Uncle Sam

Tax season usually leaves Americans grumbling, but you might have a few things to smile about this year, thanks to a bout of generosity from your dear old Uncle Sam. Desperate to kick-start the sputtering economy, Congress last year passed a stimulus bill that threw money at anyone willing to buy homes, cars, solar water heaters, energy-efficient air conditioners, refrigerators -- even golf carts. Why? Consumer spending is believed to account for about two-thirds of economic growth, so legislators were giving Americans reasons to spend.

Frightened by municipal bonds and wary of mutual funds, many yield-hungry small investors have been going back to basics: buying shorter-term bills and notes issued directly by Uncle Sam. This week, investors get another chance to buy: The Treasury will auction $17.25 billion in two-year notes on Wednesday and $11 billion in five-year notes on Thursday.

As an Amtrak fan I was interested in Arthur Frommer's "Railing Against the System" [On a Budget, Oct. 26]. It is true that the government digs in its heels against funding Amtrak realistically. I take the San Joaquin trains often to Sacramento. I have joined the Train Riders Assn. of California, which is fighting for adequate funding for Amtrak. To this end, I have contacted the president, both my senators and my congresswoman. If more people did this, something could be done to remedy this deplorable situation.

The Bush administration says analyzing large databases of known and suspected terrorists and organizations has enabled it to foil plots against Americans since Sept. 11. Last fall, Congress helped that national security effort along by passing legislation to create the Terrorist Identification Classification System, a shared database meant to encourage bickering agencies such as the CIA and the FBI to cooperate on information-sharing.

THE PENTAGON IS facing its most serious manpower challenge since the draft ended in 1973. The Army, the Army National Guard, the Marines and the Reserves are struggling to meet their recruitment targets. Applications to West Point, the Naval Academy and the Air Force Academy have dropped between 10% and 20%. Recruitment among African Americans -- who make up nearly one-quarter of active duty forces despite being only 13% of the U.S.

I was schlepping around town the other day, talking to people about improving America's image, when I came upon a spin doctor with a potful of ideas on the subject. Replacing Uncle Sam with Homer Simpson was one of them. Image-altering has been on my mind ever since the Council on Foreign Affairs announced some days ago that we are viewed abroad as arrogant, self-indulgent, hypocritical, inattentive and hostile. And that's just in Washington. When President Bush first heard how the U.S.

It was a motoring mystery. Several callers complained of backups in both directions on the San Diego Freeway approaching the Sherman Way exit the other night, said traffic reporter Richard Turnage of KFWB-AM (980). "But," he added, "none of the agencies we monitor for traffic info was reporting any problem. I speculated on-air that there might be police activity or possible road repairs, but didn't really know."

Geffen's appropriate reaction to the speeches of Pats Buchanan and Robertson at the Republican National Convention was: "They were talking about an America that was about being white, Christian, heterosexual male. Well, you know there are people who just don't fit into that category." I think that it is safe to say that many of us found those speeches to be an affront to our humanity. However, after reading the entire article on Geffen, about his powerbrokering and the social agenda of him and his political connections, I would say to him, "You're talking about an America that is about being intrusive, where citizens want their country to be regulated and systematically destroyed by a government bloated beyond recognition.

Despite a surge in patriotism immediately after Sept. 11, more than 75% of college juniors and seniors say they would not consider a career with Uncle Sam, according to a national poll released Tuesday. "The students view the federal government as an old-fashioned, bureaucratic and politicized work atmosphere that puts policies and procedures ahead of people," said Mark J. Penn, the pollster who directed a study of 1,000 students across the country.

QUESTION: I left my job with a very small company and was supposed to receive a lump-sum disbursement from the pension fund. I have waited the required length of time for this check, but it still hasn't come. The plan was set up in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Internal Revenue Service. Can the IRS help me? The company isn't cooperating.--L. V. S. ANSWER: The Internal Revenue Service can't give you the help you need.