The Hill has the story. The tsunami of public interest in yesterday's congressional battle over the bailout bill brought down websites across the House.gov domain, including Speaker Pelosi's and the House Financial Services Committee's sites. In an attempt to stay afloat, the House's in-house administrators are now restricting the number of constituent emails coming into the system.

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.

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.

Here's a tale of two radically different uses of technology on Capitol Hill: the first to keep all but the most-connected people out, and the second to let the rest of us in. In the first case, we have Members of Congress who are crack-berry addicts staying in permanent contact with their cronies and donors, even on the floor where lobbyists are supposedly banned. And in the second case, we have a Republican Congressman who is Twittering from what he calls the "deepest and darkest hole" in Congress.

As the Democratic online fundraising hub ActBlue passes the $50 mark, some on the right resist going grassroots to raise cash; what does it mean to run as a computer "illiterate" candidate in a networked world?; just because we're talking to Congress doesn't mean they're listening; the debate continues over the necessary of announcing "I'm committing an act of journalism!"; the Obama camp sets up an "Internet war room;" and more.

Larry Lessig is tying a possible congressional run to the question of whether or not launching a campaign and/or actually serving as a member of Congress is the best way to advance a national "grassroots" Change Congress movement. It's a provocative question, and it's exciting to watch the Stanford prof and free culture guru go through the process of answering it.

There's a playful drive afoot to draft law professor, free-culture guru, and PowerPoint maestro Larry Lessig to run in the April 8 special election for the open seat in California's 12th congressional district. Thing is, "Congressman Lessig" might not be as far-fetched as it first seems.