I think the blog itself is the product of a wonderful urge to share the humor, the insight of a group of people who really enjoy each other and that is admirable, and even on my initial read, enjoyable. But please, please, please change the lead-in. "Girls Gone Wild" isn't clever, and it references one of the most exploitive, obnoxious contributions to pop culture. Also, I agree with other posters who think the !pink! color scheme is cliche and out of line with Broadsheet's stated goals. Carry on!

http://www.historychannel.com/exhibits/holidays/christmas/trees.html

According to the History Channel,

"...[A]s late as the 1840s Christmas trees were seen as pagan symbols and not accepted by most Americans.

... In 1659, the General Court of Massachusetts enacted a law making any observance of December 25 (other than a church service) a penal offense; people were fined for hanging decorations. That stern solemnity continued until the 19th century, when the influx of German and Irish immigrants undermined the Puritan legacy. "

Even after it became broadly accepted in the US, the tradition of evergreens marking the winter solstice or birth of the sun/son is hardly monopolized by Christians. This is an example of the ridiculousness of the extent that even elected officials will go to in order to promote a non-existent culture war against Christianity. It's almost amusing when O'Reilly and his ilk get up to this foolishness, but when elected officials do it, it becomes shameful.

I have been dreading the release of this movie, because I am afraid that Aslan will have been made into a tame lion in the service of appealing to conservative christians, which would be merely an extension of those who make Jesus into a tame son of god in order to further their own views. I won't go see the movie because I don't think it could possibly live up to my imagination, and there just seems to be something off about the production.

Imagine that this situation didn't involve pregnancy, and I think a lot of the vitriol being aimed at the LW would come out of the discussion. I began working at a new job under a 2 year commitment (because of significant training time), fully intending to stay for that time. As it happened, about 18 months in, I read an internal job posting that sounded really interesting and much more in line with my own personal goals. I wasn't searching out of a desire to leave the department, but because it's a way to keep tabs on what the company is doing, which departments are growing, etc. So I asked my boss if I could meet with the hiring manager for information, in case a similar position opened in the future. At this meeting, I explained my commitment and also my interest in the position as a future goal. The hiring manager called me the next day to find out if I could go for a formal interview, which I hadn't expected. I went back to my boss and explained the situation, and asked if it was acceptable to go on the interview, and reiterated that I wasn't unhappy in my current job, but was attracted to the possibilities of this job, and regretted the circumstance of the timing of the open position. I went, and was hired later that week. I'm sure that my boss wasn't entirely happy, but I was honest throughout the process and he agreed to release me (since this was internal, his permission mattered) but through finesse and integrity, I feel that we would still have a good work relationship if I ever work with or for him again.

I agree with the concept that with an at will employer, 2 year commitments are not the sturdy stuff of "your word" because of the lack of reciprocity on the employer's part. Unless they will "commit" to not laying off or otherwise eliminating you for those 2 years, a new job or being pregnant means that your needs changed, leave without guilt (but with finesse and honesty!)

In this case, the actual personal circumstances should not be confused with the business circumstances. Whether or not the timing of the pregnancy was intended, it doesn't matter. This could have happened due to a broken condom or failure of birth control, and that is none of the employer's business anyway. The facts that are important to the boss, are that you are leaving. I agree that to come back to the same job and standing after a five year gap will be hard, but LW seems to be planning to freelance and not have a complete void. If she is going to court her current employer as a client, then it would be prudent to leave on the best terms possible. I agree with the flexible solutions offered in other letters, like offering to stay until a replacement is found (even if sooner than her intended leave date), train the replacement, taking on part time at home work, etc.

Congratulations!