Frankly, I don't trust Alaska. Any state that makes Juneau its capitol when the only city I can name is Anchorage clearly needs to fire whoever is behind the scenes making those types of decisions. That would be like not making New York City the capitol of New York. (Wait, its not?)

Perhaps the worst parts about the state are its' politicians. Ted Stevens, the 2005 SkipperStyle Crooked Award winner for the worst Republican, reigns in the "Last Frontier" state.

After reading today's New York Times, I have a new reason to dislike Alaskan politicians, and his name is Don Young.

Remember that "Bridge to Nowhere" that cost us 200 million last year? He helped that bill through congress along with Stevens. In the spirit of frivilent infrastructure spending, he has decided to continue his quest to waste money on a new road in Florida. What's the deal with Alaskan politicians and their roads? Are you guys all tired of having to use dog-sleds or something?

The Republican congressman whose district does include Coconut Road says he did not seek the money. County authorities have twice voted not to use it, until Mr. Young and the district congressman wrote letters warning that a refusal could jeopardize future federal money for the county.

The Coconut Road money is a boon, however, to Daniel J. Aronoff, a real estate developer who helped raise $40,000 for Mr. Young at the nearby Hyatt Coconut Point hotel days before he introduced the measure.

The ironic part of the story is that this is all happening at a time when Rep. Young's colleague, Sen. Stevens, is being tied to corruption investigations. Stevens is currently being connected to an investigation that has uncovered that more than "$400,000 worth of bribes were given to state lawmakers in exchange for favorable energy legislation."

According to TPMmuckraker.com, Don Young apparently had an eloquent response to a Times reporter who asked him about the story:

When a Times reporter approached Young near the House floor about the Coconut Road story the congressman gave the journalist an obscene gesture, apparently declining to comment.

Why is it that when confronted about their greed and corruption, our politicians resort to these sorts of actions? In response to a comment about Halliburton's contracts, our Vice President politely asked a Senator to "fuck" himself. Maybe the party that champions itself as being the moral leaders of our country need to re-evaluate that role.

Or maybe that just shows us something about the people they represent.

Jonathan is editor of SkipperStyle.