I read an article about how a woman accused a government official of cheating on his wife with her. The reporter speculated that her accusations would never attract much publicity, because the woman was perceived as being "white trash." In supporting this description, the reporter noted that investigators discovered the woman subscribed only to TV Guide.

Hey, I thought. I subscribe only to TV Guide.

Does that mean, I wondered, that sitting in a government warehouse in suburban Virginia is a stack of papers about me titled "Disregard: He's Just White Trash?"

Now, for years, I've heard people complain that the government knew too much about their personal lives. None of that hippie whining ever appealed to me. But to think that someone perceives of me as white trash? I was stirred into action.

Granted, as far as chauvinist pigs go, I'm pretty prissy. So you might not be as offended as I was by my situation. But I'm sure you have your own reasons for not wanting the government knowing too much about you. Hey, don't tell me about it: it's your business. Let's not get personal.

But the problem is that I could get personal, because so much revealing information is available these days. Mailing lists show your subsrciptions fashion magazines. Tax records reveal that you work for a retail chain. Credit card companies know you buy yams in bulk. Your record club knows you have paid for Steely Dan albums. And web sites record every nudie pic and stock price you download in some advertiser's database.

As information technology increases, the government, banks and computer networks only get better.

That bothers me.