Religion & Law

On the "Oprah" show the other day, it was announced that Mark Zuckerberg (the founder of Facebook) is going to spend $100 million to try to improve -- in partnership with Mayor Cory Booker (D) and Gov. Chris Christie (R) -- Newark's really, really bad government schools.

So, on the one hand:  Great.  Booker is a first-rate mayor, and Christie is one of my favorite politicians around.  Hats off to Zuckerberg for his generosity.  This kind of cooperation puts to shame those members of Congress who bray about their desire for "bipartisanship."

On the other hand:  This is a huge waste of money.  The focus should be on the welfare and opportunity of the children in Newark, and not so much on the ability (or not) of the (pathological) government schools to (mis)serve those children.  A scholarship fund for poor kids to attend parochial schools would improve more lives, I suspect.