Since we have readers all over the country - and frankly, all over the world - the old weather adage often associated with March doesn't quite hold up as a direct metaphor for what's gone on this week. Still, as a generalization, it's not too far off the mark.
It's been a good but extremely busy week, as far as news stories go. Changes that we noted Thursday will likely happen in the U.S. Senate later this year, meaning the prospect that extremist conservatives will take over the Senate are considerably less than they were on Monday.
Progressive and liberal Democrats also teamed up to beat back some truly draconian legislative moves from the far right this week, including the Blunt/Rubio Amendment in the U.S. Senate, and the worst parts of the invasive transvaginal ultrasound bill in Virginia. President Obama also signed a bill waiving the indefinite detention of Americans, and the Dow and NASDAQ both reached highs that haven't been seen since before the crash of 2008. Jobless figures also continued to tick down slightly, giving the U.S. the best employment numbers we've seen in four years.
The Governor of Maryland signed a marriage equality bill into law on Thursday, making Maryland the eighth U.S. state or territory - including DC - to make the civil contract of marriage available to all of its citizens.
Sadly, not everything about the week was great. That offensive Virginia ultrasound bill was modified, and passed. In Oklahoma, an insane version of the "personhood" bill - one that's more restrictive than the one voters soundly defeated in Mississippi last year - looks set to pass. Republican Senator Olympia Snowe also announced her retirement from Congress, which - as we mentioned previously - disappoints our entire staff.
Of course, there were some GOP Primary contests too - which many Republicans don't seem all that thrilled with.
There were some horrible storms and some sad deaths too, which we were also saddened to see this week. Tornados should not be happening in Nebraska or the Midwest at the end of February and the beginning of March. But then, as some continue to tell us, climate change is just a hoax.
Last, but not least, extremist conservative activist Andrew Breitbart died just after midnight on Thursday of this week - and we send our condolences to his family.
That last news event might surprise some of our readers, that we categorize it as a negative for the week. For those who know us it best, it shouldn't.
Professionally, Andrew Breitbart was a loudmouthed, abusive, arrogant, ignorant, petulant, rumor-fueled, inaccurate, needlessly offensive person who gave anyone involved with the professional media a bad name. His failure to have even common courtesy was legendary, even among some of the conservatives we know.
He also happened to occasionally show kindness and rarely would surprise someone with an positive and energetic attempt to share what he thought of as his professional expertise.
We cannot and will not forgive him for the disaster he made of some corners of the media world. That said, he also helped to bring the aggregation part of modern media out of the professional closet - and for that, he deserves some small praise.
We didn't know Mr. Breitbart personally. We do know he had a young wife, and four kids, and several friends who will miss him. Like some of those taken in the tornado damage in Missouri and Illinois this week, he died far too young - and that's a fate we don't wish on our most vile opposition.
As you can see, this was not a week for light news coverage. March truly did come in like a lion, in terms of the news stories that happened this week.
With that in mind, we hope the rest of the axiom also holds true, so that things might be just a bit easier at the end of the month. What can we say? Call us optimists.
