A letter sent by Dwight H. Sullivan, a lawyer with the Maryland affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union, to Janet Owens, county executive of Anne Arundel County, Maryland, March 4, 1999:

Dear Ms. Owens,

During the previous Anne Arundel County Administration, the Invincible Empire Knights of the Ku Klux Klan applied to participate in the county's Adopt-A-Road Program. I understand that in response, the county suspended processing new applications to the program.

I have been informed by the Invincible Empire that, in order to avoid further controversy, it is willing to agree to a sign that does not include the words "Ku Klux Klan." Instead, the sign could read, "The Invincible Empire Realm of Maryland." I have also been informed that the organization does not plan for its members to wear robes while engaging in trash collection.

Would you please let me know whether the Invincible Empire will be allowed to participate?

Sincerely,
Dwight H. Sullivan

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The United Bikers of Maine asked the legislature to include motorcycle enthusiasts in the state's Human Rights Act, based on allegations of discrimination. "Some would say that we want special rights," commented Michael Behr, president of the Maine Hells Angels. "It has nothing to do with special rights. We want the same rights as everyone else."

Though the proposal failed in Maine along with one in Arizona, a similar one in Minnesota passed in 1998, making it illegal to discriminate against someone "because of the individual's mode of transportation or the fact that the person has the name of an organization or association on the person's clothing."

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Randy Cohen, who writes a column as "The Ethicist" in the New York Times Magazine, June 20, 1999:

Finally, charity cloaks corporate greed. A corporation that dispatches teams of lobbyists to drive down the tax rate still expects to be applauded for the money it spends, say, planting trees (or perhaps cutting them down—it's so hard to keep these ideologies straight). When a thief, having stolen your wallet, hands you back carfare, it's tough to mutter much of a thank-you. Similarly, nice as it is that Bill Gates gives money to libraries, a decent country would tax Microsoft at a rate that lets cities buy their own books.

[Ed.: Mr. Cohen has also told readers that supporting charities wasn't worthwhile, because it made the state more likely to abandon public projects, and that it is unethical to fire or report a temp worker whose shoddy performance makes everyone else look bad.]

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