It appears there’s not one piece of news these days that our leaders can agree on. Job numbers are up . . . but so is unemployment. Elena Kagan is a fountain of wisdom . . . and an empty, inexperienced judicial vessel. Any minute now Rush Limbaugh will be lambasting about how the disastrous Gulf Coast oil spill is as natural as ocean water . . . Oh, yeah.

In other news, bless Mary Fallin and her Oklahoma jokes. And double bless Leonard Boswell for wearing wooden shoes at a tulip festival, which is really something people should do more often. Does Lisa Murkowski really need to win a gun? Don’t they give them away free in Alaska along with the annual $1,000 tax credits you get just for living in a giant national park? Kirsten Gillibrand is hanging out with Rachael Ray, Bob Inglis wants the US to be more like Southwest Airlines (does that include charging overweight people double?), Jason Chaffetz is Team Coco, and Mike Pence now officially speaks for the American people. All of them.

Perks come with being a member of Congress—among them, a million-dollar office budget for each member. As part of Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s push for transparency, the House for the first time has published its spending online—data that was then made searchable by the Sunlight Foundation. It’s now easy to know how Congress is spending the nearly $5 billion it allocates itself annually. The Senate is expected to follow suit next year. Here are the top congressional budgets for staff salaries for the second half of 2009, not counting additional staff working for various committees:

It must be pretty boring to be a congress(wo)man on Twitter (or to have to pretend to be one). Here they are, obliged to put out tweet after tweet after tweet about healthcare reform and the national debt and taxes, and yet when something truly interesting happens (like revelations of congressional tickle fights and naked confrontations with Rahm Emanuel), nobody says a word. Is it a code of honor? A sign of respect? Or a genuine sense of “thank god this isn’t happening to me”? Either way, we expected at least a brief quip about Massa from Darrell Issa this week but were sadly disappointed.

In other news, Rush Limbaugh is threatening to move to Costa Rica if healthcare reform passes. Which is probably the biggest incentive anyone could possibly need to pass the bill. Jim Himes is going to wear out his shoes at this rate. And we’re curious, John McCain—who exactly is @broomheadshow?

Technology is great and everything, but sometimes we can’t help but miss the days when outrage was expressed through op-eds and cable news soundbites, not tweets. These days, if it isn’t healthcare it’s the deficit; if it isn’t the deficit it’s federal funding for abortion; and if it isn’t federal funding for abortion it’s the trying of terrorists like Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in civilian courts rather than military tribunals. It’s Twitter, y’all! How can you possibly delve into complicated policy matters in 140 characters or less? Plus, all the back-slapping, sycophantic RT-ing between party members is getting really old.

In other news, David Vitter saved raw oysters! We’re starting to worry about John Shimkus—when he isn’t constantly quoting passages from the Bible, he’s repeating himself. Repeatedly. Chuck Grassley is back! Zach Wamp knows his strengths, Bob Goodlatte is eating chips, Paul Ryan knows who your daddy is, Denny Rehberg is checking his facts (better late than never), Mary Fallin is looking forward to “Going Rogue” and John McCain is sarcastic. Only one question remains: What is this “stimulous” you speak of, Joe Wilson? It sounds fabulous.

What: Celebrity Pet Night on Capitol Hill.

Where: Cannon House Office Building Caucus Room.

When: Wednesday, September 30, 5 to 7.

Attire: Dark suits and businesswear dominated the straight-from-the-office crowd.

Who: The Animal Health Institute invited members of Congress and their staff to socialize and celebrate the positive impact of pets at its annual reception. Headlining the event’s 12th year were four-legged “celebrities” Rocky—the rottweiler that plays Ahnold on HBO’s Entourage—and Raleigh, the Persian feline better known as Sprinkles on NBC’s The Office. Guests mingled and took pictures with the guests of honor, while a few brought their own purse-size dogs along. Congressional members such as Representative Shelley Berkley, who was eager to pose for a picture with Rocky, and Ralph Hall, who gave Raleigh a scratch behind the ears, made the rounds.

Welcome back to Washington, poli-twits! The President’s address to Congress Wednesday night was undoubtedly the biggest event of the week, unleashing a maelstrom of tweets that, like our members, just don’t agree. Mark Warner and Claire McCaskill admired Obama’s “bipartisan tone,” but Kevin Brady thought it was “needlessly partisan.” Arlen Specter and Chris Dodd thought the speech was “inspirational,” while Jason Chaffetz and Roy Blunt yawned their way through it. Everyone got mad at Joe Wilson, who, despite his sheepish apology last night, seems to have been spurred on in his crusade of rudeness by Sean Hannity. But more important, why can’t any of our representatives spell “disappoint” correctly?

In other news, a guest tweet by our esteemed editor, Garrett Graff, was too good not to include. McCaskill, ever the matriarch, has been cooking up a storm, Rick Perry is loving Roy Orbison, and John McCain has been schmoozing world leaders again.

Ted Kennedy passed away late Tuesday at the age of 77. Here's an October 2008 piece we wrote on what would be his lasting legacy:

In a 1979 photo by Time’s Diana Walker, Ted Kennedy and Strom Thurmond lock horns at a Senate Judiciary Committee session. A young Kennedy aide slips into the frame, just over his boss’s shoulder. The caption doesn’t identify the aide, but it’s 41-year-old Stephen Breyer, 15 years before his appointment to the Supreme Court.

Among the legions who’ve worked for Kennedy during his 46 years in the Senate, dozens like Breyer are near the top of Washington’s hierarchy of power. This network of former aides, which reaches nearly every field, is Kennedy’s legacy to Washington.

>> Read the full piece here