...that privately Jim Baker must be really kicking himself for his work in 2000?

Karmic paybacks are even more hellish when they fall due in the same lifetime as the original sin.

...like E.B., I just can't eat the stuff anymore, because shortly afterwards I get a stomach ache. Maybe it's not an allergy, but why would anyone eat something that has that effect?

Well, I did for awhile, because I didn't know that soy was the culprit, and I was compensating for not being able to eat either wheat or dairy by eating soy substitutes for them.

Then, one of my health practitioners suggested that I give it up, along with peanuts, and tap water, and the multi-vitamins... no more stomach aches, unless I accidentally eat something with soy in it. Truly, it has insidiously spread itself throughout our food supply. You have to be vigilant to avoid it.

And, yet, there are those who really seem to enjoy soy... even after they eat it.

In the meantime, if it weren't about the money, what would it be about? The LW needs to ask his GF that question... gently.

I wasn't sure from his letter whether she had even met his family yet, and she might feel nervous meeting them for the first time, while feeling still vulnerable from all that they've been through in the past year.

And, as another commenter suggested, a marriage proposal might be a missing piece of the puzzle. It would be for me, if I were going to meet my BF's family in middle America with our new baby, and wished to present myself as a person of substance, even if the money is tight. (And I live on the east coast, too.)

As for the job waiting tables, any job that requires one to desperately hold onto it is probably not really worth it. ...speaking from my own experience. Reasonable employers understand that their employees need to visit their families, especially when there is a new grandchild involved.

Oh, and count one more vote against this trip as an excuse for weaning. In fact, the GF might even need the nursing experience as much as their baby does. I had a friend years ago who nursed her second child through a severely stressful time when her husband had a stroke. I'm no expert, but it did seem that nursing (and its attendant hormones) might have helped her through the experience.

I've found the idea of micro-lending fascinating, but did not realize that we ordinary folks could participate in it, too.

My 11-1/2 yr old grandson still believes in Santa. At least, he seems to. When the topic has come up with other kids around who say otherwise, he has said, well, all he knows is that Santa comes to his house. Given other things about him, I'm willing to think he really does believe.

My daughter thinks it's about time to tell him-- again, so he won't be embarrassed by his peers. But, she's engaged to be married again, and her fiance thinks they should wait. (He doesn't have any children of his own, but is wonderful with my grandson.)

My daughter wants my partner to tell him the way he told his own kids years ago. Partly, it was desperation, because his then-wife was in the hospital, and he was juggling his job, 3 kids, and hospital visits, not to mention trying to pull off Christmas.

So, he told the oldest one that there was essentially both good and bad news about Santa. Briefly... that although he's no longer living, Santa set an inspiring example when he was alive and people still try to keep his memory alive by giving gifts at Christmas time. Since he (my partner's son) was now old enough to know the truth, he could help make Christmas happen for his brother and sister by helping with some of the things that needed to be done and were too much for his dad to do without help.

Eventually, each of the other two heard the same story. And it seemed to work for them at the time.

I honestly don't know what this LW should do, since I feel similarly torn about someone telling my grandson. But, I thought the example of one way to tell might be helpful... for when the time does come.

...for Ann Coulter's visibility, blame Bill Maher. He used to have her on his old show very regularly, which probably gave her more so-called "credibility" than any of her other gigs.

In the meantime, I don't think ignoring her will make her go away, but forcing the Republican Party to take responsibility for her, to admit that she is one of their own, could be a rewarding experience, especially if they eventually decided to disown her. I say shine a lot more light on her. Blind her with it.

The other team is particularly fond of asking pointed questions of Democrats in response to either real or perceived faux pas (sometimes by mere bloggers). Why don't we do that more often in reverse?

Why not ask Snow, Bush, Cheney, Rice, (and Laura!) or any of the generals what they think about Ann's Plan? If they demur, then ask why she is permitted to essentially speak for the Republican Party? Why is she never pressured, as prominent Democrats so often are, to apologize for, or at least "clarify," any of her outlandish and egregious statements? If they question her real influence, one only has to remind them of her book sales.

And furthermore, what about her personal voting scandal? Why has she been permitted to commit a possible felony without being held accountable? Especially in Florida... where so many Democratic-leaning voters have been denied appropriate access to the voting experience for questionable reasons, why is she allowed to register and vote in a precinct where she does not live?