The Past Two Days (News Clips), May 31

Some interesting news this week, from Obama's new political ad, to the $20,000 payments by Cardinal Dolan. Take a look:

Cardinal Dolan Quiet on $20K Payments to Pedophile Priests

• Cardinal Timothy Dolan of the archdiocese of New York is keeping quiet today after his old diocese, the archdiocese of Milwaukee, confirmed that under his leadership the church paid individual sums of $20,000 to priests accused of molesting children.  Dolan, who became a cardinal in February and serves as the head of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, is recorded discussing the payments in the minutes of financial committee meetings in 2003, documents released as the Milwaukee archdioecese goes through bankruptcy court in Wisconsin.

Houla Eye Witnesses: Free Syrian Army Responsible for Massacre

• According to a translation of a Russian video of the interviews, the Free Syrian Army (FSA) carried out the attacks and the victims were al-Assad loyalists and people who had demonstrated opposition to the armed opposition group supported by the CIA and trained by British and French Special Forces. According to the accounts, FSA gunmen entered the city located in the Homs countryside and after securing it began killing people.

President Obama's "New Normal": Fewer Jobs, More Spending, Higher Prices

• House Republicans' relentless focus on jobs is necessary because President Obama's failed policies and hostility toward job creators have created a "new normal" of fewer jobs, more spending, and higher prices. Speaker John Boehner highlighted the president's "new normal" in a video today, explaining that under the Obama administration, "jobs are still hard to come by," "wages are stagnant," and "prices are rising" for families and small businesses.

Do Obama's Drone Strikes Imperil America?

• This week opponents of President Obama's prolific use of drone strikes hit the elite-media trifecta. High profile reportage in the New York Times and the Washington Post and on PBS together amplified a question that has been asked more and more by national security experts:  Is Obama sacrificing America's long-term security for short-term political gain?

Opinion: Facebook threatens to 'Zuck up' the human race

• The news last week was all about Facebook's dodgy IPO. Investors are filing suit against Facebook about withholding "negative" assessment on its business prospects. This IPO not only "Zucked up" Silicon Valley's supposed tech bubble, but it has created the suspicion that Facebook willfully exploited the innocence of the small investor. But something even dodgier than a potential stock market fraud is going on. The social network is taking something much more important than money from its nearly one billion members. By sabotaging what it really means to be human, Facebook is stealing the innocence of our inner lives.