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.

When Dan Froomkin surveyed the fresh digs where he would set up shop for Huffington Post’s larger Washington bureau three months ago, he realized its potential: rooftop party central.

“I grew up in Washington,” he tells me, “and I have never seen a view like this. You have to see it.”

The roof on the building on Pennsylvania Avenue is a block from the White House and it was the setting for a small gathering when the office opened. Last Friday Froomkin hosted another gathering of reporters and sources.

The mood was less festive in the building next door where Newsweek houses its DC bureau. The money-losing weekly, owned by the Washington Post Company, had just announced another round of layoffs. The Washington bureau didn’t take much of a hit but the bureau already had lost its swagger: Newsweek had moved to smaller quarters; reporters and editors had been asked to move from offices to cubicles.

“Yes,” says Newsweek bureau chief Jeff Bartholet, “we’re facing the same financial pressures afflicting other news outlets. But until now, anyway, we’ve tried to find savings in Washington by cutting back on travel and by moving into smaller offices to save on rent.”

There have been several sob stories about the death dance of the traditional Washington news bureau, including those of the news weeklies. Gone are the robust bureaus for the Los Angeles Times, Newhouse News, and other once-healthy news organizations. Digital media bureaus now are taking their places with as many reporters and plenty of swagger.

“I mourn the loss of those bureaus,” Froomkin says, “but there’s a lot of optimism, a lot of energy in the kind of Internet journalism we are doing.”

The votes are in, and the finalists in our wide-angle photo contest have been selected. Now we need you to choose a winner. 

You know the drill: Check out the finalists' gallery (click here to see it in a new window), then take the poll at the bottom of the page to vote for your favorite. The photo with the most votes at noon on Monday, November 30, will be the winner. It’ll appear in the January issue of The Washingtonian.

Remember, it’s only one vote per person, so play fair. If we notice voting irregularities for any photo, we reserve the right to disqualify it from the contest.

Good luck to this month’s finalists, and happy voting, readers!

>> Click here to see the finalists

Looking for next month’s theme? Check back on December 1 for details on how to enter.

Tom DeLay isn’t alone. While the former House majority leader had a quick fall from grace on Dancing With the Stars—stress fractures in both feet caused him to drop out early—a lot of fancy footwork is going on in political circles (and not just in the health-care-bill negotiations).

President Obama, who danced onstage with Ellen DeGeneres to Beyoncé’s “Crazy in Love,” has a classically trained ballet dancer heading the White House staff: Rahm Emanuel studied dance throughout his Chicago childhood and was offered a scholarship with the Joffrey Ballet. We even hear that Emanuel worked with a private ballet instructor at a downtown DC studio in recent years.

In his years on Saturday Night Live, Minnesota senator Al Franken danced up a storm, including in a memorable sketch where he played Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger.

Andrew Wiseman has lived in Columbia Heights for 2½ years, but he’s been in DC for more than ten. The son of an Air Force officer, Wiseman says that’s a record: “I love DC—so much so, I’m even a Nats fan.”

Wiseman has been blogging about Columbia Heights since March 2008. He tried out lots of names for his site—Heights of Columbia (taken), New (Columbia) Heights (corny)—before settling on New Columbia Heights, a celebration of all the new shops, restaurants, and development in the DC neighborhood. Not surprisingly, Wiseman writes to an audience comprised mostly of his neighbors. He pens features on local bands, hole-in-the-wall restaurants, real-estate development, and even celebrity sightings.

We caught up with Wiseman to get the scoop on what’s new in his neighborhood. The best pizza spot? Architectural eye sore? Bizarre crimes? Read on for his answers.

When Utah congressman Jason Chaffetz complained this fall after being singled out for additional screening at the Salt Lake City airport, he became the latest in a long line of politicians who’ve run into trouble at airports. Here’s a roundup of some of the most memorable confrontations.

Security

In 2000, cameras caught Congressman Patrick Kennedy of Rhode Island trying to shove a woman who was monitoring a metal detector when he was told his carryon bag was too large to fit through the x-ray machine.

In March, when gloved officials asked to search the bag of Oregon congressman Peter DeFazio, who had helped create the Transportation Security Administration, he allegedly mumbled a swear word.

Boarding Gate

Louisiana Senator David Vitter, of “DC madam” notoriety, threw a tantrum in March after he set off an alarm by opening a security door to a restricted area while rushing to catch a flight. When confronted by an employee, Vitter went into a “do you know who I am?” tirade before fleeing the scene.

Indiana congressman David McIntosh was charged with two counts of assault and battery in 1996 after trying to push his way past two USAir employees and onto a full plane. Both workers said McIntosh smelled of alcohol.

It’s been a historic year for women at the Supreme Court. Elena Kagan became the country’s first female solicitor general, and Sonia Sotomayor became the third woman to sit on the high court. But one place you won’t find more women is among Washington’s exclusive bar of Supreme Court advocates.

Latham & Watkins partner Maureen Mahoney, widely considered the queen of the DC appellate bar, is scaling back her practice and partially retiring. Renowned Supreme Court advocate Beth Brinkmann, previously chair of Morrison & Foerster’s appellate group, has left to be a deputy assistant attorney general in the Justice Department’s Civil Division. Among the cream of the crop of Washington’s Supreme Court lawyers, the last woman standing is Patricia Millett.