ABORTION!

It's a word that gets your attention, doesn't it?

I bring up the word "abortion" because of what soon to be announced presidential candidate Fred Thompson is going through.

Thompson, while trying to appeal to conservative voters who would like to outlaw abortion, is the subject of claims made by people who say that Thompson was doing some lobbying on behalf of a "right to choose" group during the first President Bush's term in the 90's. There is also some dispute about things Thompson has written or didn't write about a woman's right to choose when it comes to the abortion issue.

Question: Do you know anyone who honestly favors abortion? I mean, that has to be one of the toughest, if not the toughest decision a woman will ever make!

When I was younger, I was totally against abortion being legal.

As I got older, a new kind of thinking began to creep into my mind. Why is it that men think they should decide what a woman won't or shouldn't do? Arguments posed by women that "it's my body" made more and more sense to me.

If abortion was something that was mandated, it wouldn't have a sliver of a chance of ever being made legal. But it's an option! An uncomfortable option, but an option nonetheless.

People who are against the death penalty are often asked something like, "What if your wife, husband, child or other loved one was murdered? How would you feel about the death penalty then?"

It's an interesting question, isn't it?

Here's another question. If you're a man who supports a woman's right to choose, how would you feel if a woman chose to abort your child?

Hmmm....

It's a question I can answer. It happened to me. The love of my life chose to abort my child. I tried to talk her out of it. I mean, I really tried. But she had the abortion.

I haven't gotten over it or I wouldn't be writing about it now. And as much as it hurt, I still support a woman's right to choose. And if things were reversed, I wouldn't want a woman telling me what to do with my body.

I'm not going to vote or not vote for Fred Thompson because he might be in favor of a woman's right to choose. Why? Because so am I.

Oh...The death penalty? I'm against that too, but not for any reasons you might think I'm against it for. I think that life in prison without the possibility of parole causes more suffering for the murderer than the death penalty would.

WILL DAN PATRICK BE THE NEW MORNING HOST FOR WFAN?

A couple of months or so ago, syndicated radio host Don Imus was fired by WFAN in New York because of remarks he made about a women's basketball team. He was also fired by the television network that was broadcasting his show. WFAN has yet to find a replacement.

Well look at who just became available! Dan Patrick. A guy who says he'd like to do some more radio somewhere. Dan Patrick. A guy who is also very comfortable as a television host. Dan Patrick. A guy, who like Imus, is much more than a host who happens to know something about sports. Dan Patrick. The Imus replacement they've been looking for? It makes sense to me!

A TELEVISION ITEM YOU MIGHT NOT BE AWARE OF:

Do you know what the hottest television show is right now? "Army Wives". New episodes are shown on Lifetime, Sunday nights at 10. The two main stars are Kim Delaney and Catherine Bell. I saw this past Sunday night's show and I'm hooked. This is about what families of war veterans or of soldiers who are about to deploy go through. While it certainly has serious story lines, it's also very entertaining. I'm a military veteran and I heartily recommend "Army Wives", Sunday nights at 10 on Lifetime. By the way, there's a lot of interesting things on Lifetime these days.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Don't forget! You can HEAR this blog! The links to the three stations broadcasting today's blog can be found at the bottom of my links section which is to the right of what you're reading now. It's the last three links.

If you read this before pictures have been added, come back! Pictures will be up soon. A new blog is written every morning, Monday through Friday and is posted between 7 and 7:15, Pacific Time. Sometimes earlier. Questions and comments can be sent to scottstjames@sbcglobal.net. I do write back.

TOMORROW: My thoughts about "Lord of War", a 2005 film that I just saw on Showtime. Annd... Whatever else comes up that makes me say, "Whaaaat?"