Wednesday digest

- Big thumbs up today to Oprah. Here's a woman who faced grinding poverty, dealt with sexual assault as a teen, and rose above it all to become one of the most successful people ever at her craft. Now, she says that she doesn’t feel one bit of guilt for making money and enjoying the finer things in life. Right on. There’s nothing wrong with earning an honest dollar and spending it on whatever the hell pleases. It’s what makes the world go around, despite protests to the contrary (h/t: Right Wing News).

- Some right-wingers have their knickers in a knot because anti-war marcher Meredith Vieira of “The View” and “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” is taking over from Katie Couric on “Today”. I happen to think that Vieira is eminently qualified to take over the post and I also highly doubt that she’s getting the gig due to her politics.

I’m the first one to shout “media bias” when I see it, but Vieira has a light and easy on-screen manner. She’s also very attractive. These qualities are important in bringing in the viewers. Vieira hasn’t OK’d any forged memos just yet or falsely reported on Korans not being flushed down the toilets by US soldiers, so everyone should just give her a chance. (On the other hand, here’s something that those with an interest in fairness should be very concerned about.)

- The Accountability Act has been tabled. I won’t comment much on this largely “inside the Beltway” legislation but it is great to see that partisan hacks are going to have to compete for civil service jobs just like the rest of us schleps in Ottawa. Hey Liberals – you like your affirmative action programs and onerous language requirements? Then live with ‘em!

- While it seems that the Left likes to stay in school longer, right-wingers are more likely to give to charity, according to this piece. Very interesting. One thing's for sure: the 30-plus professional student that pontificates at your local campus bar to a captive audience of freshmen and sophomores is not bloody likely to be a Republican, now, is he?

- The spokesman for the group cited here is a former executive with the Canadian Arab Federation. The evidence keeps piling up - the Muslim and Arab diaspora do not want a two-state solution, period.

- On that note, Mark Steyn and Daniel Pipes.

- One of the Pointer Sisters has died. Listen to "Automatic" and "He's So Shy" and tell me that the 80s didn't rule.