege if he is subpoenaed. I just don't trust the establishment and Marty Jackley. I am standing by Bosworth. The people I have talked to who have grown up with her have told me she is a good person who is politically naïve and trusting. I am standing with the anti-establishment and the Boz. But everybody else has a right to their opinion. It is just this gut feeling I have. Got to go with it, and be true to myself. If you disagree with me, that's ok too.

  12. grudznick 2015.01.23

    Dr. Boz is very pretty, Ms. Volesky.

  13. Joe K 2015.01.24

    Exactly my point Tara. There is no way we can subpoena Joel. We are getting only one side of the story. So by asking these questions about what her attorney has to say adds nothing to the conversation. Bosworth has gave her (multiple) sides to the story, and we cannot get Joel's side. Asking what he has to say has no benefit, and only serves to throw up a smokescreen to the facts of the case. As I have posted before, if he gave bad advice - that only opens her attorney up to a malpractice suit. It does not avoid the fact that she broke the law, and stated so multiple times, in multiple public forums.

  14. caheidelberger Post author | 2015.01.24

    Donald, when I recruited people to circulate the petition to refer HB 1234 in 2012, I told them they absolutely could not do what you describe, leave a sheet in a room for people to sign while the circulator goes and does something else. Eyeballs, I said. Eyeballs on each line, as it's filled.

  15. caheidelberger Post author | 2015.01.24

    Interestingly, Jerry, I don't think I've heard Howie take the God line with Bosworth. His smoke screen seems to be entirely secular, using the Bosworth prosecution to accuse the SDGOP of corruption... which is a darn shame, since they are corrupt, but this line doesn't help expose that corruption.

  16. caheidelberger Post author | 2015.01.24

    Tara, you didn't listen to me. I told you, Nothing Personal. All your talk about "the people you've talked to" and your "gut" and "going with it" and being "true to yourself" is personal and, hence, irrelevant to evaluating the facts and evidence at hand.

    The people you have talked to about Annette are clearly a skewed subset. The people I have talked to paint a very different picture, one that says justice includes convicted Bosworth. At best, the people I've talked to negate the people you've talked to, and the only advantage left on the flow is the facts and evidence, of which the Attorney General and I have all and you and the people you talk to have none, at least relevant to prosecuting this case.

    Now back to the facts, Tara: Person X swears a false oath multiple times. Person X uses false oath to gain access to the ballot by fraud. Witnesses say the oath Person X swore is false. Person X admits oath was false. Law says swearing that false oath is a felony. Tell me what part of that sequence does not lead to the conclusion, "Judge/jury convict Person X of felony"?

    And again, Nothing Personal.

  17. caheidelberger Post author | 2015.01.24

    By the way, Joe K, as I understand it, Joel Arends did appear at the June grand jury hearing, with counsel of his own.

  18. Donald Pay 2015.01.24

    Cory, Exactly. Ballot measure petitioning by volunteers is the cleanest because the people really care, not just about the issue, but also about the process. The whole point of a ballot question is to let the people decide, and to do that you have to go through a very difficult petitioning process where every signature matters.

    So, ballot measure campaigns do as you did--provide detailed instructions and have some internal accountability.

    I think candidates view circulating the petition as just one hurdle to get over, and not a integral part of the process. I think it gets worse when you have political consultants who don't care about the grassroots part of the job. The whole idea of "placeholders" for party slots (which seemed to gain hold in the 1990s) took it to a level where no one really cares about doing the petitioning right.

  19. caheidelberger Post author | 2015.01.24

    "let the people decide"—and the circulator's oath exists to ensure that circulators are really engaging the people. The same thinking must apply to candidates. If they aren't thinking that, they need an attitude adjustment. A conviction for violating that oath could adjust a lot of attitudes.

    I'd like to think that's what underlies Senator Corey Brown's hinted abhorrence at the idea of letting party chairs pick nominees for legislative spots.

  20. Bill Fleming 2015.01.24

    'A conviction for violating that oath could adjust a lot of attitudes.'

    There is no question that some attitudes could use some adjustment, Cory. I have two concerns about trying to 'adjust' Ms. Bosworth's. First (and it's the main reason i don't comment about her much) it looks to me from her videos and stories of her behavior like she might mental health issues. At a minimum that means it might not be possible to make the adjustment, and at a maximum, it could be that she's not really responsible for her behavior.

    That leads to the second concern. 24 years in prison. Is what she did that heinous a crime? Are the charges too aggressive, perhaps even vindictive?

    Bottom line the (perhaps subliminal) message being sent to amateur politicians is 'sure, run for office, but if you don't do it exactly by the book, you could end up in the slammer for 24 years.'

    Is that the right message? Or does it have a chilling effect on future 'newbie' participation, especially to loyal opposition candidates running against the ruling majority party.

    Just thinking out loud over here. If Boz gets a 24 year sentence, how many potential young blood candidates take one look at those possible consequences and decide the risk of getting into politics simply isn't worth it? (Because, let’s face it, anyone wanting to run for office has to be about half nuts to begin with. ;-)

  21. tara volesky 2015.01.24

    Maybe instead of wasting your time taking out anti-establishment and 3rd party candidates, you should have contested DD and MR petitions. I am sure not everyone of those signatures were eyeballed. It's hard living in SD if you aren't a member of the establishment. Cory will never support outsiders because he is part of the establishment, and I will never be able to convert him because he is getting something out of this. Annette Bosworth, Gordon Howie and Lora Hubbel are a bigger threat to the Republican party than the Democrat party is, because they were once part of the establishment. So, who better than Cory to help the Republican establishment smear the people who have been exposing corruption among their own party.

  22. tara volesky 2015.01.24

    How's the Democrat Party doing since this blog was started. If you really are a true blue convert, than maybe you ought to try a different strategy.

  23. Owen 2015.01.24

    Annette Bosworth a threat to the Republicans? Really Tara?
    So what is Cory getting out of this Tara?
    This should be good

  24. JeniW 2015.01.24

    Well, Cory, it is now confirmed that there are at least two people who visit here regularly are PO'd at you, but like you just enough to use your blog site.

    You are a good person to be forgiving of each of us, and allow us this opportunity.

  25. Roger Cornelius 2015.01.24

    Tara,
    Why didn't you challenge the Daugaard and Rounds petitions?

  26. Roger Cornelius 2015.01.24

    About the character of Bosworth, we have all probably seem some news report about the arrest of a serial killer that lived next door. The reporter interviews the neighbor and he says " he was such a good man, he gave gifts to the neighborhood kids and played with him, he was always very pleasant to me".
    And no Tara, I'm not suggesting that Bosworth is a serial killer, just that we always don't know the criminal mind.

  27. Roger Cornelius 2015.01.24

    Owen,
    Didn't you know that the SDGOP has made Cory a millionaire?

  28. tara volesky 2015.01.24

    Well, the Democrat party should be very thankful that there are people like Howie, Hubble and Bosworth to help advance the cause.

  29. larry kurtz 2015.01.24

    Okay, Tara: your last comment made me laugh out loud. Unless SDGOP self-destructs nothing is going to change and Cory will just keep blogging powerlessly to vent his frustration with the status quo.

  30. JeniW 2015.01.24

    Oh, my mistake, it is not at least two people who are PO'd at Cory, it is three people who are PO'd.

  31. tara volesky 2015.01.24

    The reason I wouldn't waist my time challenging DD or MR petitions.......because I believe running candidates like Howie, Bosworth, Myers, Hubbel, Weiland, Nelson, Wismer and Robinson can do more to expose corruption than questioning signatures. DD and MR have the SOS and AG on there side, so it would be a waste of my time. And Larry, I am glad you had a good laugh, because unfortunately you're right. I question whether things will change in our lifetime.

  32. Mike Verchio 2015.01.24

    Here is how easy it is to get your signatures to run for the legislature in D-30 . Take it to your church & Friends to get the required amount & work the Republican booth at the stock show for your extras . That's it .

  33. tara volesky 2015.01.24

    Mike, what if you're a Democrat?

  34. larry kurtz 2015.01.24

    If you're a Democrat take your petition to LNI.

  35. Lynn 2015.01.24

    As Mike Verchio mentioned above I just don't see the difficulty in getting petitions signed the right way. There are events, gatherings and that would make it a more efficient use of your time and is just another opportunity to introduce yourself, visit with people and make your presence known.

    Unfortunately I personally do not see any real political changes happening here in South Dakota for the foreseeable future unless there are some real changes.

  36. larry kurtz 2015.01.24

    Lynn: like the Yellowstone supervolcano?

  37. larry kurtz 2015.01.24

    Actually, Cory should start a campaign right now to unseat Krusti Kristi.

  38. Bill Fleming 2015.01.24

    Mike V. there's quite a big difference in shoe leather wear and tear between getting 50 signatures to run in D-30 and roughly 2,000+ to run for US Senate. Just sayin'.

  39. larry kurtz 2015.01.24

    Fleming, since Newland has chucked the Decorum Forum would you start posting again?

  40. Bill Fleming 2015.01.24

    I surrendered my share of ownership of the 'shop' back to Sanborn and Newland, then Sanborn gave his and my shares all to Newland, so i don't have any ownership over there any more, other than my copyrights to the words and pictures i generated which i have never transfered to anyone. Long and short of it larry, I don't have any back end access to that site, and don't really want to. If I were going to do site these days, I'd do a whole different thing, and probably not by myself. It takes too much time to meet my own self-imposed quality specs. LOL

  41. Lynn 2015.01.24

    Political change here in South Dakota will most likely not come from the SDDP if things stay as they are or have been. The damage done to the SDDP is self inflicted or at least by those who claim to represent the efforts of the SDDP.

    Unless there is a major course correction I believe a new unique to South Dakota political party should be formed that can appeal to a broad base. I'd use common sense but Rounds tainted that phrase during this past election but talking about real bread and butter issues breaking things down to how they affect people here on a daily basis and into the long term. Communication is key! Let's face it the SDDP is a damaged brand here in one of the most if not the reddest states in the union. 40 years of trying the same things and expecting different results isn't working.

  42. tara volesky 2015.01.24

    You got it Lynn. Until the Democrat party gets out of their status quo mentality, it's dead.

  43. caheidelberger Post author | 2015.01.24

    Tara, you keep getting personal, and I told you, nothing personal. You consistently fail to refute the facts and evidence surrounding Bosworth's violation of petition law. She's headed for conviction. Nothing you have said changes that.

    Now, getting personal, any argument, even a red herring, that depends on asserting that I am a member of the SDGOP establishment is obviously absurd.

    The only establishment of which I will ever be a part will be the ascendant South Dakota Dem-Lib Fusion Party as we claim supermajorities and the Governor's office and stand triumphant over the shattered and burning wreck of the Republican Party... a vision of the future still not as fantastic as the absurdist portrait of the present Tara paints with me swilling cocktails with Marty Jackley.

  44. caheidelberger Post author | 2015.01.24

    Fleming, you and your commitment to quality are holding up progress. Just let it flow, and crowdsource the proofreading. ;-)

  45. tara volesky 2015.01.24

    Relax Cory, I am not getting personal, I am just questioning everything and stating my opinion which I hope you will embrace. Just trying to keep you honest young man.

  46. Disgusted Dakotan 2015.01.25

    The SD Medical Board determined Mrs Bosworth-Haber to have mental health problems. Because of her looks and high functioning mental faculty, she is able to operate in society with those issues being looked past by laymen citizens.

    What she and her husband did was wrong, probably not throw the book at them wrong, but wrong none-the-less.

    There is an appearance that the establishment used her and is using the system to be rid of her now her usefulness has expired. That doesn't warrant sympathy by itself.

    She is not a victim, she is a con-artist who is being devoured by her fellow vipers

  47. caheidelberger Post author | 2015.01.25

    It would be one thing, DD, if the Establishment vipers were fabricating charges to dispose of Bosworth. But in this case, the charges are true. The book should be thrown.

  48. caheidelberger Post author | 2015.01.25

    Tara, you misunderstand. You are doing nothing but getting personal, making arguments about the person, talking about me and my motivations, about, talking about Gordon knowing Annette personally, talking about gut feelings, all of which are personal issues that have no bearing on the facts, evidence, law, and the inescapable conclusion to which a rational judge and jury ignoring personal distractions will come: Bosworth is guilty of violating SDCL 22-11-28.1, 22-29-1, 22-29-8, and 22-29-9. A ham sandwich could beat Bosworth's lawyer on this case.

  49. caheidelberger Post author | 2015.01.25

    Disgusted, think of Al Capone. We never busted him for the really nasty stuff he did. All we got him for was tax evasion, and the eleven years he got was an unusual sentence for such a crime. But he had it coming, and justice was done.

  50. Tim 2015.01.25

    Cory, a ham sandwich could have gotten indictments on the EB-5 scandal too but that hasn't happened either, I suggest it isn't possible for Tara to separate her personal feeling from the facts, just as it isn't possible for Jackley to separate himself from his Republican masters.

  51. caheidelberger Post author | 2015.01.25

    Good connection, Tim. We have plenty of reason to believe that AG Jackley has corruptly ignored the laws broken in the EB-5 scandal. We have plenty of reason to suspect selectivity in his prosecutorial choices to protect political friends. But that doesn't change the facts of this case.

    Your local cop could be a complete jerk, but if you're doing 60 in a 30, the local cop should still pull you over and give you a ticket.

  52. Tim 2015.01.25

    Can't and wouldn't argue that point, but based on this and other threads, I wouldn't expect Tara to put her personal feelings aside. If I elected to fight that 60 in a 30 charge, I wouldn't want her sitting on the jury. ;-)

  53. tara volesky 2015.01.25

    Yes Bill, I am very curious with the outcome of Clayton Walker's case. Comparing Walker to Bosworth is like comparing apples to oranges. His signatures came out of the phone book whereas Bosworth's are legitimate. What prison is CW living in? Tim I have broken the law many times for speeding. The last 4 or 5 times I was pulled over, I only got a warning. Nice cops. Yes Tim you would want me on the jury, especially if you got busted for pot. I would vote, no jail time.

  54. Bill Fleming 2015.01.25

    Tara, yes, there are big differences in the circumstances but if I'm not mistaken, they are charged with the same crimes, right? And the same number of counts per crime? I.e. Max sentence for both of the accused is 24 years, yes? Not arguing, just clarifying.

  55. JeniW 2015.01.25

    You were caught speeding at least four to five times? You purposely violate the law because you were lucky enough not to get a ticket, and you are counting on that to keep happening?

    If the police officers in Mitchell are not citing you, they are not doing their job. The message you have conveyed is that warnings from police officers in Mitchell are meaningless, therefore everyone should be able to drive faster than the speed limit while in Mitchell.

  56. Tim 2015.01.25

    Alas Tara, I am just a boring law abiding citizen, no speeding or pot smoking for me. Although I do prefer to smoke pot over drinking when I want to kick back, as long as it remains illegal here I will follow the law, I have a very good paying job and stand to lose too much to be chasing the illegal weed. You don't have to worry about sitting on a jury for me. ;-)

  57. tara volesky 2015.01.25

    Well that's good Tim, you are a good law abiding citizen. Figure this one out, I tried marijuana out curiosity a couple of times and it did nothing for me. JeniW, I am doing much better being a law abiding citizen. I do have trouble wearing a seatbelt at times but will try and do better. It's amazing Tim how many people with good paying jobs smoke pot. Is there a correlation with pot and the teacher shortage?

  58. Roger Cornelius 2015.01.25

    If you get stopped for speeding in Mitchell and the officer is going to cite you, just tell them that Tara gets away with all the time.
    That is the same logic Tara applies to other politicians and the Bosworth case.
    Tara's justification for Bosworth's criminal actions and her political rhetoric has not changed since the campaign. She keeps repeating herself as if that will get Bosworth off the hook.

  59. tara volesky 2015.01.25

    You guys are so legalistic. SD is the perfect police state to live in. And minorities are treated so fairly too. Just check out the prison population. Now, who can tell me what happened to Clayton Walker? Thank you

  60. Roger Cornelius 2015.01.25

    Tara. have you googled Clayton Walker to find the status of his case?

  61. Tim 2015.01.25

    I fail to understand what pot, legal or not, has to do with the teacher shortage, or me having a good job that I want to protect. It is very hard to have an intelligent conversation with you, sorry I tried. Won't happen again.

  62. Bill Fleming 2015.01.25

    LOL, Tara's a scofflaw! :-)

    I'm betting somewhere along the line she read Henry David Thoreau's "Civil Disobedience." If not, Tara, you might want to. Could put a little more punch (and reasoning?) into some of your arguments. ;-)

    http://xroads.virginia.edu/~Hyper2/thoreau/civil.html

  63. Bill Fleming 2015.01.25

    Roger, I have googled him and can't find anything more recent than last fall.

  64. Roger Cornelius 2015.01.25

    Bill,
    I checked him out on Google and found the same stuff you did.
    The last I recall hearing on Walker was that he was being held without bond in the Hughes County jail for threatening the staff of a state agency (SoS?).

  65. tara volesky 2015.01.25

    Yes Bill, my son gave me the book The Portable Thoreau and said, "Mom this is you, you need to read Civil Dosobedience. Roger can't find anything about what happened to CW.

  66. tara volesky 2015.01.25

    OK Tim, sorry I am an idiot. At least you questioned my statement about pot and the teacher shortage. Well during the Gubernatorial campaign, Mike Myers and I were out in the hills for a labor convention he spoke at. Well, an SDEA meeting was going on at the same time. Some teacher comes up to me and said she will be voting for Mike. I asked her why, and she told me because he is for legalizing medical marijuana, and she has a lot of teacher friends moving to Colorado to teach, because they are afraid of getting busted in SD. So, that's how I came up with teacher shortage and pot.

  67. Tim 2015.01.25

    Well, if teachers could move to CO, smoke legally and make 10k more a year, why not? I would doubt legal weed would be the sole reason, but 10k more a year, that's not chump change.

  68. tara volesky 2015.01.25

    I agree Tim. It's not that they want to leave SD, but if you can make $10,000 more elsewhere, why not.

  69. Lynn 2015.01.25

    Just another crazy day on maaaaaaaadville

  70. grudznick 2015.01.25

    Ms. Volesky, it is good that no Mitchell police officers read this blog for if they did and they pick you up the next time you scoff at the laws of the roads they would probably search your car for whacky weed.

  71. tara volesky 2015.01.25

    Who says they don't read these blogs, and all of you have gone over the speed limit, right Grudz?

  72. Lynn 2015.01.25

    not me Tara

  73. JeniW 2015.01.25

    Almost everyone who has driven has exceeded the speed limit at some point or another, but not everyone gets four or five warnings, then purposely exceeds the speed limit just because they know that they can get away with it.

  74. mike from iowa 2015.01.25

    Not a single ticket of any kind in way over 40 years. I tend to follow the rules of the road and drive defensively. But then,I'm in no hurry to be killed or kill someone else,either.

  75. Lynn 2015.01.25

    I was kidding with my reply above but when I was younger I did drive faster in rural areas but have slowed down to save money, be safe and just relax now. One warning back in the 80's and no tickets.

  76. caheidelberger Post author | 2015.01.25

    Speed limit?!?! Arrggh! Tara, again, irrelevant to the case at hand.

    If a driver is speeding, and law enforcement sees that the driver is speeding, law enforcement should give the speeding driver a ticket.

  77. caheidelberger Post author | 2015.01.25

    Clayton Walker deserves greater punishment that Annette Bosworth, since he violated more laws.

    Alas for Walker, he didn't hook up with Base Connect to raise two million dollars from easily tricked out-of-staters to help pay for a top-notch lawyer.

  78. grudznick 2015.01.25

    Ms. Volesky, I do not drive and cannot exceed the speed limit because it would be other people driving me who would get the tickets. You are very lucky that you are pretty enough to get only the warnings. If they saw me I would get a double ticket.

  79. grainofsalt 2015.01.26

    OJ Simpson was finally put in prison for a hotel break in. People felt justice was finally served then, when it had not been served at his murder trial. Capone was caught on tax evasion and finally paid a penalty, even though he never served time for his other criminal activities, which were much worse. Annette and Chad have done some loathsome things that they have gotten away with for years. They have taken money under false pretenses. They lie. A lot. If Annette is found guilty when she comes to trial in February then maybe a small amount of justice will be served. Sometimes it's just not for the really, really bad things people do.

  80. tara volesky 2015.01.26

    Annette Bosworth is GUILTY! What concerns me is she admits she signed the petitions, so why in the hell waste tax dollars for a trial. Doesn't the AG have anything better to do? I did call Mr. Davis and asked him about Base Connect. I didn't pursue if because Myers despised asking anybody for money and he is as good looking as DR. B. He has so many maga rich friends I wanted him to call, but he refused. It wouldn't have matter anyway, even though he was the best candidate for the people. You have to be Republican. It's not just state government, it's local too. You look at all the school boards and superintendents in SD, the mass majority are Republicans who vote for anti-education Governor DD. Sorry Cory, got off tract again.

  81. tara volesky 2015.01.26

    What's wrong with base connect. At least she wouldn't be owned by the Koch brothers, and big corporations. I commend her for getting small donations of $40 dollars from her followers throughout the US rather than getting the money from PACs. Small donations from thousands of people is called grassroots.

  82. tara volesky 2015.01.26

    Instead of Annette's loyal army of supporters paying for all of Annette's legal expenses, MJ who has cost the state hundreds of thousands of dollars on this case, but what does he care, it's not his money...........I hope she sues MJ and the state for punitive damages. This is beyond insane. She definitely has a slander case too. I am in contact with some out of state attorneys who I believe are very interested.

  83. tara volesky 2015.01.26

    JenniW, you are judging again without knowing all the facts. When I was a career woman, in the 80's, I use to travel over a thousand mile a week. I would schedule 3 or 4 schools a day in which I scheduled at certain times of the day. Also one ticket a got in Arizona driving a BYU team van. Over 40 years of driving I would not consider myself a serial speedster. See how easy it is to smear a person when you have no background on the person. Unbelievable.

  84. JeniW 2015.01.26

    Tara if you had shared as much information in the first place, I would have not commented the way I had. I was wrong in coming to my conclusion, but you were negligent in telling us about how you managed to get pulled over for speeding.

    This is part of your problem with advocating for Annette. You share just so much information, but do not share enough of what you know about the situation for those of us who read your postings to know what to think.

    For example, you mention for people to read the documents about Annette's situation, but you do not cite where those documents can be found, or provide those documents yourself.

    IMO, you are just as guilty of smearing people.

  85. tara volesky 2015.01.26

    OK can you give me some examples JeniW. I suppose Annette's legal documents and letters would be public information wouldn't it Larry?

  86. Dicta 2015.01.26

    Knowing that she is, at the very minimum, a limited purpose public figure, and knowing what this does for a burden of proof in a defamation claim, please tell us what the grounds for such a suit would be. Go ahead, Tara. We'll wait.

  87. tara volesky 2015.01.26

    JeniW, I got pulled over for speeding because I was speeding.

  88. Dicta 2015.01.26

    I'm seriously curious as to grounds for a defamation suit, and doubt Tara even knows what she is talking about. In order for such a claim to succeed, there would need to be statements of fact and they would need to be false. Tara freely admits that Annette did what she was accused of, so what is the claim? That people said bad things about her outside of the above mentioned crimes? Well, Tara, if I called Annette a vapid dunce who had no place as an elected official, this would be called a statement of opinion and isn't subject to civil suit. So, again, what the hell are you talking about?

  89. Dicta 2015.01.26

    Why do I care what a Doctor has to say about a defamation suit? Should I take a quick jaunt on down to my local public defender to get a stint for my heart?

  90. larry kurtz 2015.01.26

    stent.

  91. Dicta 2015.01.26

    QED, amirite?

  92. larry kurtz 2015.01.26

    GFY.

  93. mike from iowa 2015.01.26

    Not sure how it is done, but, Tara and Sibby both get in over their heads in the kiddie pool.

  94. tara volesky 2015.01.26

    Mike, you are a perfect example why SD is a one party dictatorship. People don't want to hear the truth. They only believe what they want to believe without doing any research or questioning. People don't like controversy. We have are heads buried in the sand. If you have an opinion or question the establishment you become an outsider. Most people do not want to be outsiders. Perfect example...SD.

  95. Roger Cornelius 2015.01.26

    Tara is repeating herself, still using the same language she did throughout the last campaign, it didn't work then, why would it work now?

  96. tara volesky 2015.01.26

    That's another reason most people don't use their real names....Sad, you have to be afraid of your first amendment rights and live in fear.

  97. larry kurtz 2015.01.26

    People, please ease up on Ms. Volesky: she still loves my home state despite its rank ranking.

    How's that, Tara?

  98. tara volesky 2015.01.26

    Maybe Sibby would have helped me. Yes Larry, forgive them for they not know what they know.

  99. mike from iowa 2015.01.26

    Seems to me the help you need,Tara,Sibby isn't qualified to practice.

  100. mike from iowa 2015.01.26

    Tara-my ex snuggled up to every lost cause guy she could find because they were wasting their potential and she alone was gonna save them from themselves. You can do stuff to people,with people and for people,but you can't do a damn thing about people. It does not work!!!

  101. Bill Dithmer 2015.01.26

    Forgive me Pieere for I have sinned

    Well forty years ago I started drinking alcahol because it was fun. I sometimes drank it illegality on the reservation.

    In that time I also drove while technically under the influence. I dont know an exact number but it would be in the thousands.

    I have also lied and fabricated stories while setting at check points, and I drank the evidence once while waiting for friends to be processed at the Spearfish jail in 1972. No evidence, no proof, then they started putting the booze under lock.

    At one time or another I've had both marijuana and paraphernalia in all of my vehicles. Except rolling papers, they were strictly prohibited. There were times when the quantity was more then 1lb, but i never ever sold any.

    I have driven over the speed limit on a few occasions, not to exceed 1000 times.

    Several times I urinated on a public road. Got busted for it west of Kyle by tribal cop that stated they didnt allow that kind of thing on the Pine Ridge, while his partner pissed on his side of the car. And then there was the snowstorm closing I90 and the chance to pee of the bridge at Wasta, so we did.

    I might have participated in an event to ruin the reputation of a drug dog. But only to the extent that I found the ditch weed, I made the tea, I loaded the super soaker, and I shot the back of the drugcops car while parked at the Jackson county courthouse, maybe more then once, but they were six months apart.

    I took a sign once, no twice in my life. One was a stop sign that made no sense, and the other was a mile marker.

    I once took the mens and womens restroom signs at the Wasta rest area and switched them.

    I intentionally gave Keven Thome false information when he lied to me during an investigation when he headed the DCI, no regrets!

    I have used illegal weapons, sawed of, at night, on public land, but always ate the meat. Less then thirty times, that I can remember.

    I have observed others in the act of breaking the law without telling the athorities, several thousand times.

    I have on occasion written stories that had been embellished to better reflect the "down home redknecked morality of the state of SD.

    I officiated line races between two tribal council members in a Rapid City motel room.
    Innit.

    I tended bar one night at Belvidere, at which time I'm sure that I sold alcahol to people that were inebriated and let them drive home. I rode with one of them.

    A couple of lesbians and I bought pot from a tribal policeman on mainstreet in Mission SD at 1:PM in the afternoon. We gave him a thousand $ and he gave us the pot.

    I whatched a woman shove her fist through the winshield of a car, then chase a man down and beat him to the ground without reporting to the athorities. It was an entertaining, and educational night.

    I beat a man for hitting a woman once, i didnt even know their names. And I spanked a woman for beating a child, and knew her name.

    Oh ya I almost forgot, I've on numerous occasions used Bill Janklows name in vain. May he rest in hell for the things hes done.

    That takes care of the 70s and 80s, I'll come back some other time for the 90s.

    Tara, we all break laws, for some its ripping the tag off of an item, for others its taking a life. There is no such thing as "truth in blogging," only grey areas, mixed with half truths to support the side your on.

    Are they going to make an example of the Bos? Damn rights they are. She was the one that started throwing the rocks. Lee Slimyhands rep as a journalist is in the tank, why go there?

    The Blindman

    The Blindman

  102. tara volesky 2015.01.26

    Bill, your story sounds like Johnny Cash. So Bill, you actually broke the speed limit? I would vote for you just because your honest.

  103. Dicta 2015.01.26

    You..... you like what Lora Hubbel is doing? What part of her fever dream rants appeals to you most?

  104. caheidelberger Post author | 2015.01.26

    Tara, candidate Bosworth has no slander case. Public figure, public documents, and truth, blessed truth. No South Dakota lawyers will touch any such attempt she might make, because (1) they won't win and (2) they won't get paid.

  105. tara volesky 2015.01.26

    Lora exposes our elected politicians. Just check out her fb page. They don't like her because she is so smart and knows what goes on behind the scenes. They say conservative things to get elected, but once elected, everything changes.

  106. tara volesky 2015.01.26

    Her lawyers are making bank off her case. I think she does have a case of slander. It's hard to win in SD.

  107. caheidelberger Post author | 2015.01.26

    Now let us emphasize, for the record, that Tara agrees at 08:42 that Annette Bosworth is guilty. That statement alone should end most if not all of this discussion.

    Annette Bosworth is guilty. Annette Bosworth is guilty. Tara said it.

    Now, Tara, I'm a bit puzzled at the rhetorical refuge you seek by asking why the AG is taking this to trial. It's a felony (it's 12 felonies). Felons get punished. We hold people accountable for crimes. We follow the law. Why would we do anything different?

    Tara, are you saying Bosworth should plead guilty? She could have done that at her arraignment. She could change her plea at any point. She holds her fate in her hands on that account. But that's what I was trying to tell you under our earlier discussion about Bosworth's unprofessional effort to recruit patients to pack the courtroom: Bosworth wants this trial. This trial becomes another grand chapter in the glorious reality TV show that she thinks her life is.

    Alas, we pretty much have to give it to her, because she committed felony perjury, and we must uphold the law. There is no winning with some people, there's just doing what we must.

  108. JeniW 2015.01.26

    Tara, I think I sense your frustrations, and my dig at you did not help. For that I apologize.

    There is just nothing that anyone participating on this venue can do to assist Ms. Bosworth, even if they wanted to. We could not do anything for her for the past several months, and there is just nothing we can do for her now, or in the foreseeable future. It is before the court to determine whether or not she is guilty, and what the consequences will be IF she is determined to be guilty.

    Continue to advocate for her if you wish to do so. It is your right, and she probably appreciates it, but know that there is no hope of anyone here being able to do anything for her.

    Just like everyone else, you have to chose your battles, and your battlegrounds, do so wisely.

  109. caheidelberger Post author | 2015.01.26

    Tara, as Dicta asked, on what basis do you think candidate and public figure Bosworth has a slander case, and against whom? Against me? Please explain.

  110. Bill Dithmer 2015.01.26

    Tara, nobody wants me in any elected office. That would be a misplaced vote. First thing you know Rev. Hickey and I would get caught doing bumps off of some blonds butt at the Spur. The Spur is no place for a nonprofit preacher to be seen. However The Blindman would have no problem preaching his kind of gospel there. .08+1

    The Blindman

  111. tara volesky 2015.01.26

    LOL Blindman, you would fit right in out in Pierre. Cory, all MJ has to do is drop the felonies to misdemeanors. With a felony, she won't be able to feed her children and take care of her patients. Cory you would make a brilliant Lawyer........you are good.

  112. tara volesky 2015.01.26

    Cory, have you ever heard of a plea agreement?

  113. Dicta 2015.01.26

    Whether or not you agree with the AG's decision to not reduce the charge to a misdemeanor has nothing to do with whether or not defamation was committed. Again, on what grounds do you think Bosworth has a slander claim? Stop dodging the question.

  114. tara volesky 2015.01.26

    Dicta, I want to see how this case plays out, than we can talk slander. I need to do more research first. Ask Cory, he is the expert. A Doctor brought the slander suit up first. Unless he doesn't know what he is talking about. Dicta, I am not trying to dodge the question, I just need to gather more information. OK. Chill buddy;)

  115. mike from iowa 2015.01.26

    Tara,plea give it a rest,okay?"

  116. tara volesky 2015.01.26

    You got it. No more Annette comments and I will agree to not do any more posts.

  117. Lynn 2015.01.26

    Tara who would be named in this slander/defamation suit?

  118. tara volesky 2015.01.26

    Mike told me to give it a rest, so I must be getting pretty annoying. Later.

  119. Lynn 2015.01.26

    Tara I know but before you give it a rest it would be interesting to see who would be the first names on the slander suit. Sorry I was typing it while Mike posted.

    Names please?

  120. Bill Dithmer 2015.01.26

    Tara, I dont like to think of it as breaking the speed limit. I ues the Kristi Noem method of driving, independently raising my own personal speed limit as i saw fit.

    The Blindman

  121. caheidelberger Post author | 2015.01.26

    There is no slander case. Tara concedes.

  122. grudznick 2015.01.26

    Ms. Volesky, when you find out more about the free food and lodging please let Mr. Dithmer and I know. We will spend some time in the court room and some time at this bar he mentions. Probably go back and forth a bit between the two.

  123. Roger Cornelius 2015.01.27

    Bosworth's trial has been postponed until mid-May at the request of her defense team.

    Oh! The Agony of waiting.

Comments are closed.