E-mail reaction continues on the matter of George Tarburton, the ormer Maryland Transportation Authority cop who lost his job because he blew the whistle on security lapses in the Port of Baltimore. The O'Malley administration has done nothing to correct the injustice done to Tarburton by the Ehrlich administration. Meanwhile, the Tarburton story is getting some legs.

Here's a letter from a school teacher in Amesbury, Mass. who knew Tarburton back in his Marine Corps days.:

"AS A HIGH SCHOOL HISTORY TEACHER I AM CONSTANTLY LOOKING FOR STORIES THAT WILL CONSIDER THE INTEGRITY OF THE INDIVIDUAL AND YOUR FINE PIECE ON AN OLD MARINE CORPS BUDDY HAS DONE JUST THAT. IT BROUGHT FORTH A BIG QUESTION REGARDING 'DOING THE RIGHT THING.'
"USING YOUR ARTICLE IN MY LAW CLASS, I ASKED PUPILS WHAT THEY THOUGHT WAS CORRECT -- SAVING A JOB OR PUTTING FORTH THE TRUTH FOR THE BETTERMENT OF SOCIETY. MOST STUDENTS WERE AMAZED THAT A PERSON COULD BE FIRED FOR QUESTIONING AUTHORITY. THIS FROM THOSE SAME STUDENTS WHO NO LONGER FIND CRITICAL THINKING IN THE CURRICULUM (AS TEST SCORES SEEMS TO NOW TRUMP SUCH THINGS).
"THE PUPILS WERE IMPRESSED TO DISCOVER THAT THE MEDIA WILL NOT FORGET THOSE WHO 'DO THE RIGHT THING,' WHILE THEY WERE UPSET (GENERALLY) TO LEARN THAT YOU CAN BE FIRED FOR TELLING THE TRUTH.
"ALL IN ALL, IT HAS BEEN A GREAT LEARNING EXPERIENCE FOR THEM, UNFORTUNATELY AT THE EXPENSE OF A MAN OF INTEGRITY --- ONE WHO LISTENED TO HIS INNER VOICE AND PAID A HIGH PRICE FOR IT.
"I WAS GEORGE'S SERGEANT OF THE GUARD AT A SPECIAL WEAPONS FACILITY IN SICILY IN 1983 AND HE THEN WAS COMMITTED TO DOING THE JOB RIGHT AND IT WOULD SEEM THAT HE STILL IS.
"HOW SAD IT IS THAT HE HAS BEEN HUNG OUT TO DRY BY THOSE WHO WOULD RATHER PROTECT THEIR OWN INTERESTS THAN COMMEND HIM FOR DILIGENCE. HAD GEORGE NOT SOUGHT OTHER AVENUES FIRST, OR HAD HE 'RATTED-OUT' OTHERS WHO HELD THE SAME CONVICTIONS, I MIGHT NOT BE APT TO STAND BY HIM. BUT, AS IT STANDS, I AM PROUD OF THE MAN, LITTLE GOOD AS SUCH MAY DO FOR HIM.
"THANK YOU FOR LOOKING INTO THIS MATTER AND GIVING GEORGE A VOICE."
-- PAUL JANCEWICZ