There is a lot of money being spent in Washington these days - a financial bailout from the Fed and the Treasury worth over 1 trillion, a stimulus package worth 787 billion, and a proposed budget worth over 3.6 trillion! With so much money, the pressure is on our elected officials to dole it out for the public interest not any special interests.

How are these financial decisions made? How has the lobbyist industry developed over the years? How is the stimulus package supposed to work? What's being revealed about interrogations and detentions under the Bush administration? Why is Obama challenging lobbyists to a fight? When should judges disqualify themselves from a case? These questions and more are answered in this week's edition of Common Cause Connections.

This past week has been filled with stories about "the bailout" and "the stimulus" - two unprecedented federal bills involving over a trillion dollars in taxpayer money. Some of the articles below expose the various conflicts of interest that arise when Congress takes campaign contributions from the very industries and companies they are in charge of regulating and to which they distribute funds. Share these and the other articles with your members to stay up-to-date and informed about the issues.

Can we trust the same folks who got us into this financial crisis to get us out? Is there anything positive that we can learn during tough economic times? Does Roland Burris deserve his seat in the U.S. Senate? These are just a few of questions posed by the articles and stories below.