What The Washington Post might bemoan as a special interest earmark, the Dayton paper might tout.

It's daunting what consumer and public interest groups face. The big bills that have passed have all been against consumer interests.

Access equals power in Washington, and few people have greater access than a former member of Congress. We believe the public has the right to know how frequently their elected representatives change their allegiances and become lobbyists.

Many of the scandals sweeping over Capitol Hill are the product of loose ethics enforcement in Congress. No one is watching because the ethics committees too often act like lap dogs rather than watchdogs.

This is a once-in-a-generation chance to overhaul the system. The challenge is whether the American public is going to get outraged enough to turn that into action.

We're not sure what this means, It has the smell of the HCA stock trading, and we just thought it was important to bring this to light.