USA TODAY articles from March 2000

USA TODAY archives from March 2000

IT'S NEVER TOO EARLY TO GIVE A CHILD A BOOK.
March 1, 2000... "When will my child start to read?" is a common question for parents of first-graders, unless the youngster happened to master the skill in kindergarten--or even before. "It's a very individual process," notes Beverly Cox, professor of language...

BOYS SAY TALKING ABOUT FEELINGS IS WASTE OF TIME.
March 1, 2000... Stereotypes are so widely believed because they are often true. Everyone has heard that "men are from Mars; women are from Venus." We are often told boys are less sensitive than girls because men need to project strength and cannot handle...

FURNITURE TRENDS FOR THE 21ST CENTURY.
March 1, 2000... Faxes, e-mail, cellular phones, the Internet--Americans literally have tomorrow's technology today. As their lives become more complex and high-tech during the new millennium, people will place an even greater emphasis on the home as haven--a...

COMPUTER CONVENIENCE MAY EQUAL BODY STRAIN.
March 1, 2000... While computers have increased convenience at work and at home, they can be the cause of a number of problems such as tension in the neck and shoulders, lower-back soreness, eye strain, and swelling in the lower legs. "If you work with a...

JUST SIT BACK AND LET YOUR COMPUTER DO IT.
March 1, 2000... Within the first 20 years of the new century, mail carriers' loads will become a little lighter, appliances will communicate with one another, and personal computer monitors may be replaced with holographic, three-dimensional images, says...

Cooking Skills Bring Joy to the Kitchen.
March 1, 2000... Is cooking drudgery or food for the soul? The results of a Corningware national survey indicate that the more you know about cooking, the more personal fulfillment it offers. The results help explain why the new breed of kitchenware stores are...

RELIGIOUS DIVERSITY WILL BE ON THE RISE.
March 1, 2000... Look for increasing religious diversity in America in the near future, as well as interactive religious adventures and religion-related theme parks, predicts Theodore Trost, professor of religious studies, University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa....

HELPING OLDER MOTORISTS DRIVE MORE SAFELY.
March 1, 2000... Older drivers aren't causing more traffic accidents, but they are more likely to be injured in a crash, according to a study commissioned by the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles and conducted by the Center for the Advancement of Public...

SHY OR OUTGOING? BLAME IT ON YOUR BRAIN.
March 1, 2000... A University of Iowa, Iowa City, study adds to growing evidence that being shy or outgoing may be all in your head. Investigators looking at cerebral blood flow and personality have found more conclusive signs of different brain activity in...

ENSURING CAR COMFORT BY REMOTE CONTROL.
March 1, 2000... Friends and family members are hardly surprised when you operate various appliances in your home using a handheld remote control. Remotes have been used for television sets, VCRs, stereo systems, garage doors, and lights for a long time....

IS "OUT TO LUNCH" BECOMING OUT OF FAVOR?
March 1, 2000... If your lunch hour consists of alternating between e-mail responses and bites of your turkey sandwich, you are not alone. In a nationwide consumer survey developed by OfficeTeam, a staffing service specializing in highly skilled administrative...

BLAME MATTRESS FOR BAD BED RELATIONSHIPS.
March 1, 2000... More than 30,000,000 Americans are not satisfied in bed. According to research conducted for the Better Sleep Council by International Communications Research, 25% of men and women surveyed reported that they would sleep better if their spouses...

MILLENNIUM MOUSE SIMPLY WON'T QUIT.
March 1, 2000... All the hoopla leading up to the new millennium pretty well had petered out by the wee hours of Jan. 1, 2000, as parties around the world started to wind down, One place where it is stubbornly hanging on, though, is at Walt Disney World,...

A FOURSOME OF ELVIS, MARILYN, DAD, AND ME.
March 1, 2000... Actress Marilyn Monroe, actor-comedian Bill Murray, and "my father" rank right up with superstar golf professionals as preferred golf partners, according to a survey of 3,000 golf enthusiasts conducted by Sawgrass Marriott Resort, Ponte Vedra...

GETTING PATIENTS OUT OF THE HOSPITAL SOONER.
March 1, 2000... Patients used to spend several hours, sometimes days, in the hospital following surgery. Now, many individuals walk out the hospital door less than an hour or two after waking up from procedures. The speedy process is due largely to...

CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM Must Not Be Ignored.
March 1, 2000... Americans should ask themselves this simple question: "Do you believe your government works as hard for you as it does for special interests?" FIVE YEARS after America elected a Republican Congress, the conservative agenda it promised the...

COMBAT FOR SALE: THE NEW, POST-COLD WAR MERCENARIES.
March 1, 2000... Private military companies are working hand in glove with various governments to fight their wars in a businesslike manner. THEY'RE BACK! The new and improved mercenaries are now the good guys--at least to some. No doubt Niccolo...

The Puzzling Politics of the Center.
March 1, 2000... THE 20TH CENTURY ended with numerous changes that will affect the 21st. Empires and totalitarian systems crumbled; the globalized economy has given the nation state an uncertain future; and information technology is transforming business,...

What Do Academic Economists Contribute?
March 1, 2000... Rather than taking policy positions and engaging in intellectual challenges, they seek tenured positions, easy grant money, and influence over graduate students and the profession PEOPLE USED TO COMPLAIN that 10 economists got you 11...

DO SUCCESSFUL ENTREPRENEURS OWE A DEBT TO SOCIETY?
March 1, 2000... "Consumers receive more economic benefit from using products than entrepreneurs earn from producing them." "TODAY, multimillionaire John Doe established a foundation to provide financial support for worthy causes. After arriving in America...

Keeping Up with Tax Code Changes.
March 1, 2000... ACCORDING TO the Internal Revenue Service, it takes 12 hours and 51 minutes to do a simple 1040 tax form. Add a Schedule A and Schedule B (itemized deductions and interest/income) and it's another seven hours. That includes learning the rules,...

Electric and Fuel-Cell Vehicles Are a Mirage.
March 1, 2000... Alternative vehicular technologies are, at best, decades away from mass commercialization. OIL-BASED FUELS and the internal combustion engine are the kings of the transportation mountain. Of the world's approximately 650,000,000 motor...

This, That, and the Other Thing.
March 1, 2000... WHATEVER HAPPENED to free speech in this country, at least where white athletes are concerned? San Francisco Giants left fielder Barry Bonds, recently retired NBA forward Charles Barkley, former Georgetown University men's basketball coach John...

It's Time to Get Government Out of the SPORTS BUSINESS.
March 1, 2000... "... Politicians are attracted to sports subsidies like moths to a flame, but it is the taxpayers who get burned." THE 1990s were a decade of hyperactivity regarding new ballparks, stadiums, and arenas for professional sports teams. While...

The Looming Water Wars: FARMS vs. CITIES.
March 1, 2000... With not enough supplies to satisfy the demands of both agriculture and urban life, allocation of this vital resource is becoming more contentious and problematic. WHY WOULD the billionaire Bass brothers of Texas, enriched by real estate...

Global Warming, Global Warning.
March 1, 2000... SHOULD GLOBAL WARMING be of concern to Americans? Here's one indication. A Yahoo! search on the Internet results in more than 150,000 citations of websites with something to say about the issue. Points of view range from alarm to complete...

Westward no!
March 1, 2000... Great Britain's South West is a study in contrasts, from the holiday atmosphere of the English Riviera to Dartmoor's harsh, rugged landscape, making it a fascinating area to explore. A LIFETIME of books, movies, and television shows had...

Ancient Masks, Modern Masks.
March 1, 2000... From cavemen to astronauts, humans have worn masks for protection, as a disguise, or as a means of transforming themselves spiritually. THE LARGEST global exhibition to explore the power of masks in the human experience unites visual,...

Updating Contract Law for the Digital Age.
March 1, 2000... The Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act will promote electronic commerce and protect consumers by providing predictability an new rights regarding dealings in the digital marketplace. ELECTRONIC commerce over the Internet promises...

PHILANTHROPHY Is Revolutionizing Education.
March 1, 2000... Philanthropists are providing a different approach to educational reform through a system of private vouchers that offer scholarship aid to poor families. THE POWER of memory is central, not just to the life of a person, but to the life of...

An Aging America Faces the Assisted Living Alternative.
March 1, 2000... "The challenge for society will be to provide affordable, safe, and high-quality facilities that respect the independence, dignity, and autonomy of the elderly." AMERICA'S POPULATION is getting older and, along with it, there is a dramatic...

UMBILICAL CORD BLOOD BANKING: Insurance Against Future Diseases?
March 1, 2000... Researchers are continuing to seek answers to the scientific and ethical questions surrounding this experimental and controversial medical procedure. CINDY MONROE was pregnant with her first child when doctors found a malignant tumor on...

DEATH WITH DIGNITY: Choices and Challenges.
March 1, 2000... Terminally ill patients' right to refuse medical treatment has been established, but the issue of physician-assisted suicide remains a hotbed of controversy. WHILE AMERICANS consider themselves free to live the lives they choose, most...

21st-Century Technology, Medieval Information.
March 1, 2000... TECHNOLOGY in the 21st century can take us anywhere in the world in a flash, making the international community smaller and smaller and giving us a feeling of euphoria as we switch from one capital to another as easily as we watch another rerun...

MINORITY HIRING May Be Facing Retrenchment.
March 1, 2000... Will a court-ordered change from mandatory to voluntary hiring of minorities and women change the face of broadcasting? "BY ALL ACCOUNTS, I should not have succeeded in this business," says Will Wright, news director at WWOR-TV in New York...

TIPPER GORE and the Overreaching of Mental Health Coverage.
March 1, 2000... "Mrs. Gore's well-motivated, but not so well-thought out, expansion of mental health coverage to the point of actual parity [with physical illnesses] would represent an irresponsible and overly expensive change in the status quo." IT WAS...

BARRY GOLDWATER: Icon of Political Integrity.
March 1, 2000... The godfather of American conservatism was far from being the right-wing ideologue his critics labeled him. BARRY GOLDWATER, the rugged, unpredictable godfather of conservatism's rise as a powerful force in America, died May 29, 1998. The...

Michael Mann's Band of Outsiders.
March 1, 2000... THE PAST HOLIDAY SEASON did not offer a great deal of outstanding movie fare. Even if the arena were crowded with works of distinction, a clear standout would be Michael Mann's "The Insider," and its achievement makes us reconsider his...

Requiem for HENRY ROTH.
March 1, 2000... What led the author to wait 60 years between publication of his first and second novels? "YOU ARE NOT REQUIRED to finish," declares the Talmudic dictum that Henry JL Roth, wracked by rheumatoid arthritis as he tapped out every word,...

WHAT'S NEW?
March 1, 2000... This symbol (*) indicates USA Today has tested a product for operating in full compliance with the manufacturer's specifications and to determine its performance as applicable to our reader's needs. Disadvantages, if any, also are reported....

SHADOW: FIVE PRESIDENTS AND THE LEGACY OF WATERGATE.
March 1, 2000... SHADOW: FIVE PRESIDENTS AND THE LEGACY OF WATERGATE BY BOB WOODWARD SIMON & SCHUSTER 1999, 593 PAGES, $27.50 Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward has given us another best-seller on presidential politics. This time, he investigates how...

FRONT ROW AT THE WHITE HOUSE.
March 1, 2000... FRONT ROW AT THE WHITE HOUSE BY HELEN THOMAS SCRIBNER PUBLISHING 1999, 425 PAGES, $26.00 Helen Thomas, the woman who asks tough questions of presidents and other political figures, has been on the job for United Press International...

AMERICA'S NATIONAL HISTORIC TRAILS.
March 1, 2000... AMERICA'S NATIONAL HISTORIC TRAILS BY KATHLEEN ANN CORDES UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA PRESS 1999, 369 PAGES, $19.95 For the traveler who has run out of places to go and sites to see, this book offers an entirely new challenge. It presents a...

SHAKESPEARE ON SCREEN.
March 1, 2000... A few years ago, Jane Austen seemed to be the hottest screenwriter around, never mind the fact that she had been dead for more than 175 years. Proving that even being 200 years older is no deterrent, the Bard of Avon is looking to reclaim his...

CALIGULA: TWENTIETH ANNIVERSARY EDITION.
March 1, 2000... CALIGULA: TWENTIETH ANNIVERSARY EDITION PENTHOUSE VIDEO 155 MINUTES, $29.99 (DVD) Now that DVD has proven itself to a receptive audience, producers are rushing to fill the stores with the same extensive backlist that made VHS such a...

DISNEY DOES DVD.
March 1, 2000... When DVD first came on the market, some of the studios embraced it wholeheartedly, immediately starting to pour new and, soon after, old titles into the young medium. Others were more cautious, back until consumers beholding began to show...

How to Make a "Last"-ing Impression.
March 1, 2000... THIS IS NOT an essay on eschatology, a branch of theology that deals with ultimates such as death, judgment, heaven, hell, etc. Rather, it is a caution against always believing that first things should come first. In point of fact, while most...