Sneak peek at the weekend

Saturday's Op-Ed page is filled with commentaries by The Bee's young readers. Jennifer Goolkasian, a graduate of san Joaquin Memorial High School, writes about her fun experiences as a member of the high school band (she played the xylophone!). Brenda Rankin, a senior at Fresno State, is lamenting the loss of her summer vacation because he has to feed her resume. And that means lots of volunteer work to look better on paper for graduate schools. Anthony Chuka Ogwu-Oju is home on summer vacation from Harvard and he shares his thoughts about the immigration debate.

In Sunday's Vision section, Drake Bennett of the Boston Globe's Ideas section analyzes why Bill and Melinda Gates' philanthropic dollars are spent so effectively. Victor Davis Hanson of Stanford's Hoover Institution (via Selma) says Americans should appreciate the affluence we enjoy because our good life could come to an end. Our featured letter writer this week is Michael Alexander Varin, 29, who describes himself as libertarian, but not necessarily Libertarian Party. He thinks partisan politics is destructive.

Jim Boren, editor of the editorial pages, writes about how we put together the editorial pages and the role they play in our democracy. He invites your suggestions for improvements. On the Op-ed page, we have a debate addressing this question: Will Democrats be making a mistake if they oust Sen. Joe Lieberman in next month's primary?

Our top 10 list this week is "Things to do when the power is off." No. 10 is "Dream fondly of tule fog." (It does sound good right now, doesn't it?) Perhaps you can guess No. 1. Ellen Goodman of the Boston Globe challenges commentator Barbara Dafoe Whitehead of the National Marriage Project for her observation that popular culture is hostile to parenting. Goodman is not sure she's living in the same world as Dafoe as she points out that the bump beat has never been so hot. Looking at the popular magazines, the public can't get enough of Angelina, Brad, Tom and Katie etc. and their baby news. The Bee's award-winning editorial cartoonist, SW Parra, weighs in on the heat.

Enjoy!