The Strange Case Of Coconut Road

The Skinny: Alaska Congressman Gets $10 Million "Earmark" For Road In Balmy Florida

(CBS)  The Skinny is Joel Roberts' take on the top news of the day and the best of the Internet.

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Why would an Alaska congressman care about a road-building project in Florida?

Well, he might if a Florida real-estate developer helped him raise $40,000 just days before the congressman introduced a measure that includes a $10 million "earmark" for the project.

According to The New York Times, the funding for a program to upgrade a stretch of pavement "that touches five golf clubs" along Coconut Road near Fort Myers, Fla., "appeared mysteriously in a 2006 transportation bill written by Representative Don Young, Republican of Alaska."

Days earlier, a real estate developer who owns "as much as 40,000 acres" along the road helped organize a fund-raiser for Young at a Florida hotel.
While it's "no secret that campaign contributions sometimes lead to lucrative official favors," the Times says, rarely are the tradeoffs "quite as obvious as in the twisted case of Coconut Road."

It's not the first controversy for Young, who drew attention last year for steering "more than $200 million to a so-called bridge to nowhere reaching 80 people on Gravina Island, Alaska."

He's also among the biggest recipients of campaign donations from an Alaskan oil company at the center of a corruption scandal that has rattled the state's Republican Party. And one of his top aides has pleaded guilty to bribery charges involving convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

Meanwhile, the Washington Post reports that veteran Alaska GOP Sen. Ted Stevens, who was famous for bringing home earmarks during his tenure as chairman of the Appropriations Committee, disclosed that the FBI has "asked him to preserve records as part of a widening investigation into Alaskan political corruption."


Dick Cheney And Domestic Wiretapping

There were new details Thursday about the behind-the-scenes role Vice President Dick Cheney played in pushing for the administration's secret domestic surveillance program.

The Washington Post reports that Cheney clashed with senior Justice Department officials who questioned the legality of the eavesdropping program at a "high-level White House meeting" in March 2004 – and that he later blocked the promotion of a Justice lawyer who had raised objections to the program.

That according to former deputy attorney general James D. Comey, who told a Senate committee Wednesday that Cheney met with the Justice officials a day before top administration aides, including then-White House counsel Alberto Gonzales, tried to get ailing Attorney General John D. Ashcroft – who was recuperating from surgery in a hospital – to approve the program.

The Post says the disclosures suggest that the vice president was "more closely involved than previously known in a fierce internal battle over the legality of the warrantless surveillance program."

The Post and The New York Times also report that Comey said Cheney blocked the promotion of a Cheney subordinate, Patrick F. Philbin, because of his concerns about the legality of the wiretap program.

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[prelgovisk]

Wasn't a Democrate found with a lot of $$$ in his fridge? Odd that his story is not in this article.

It would be interesting to see a list of HIS friends and who expected to share the loot.

[roxanna6]

Thanks for reporting on *** Cheney, his corruption in regards to wiretapping and how he treats people when they do not go along with what he wants.

I believe this man will go down in History as one of the most silently corrupt Vice Presidents our country has ever known. He is a man, truly for the selling off America for greed and profit labeling it "Patriotism".

[bm6005]

Guess we'll NEVER see that though.....too much fun going after republicans. Not that I maid all that much. The bias is just what gets to me.
Posted by infidel_us

Other than the die hard neo-con supporters here most people have been saying that all crooks should get a go TO jail free pass regardless of party affiliation. You seem to be heavy on the bias as I see your posts. Kind of hard to believe seeing that you've got a BSee degree. I personally support summary execution for all political crooks. Watch how fast the thievery stops after that. And prior to calling me a leftie/demo I'd volunteer to pull the trigger on Jefferson!

[bm6005]

Why does anyone question why D.Cheney is called Darth Cheney?

[jn122736]

This should not come as a shock to anyone: The oldest (and worst) problem with %u201Cear marks%u201D (pork) is that the congressmen who bring home the most pork receive the most vigorous support from the people of the state they represent.

It is next to impossible to rid congress of these guys because the only voters who can vote them out are those from their own state (the pork recipients).

But even considering that, the voters in Alaska should get rid of Representative Don Young.
His %u201Cbridge to nowhere%u201D pork, only benefited 80 people in Alaska, and this particular bill doesn%u2019t benefit Alaskans period.

That is not only outrageous; it should be made Illegal, if it isn%u2019t already.

Isn%u2019t Jefferson facing charges for soliciting bribes-donations from contributors?

[shingles1]

"Investigate Pelosi, Reid, and Feinstein....they have enough dirty deals between them to keep an AG busy for years."

Oh, that's right, those fake "dirty deals" that right wing sites have been pushing - yet never go anywhere because there's nothing there.

You do understand that there's a difference between SAYING someone's corrupt and actually having EVIDENCE that PROVES that someone is corrupt, right? Probably not. And, while both parties have their hands in the cookie jar, the modern Republican Party has taken thuggish bribery and graft to a totally new level. Republicans win hands down. We're #1! We're #1!

But don't let words like EVIDENCE or FACTS get in the way of your blind partisan bias.

[infidel_us]

Investigate Pelosi, Reid, and Feinstein....they have enough dirty deals between them to keep an AG busy for years.

Guess we'll NEVER see that though.....too much fun going after republicans. Not that I maid all that much. The bias is just what gets to me.

[gkc99]

The trolls are all over on the Showbuzz commenting on Paris Hilton's release from jail

[donnie900]

Wheels and deals. There's something creepy about big wig business men calling tax payer money "an investment".

[antoniof123]

Cheney is a business man and this is what big business does. Don't be shocked this is the way big business has always operated.