And the day before it was "energy." At least it was in the Congressional Record according to the Sunlight Foundation's Capitol Words project.

Bill Richardson and -- sooprise, sooprise -- Ron Paul come out on top of Slate's vice-presidential picker; the Obama campaign is, in the words of one Dean veteran, not innovative but "extraordinarily professional;" we get a look into how professionally-made video fits into the Obama campaign; and much, much more.

You can never leave the safety of the beltway without missing something. More twitter-dome news breaks while I'm at the beach. The Gray Lady runs with the story but misses the point. Representative Culberson makes a constructive intervention and apologizes for going partisan. Could this be progress?

Twitter in a teacup is officially downgraded from a kerfuffle to a mere brouhaha. Still, there are lessons to learn about how to communicate with Congress and who owns the infrastructure we use.

Joshua Tauberer, wizard and chief elf behind GovTrack, has added another layer of openness to a site that is pretty much see-through already.

Now that FISA has been put to rest, what happens to the group that quickly formed to protest Obama's stance on the bill?; the Twitter Dome Scandal (we coined that!) heats up, and we break it all down for you; a new map tracks where in the world our presidential candidates are; and much, much more.

Further proof that what happens in twitter doesn't necessarily stay in twitter is the continuing controversy over the use of new technology by Congresspeople (or over Democratic attempts to silence Republican tweets).

The Open House Project intends to "pave the cow paths" of the US House of Representatives. In the mean time, its email list has timely and stimulating discussion of technology, the House, and more. Project director, John Wonderlich, will be answering your questions live and online on Thursday, July 10.

John Culberson, Republican from Houston, has taken an early but wide lead as "most connected Congressman" via twitter and Qik.

The Congressional Management Foundation reports that citizen engagement with Congress is up dramatically while Rick Shenkman argues that American voters are dumber than door posts. Coincidence?