It's an eye catching photograph. Two-year-old Veronica, smiling with her biological father, Dusten Brown, just before leaving for Oklahoma from Charleston. Veronica is the little girl caught in the middle of an adoption fight between Dusten and her lowcountry foster family. The legal battle stretched for more than a year and was finally ruled upon in favor of Dusten, but details in the case are sealed in an undisclosed custody ruling. One has to wonder if all the information about this case is being reported accurately in the Charleston area. One example: The Post and Courier continues to report that Veronica was adopted at birth, when, in fact, as verified by the Copabianco's family spokeswoman and others, the Copabiancos were in the "process" of adopting her, but it had not been finalized. Friends of Dusten describe him as a hard working national guardsman. Here is more of what they say about him on their Facebook Page: "Just to start the clarification process we know for a FACT Dusten Brown IS Indian, DOES have a full time job as well as National Guard, DOES pay child support for BOTH of his children (Veronica and her older sister who he has joint custody of), Is only living with his parents while remodeling HE and BOTH of his daughters home,Was engaged to bio mom and lived together before they got pregnant, He started fighting for custody of Veronica when she was 4 months of age with a personal attorney and was told her name was Victoria."
Two-year-old Veronica's biological father is an Iraqi war veteran living in Oklahoma. But the only Dad and Mom she ever knew for the first two years of her life live hundreds of miles away on James Island. Sadly, Veronica's case is one of the 5% of adoptions where parents change their minds and withdraw their consent, causing upheaval in an already difficult and emotional event. Her adoption process started at birth, but four months after it started, Veronica's biological father changed his mind and said he wanted to raise her himself. (Veronica's biological mother still supported the adoption). For the next 16 months, Veronica's fate was in the hands of the court. Melanie and Matt Capobianco, who were trying to adopt Veronica, say the birth-father used a little known law called the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) to win the case. Others familiar with the case aren't so sure this federal statute played a major role in the court's decision. And until the court's ruling is unsealed, no one may ever know for sure except the parents and lawyers involved. ICWA gives preferential treatment to Native Americans when children with Indian blood, such as Veronica, are up for adoption. Veronica is now back in Oklahoma with her father. But the Capobiancos have a legion of supporters in Charleston and around the country who want to see Veronica returned to them. A petition calling for changes in ICWA received 20,000 signatures and was sent to lawmakers. The Savage Report explored all angles of this emotionally charged case in this week's program-- and wound up with a single conclusion: we hope and pray that Veronica lives a long, healthy and happy life and that eventually, all these people who love her might be able to come together and share in her future.
It was an extraordinary five days. After weeks of phone calls, emails, texts and meetings at campaign headquarters, we finally started getting the green light from the Republican Presidential candidates. Our goal was to get all six contenders (five now that Huntsman dropped out) for our SC GOP Presidential Primary special that began airing January 16 and runs through Primary Eve (January 20). Each candidate would be asked to give Andy an 8-minute sit-down interview. Over the course of several days, the whirlwind tour of the campaign trail began on Daniel Island, took us downtown, then to Georgetown and ended in Myrtle Beach. Working on the fly, we would gather the team together, pinpoint what questions viewers wanted answered from each of the candidates and then draw an outline for Andy to use during the interviews. Jobs and the economy were top issues. But there were other questions too; would evangelical backing help or hurt Rick Santorum in the long run? Was Newt Gingrich attacking capitalism by attacking Mitt Romney's tenure at Bain Capital? If Iran blockaded the Straits of Hormuz, would a President Ron Paul take military action? Is Rick Perry ready for prime time? Only Mitt Romney dodged our interview request. A pattern we hear is typical with the former Massachussetts Governor's style of campaigning... let the commercials do the work.
We gathered with a great appreciation for the energy these campaigns demand from the candidates. Every minute of the day is planned. Everywhere you turn there's a voter with a question-- a hand to be shook-- a breakfast to attend-- lights, camera, action. But Saturday at midnight-- South Carolina will be a blip in the rearview mirror as some candidates move on to the next state and others are forced to drop out. For now, you can catch the candidates on The Savage Report. We had to divvy the candidates up into two half hour shows that will air in rotation through January 20 on Comcast C2. After that, don't forget to vote on January 21! You can also post a comment below about your candidate and remember to vote in our online poll seen at the top left of this page.
The BCS Championship is over...but now it's really GAME ON!! At least in politics. Up until midnight on January 21st, South Carolina will be the center of all things Republican. Since 1980, the Palmetto State has repeatedly anointed the eventual winner of the Republican Presidential Nomination. This year's crowded field is making people's heads spin with all of the candidates criss-crossing the state in an attempt to win every possible vote they can. If you (like us) are having a hard time keeping up with all of the comings and goings of the candidates you're interested in, visit the South Carolina GOP website for a daily rundown of who's appearing where. And be sure to tune in to the most in-depth political coverage in the Lowcountry on The Savage Report, where you'll hear from voters, analysts, party leaders and candidates as the best game in town continues to unfold.
South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley has fired up business executives, Republicans and Democrats after her decision to ask a state board to give Georgia another hearing on deepening the Savannah Port. The deepening involves dredging the ecologically fragile Savannah River-- that borders South Carolina and Georgia. Haley's request to DHEC came just two weeks after a $1,000 a plate fundraiser held for her in Atlanta. DHEC agreed to a re-hearing and quickly reversed its earlier decision -- and this time-- okayed the dredging. Business Executives across the state see it as a direct blow to the Port of Charleston-- an economic engine in South Carolina responsible for $60-Billion in commerce every year and 280,000 jobs. Environmentalists worry about an aquifer that supplies water to one-third of South Carolina. Meanwhile, Haley has yet to find a solution to deepen Charleston's port-- with a 2014 deadline looming closer. That's when the Panama Canal will open to super-sized ships that need deep ports. Many questions are swirling around Haley's motivation in this deal-- for her part, she says she was just providing a "courtesy" to Georgia's Governor. But some wonder if it had something to do with that Atlanta fundraiser and potentially getting a prime-time speaking role at next year's Republican National Convention. The man who's running the 2012 GOP Convention is also the Chairman of the Board with the Port of Savannah. The Governor's office has yet to respond to our questions about conversations her office may have had in that regard. Some in Haley's own party produced and aired a TV commercial blasting the deal:
Be sure to join The Savage Report December 2 - 9, for an in-depth look at the controversy on Comcast C2, all local...all the time.
Just as the Lowcountry was recovering from the stunning revelations that the Citadel sat on child sex abuse allegations involving confessed child molester Skip ReVille for four years-- new accusations are being aimed at the Citadel involving a different man. Michael Arpaio is a convicted child molester who, like ReVille, worked as a summer camp counselor at the military college. An attorney for a young man who says he was raped repeatedly by Arpaio at the Citadel filed a lawsuit on behalf of the alleged victim November 18. Attorney Ed Bell won $3.8-million dollar for five other victims of Arpaio in 2006. Arpaio was a former Marine Captain and was court martialed for charges related to the molestation of Citadel summer camp attendees. Here is a portion of our program that begins airing November 19.
