A THOUSAND miles of distance appear to have given Staff Sgt. Mike
Cullen of the Calgary Police Service the courage necessary for a
groundless personal attack, evidenced by his comments about me in Bill
Kaufman's July 6 column. This certainly contrasts with his silence at
April's Fraser Institute conference, when like all attendees he was
invited to take the microphone and publicly hold me accountable in
person. Whether it's a lack of guts, or simply that he has no evidence
to support any disagreement, I'm not sure.

What I am sure of is that I'd be happy to publicly debate him on the
illicit drug issue anytime -- an offer I've made to many drug squad
types and which I've yet to have accepted. As far as being "out to
lunch" goes, I'll be doing that shortly and will enjoy my favorite
wine, a nice B.C. pinot noir. Taxpayers should be wary of the drug
warrior's favorite whine, however, as stated by Cullen himself -- give
us more money!

Gil Puder

(Well, Staff Sgt. Cullen?)