Newsletter for January 23, 2008
Gordon reporting
[FirstName] -
VIEWPOINT
Forrest leads the flag pledge.
Thought for the Day:
Russell Rice quotes Douglas MacArthur:
“Youth is not entirely a time of life; it is a
state of mind. Nobody grows
old by merely living a number of years.
People grow old by deserting their ideals.
You are as young as your faith, as old as your
doubt, as young
as your self-confidence, as old as your fear, as
young as your
hope, as old as your despair.
There is no security, only opportunity.”
PVR guests:
Al Kaplan
Stu Gan
Ralph
Sartori, Petaluma Diary, President-elect
Joanne
Ferris, Petaluma Club
Cindy Shelleber
Announcements:
Jan 24 Rotaract Club of 
Jan 30 5:30pm HS
Opportunity Night,
Jan 31 SCARC dinner, Foxtail Golf Club for Rancho-i
Club.
Feb 8, First Friday, Tres Hombres, 5:30pm.
Crab Feed Feb 8
Fines
Ron Flagg paid for Johnny Strong’s unknown fine.
Chuck Lewis fined for his new role in the movie
“MILK”.
John Strong contributed towards his fine schedule.
Pamela celebrates 19 yrs, yea for the Reagan
years!.
Terri Bryant has a business after eyes tonite at
Moon Essence,
Connie celebrates his trip to
Russell celebrates Terry’s Freutenberg birthday
dinner.
Connie’s son birthday celebrated with Mens
Wearhouse dress clothes. Styling!
Bob Hill’s son Ryan birthday.
Rickie’s son birthday 30 years ago today at 10am.
Still hurts, eh Rickie.
Sally self fined for 7 years in the club.
Lucky Sleven.
Moe congratulates Russell Rice for the Edward Jones
training program for Moe’s son and for the current state of the markets.
Russell responds with $10 and note that Raymond Jones, Moe’s
company, did not hire Moe’s son. Down
boys!
Mike Rabette’s youngest daughter Natalie has her
birthday.
Libby celebrates Horizon Airways new
Raffle: $221 dollar pot.
Linda P. draws but alas no luck.
Down to three marbles for next time!
Speaker:
Mark
Fainaru-Wada
Author,
“Game of the Shadows.”
Mark was a writer for the San Francisco Chronicle and now works for
ESPN. As a newspaper sports
writer, he was in on the intial reporting of the Balco case.
This case began in September, 2003, following federal IRS led
enforcement action. This raid
found performance-enhancing drugs, steroids, and human growth hormone
products as well as calendars of useage for Barry Bonds and Marion Jones.
This lead to federal interviews of many well known athletes such as
Jason Giambi who confessed privately to the feds and then later lied about
it to the press.
On February 4, 2008, there were federal indictments of
Balco dealers rather than the athletes and four men were arrested.
Secret Grand Jury meetings were held and public records were
altered to protect athletes names in the dealers cases.
To many in the sports world, this prosecution tack was upside down-
four unknown and obscure dealers were being prosecuted and multi-millionaire
atheles weren’t being held accountable for their cheating.
Mark and his co-author go ahold of the Grand Jury transcripts thru
a secret source, and later published it which included Barry Bond’s
testimony.
They felt it was important to investigate this case no only due to
the cheating in professional baseball but also how it affected many other
levels. Locally in
After the investigation, a book deal was made with Gotham Books.
It made the NY Times list, Sports Illustrated articles, and spots
for Mark on Letterman and the Today Show.
But trouble was brewing as the feds wanted to know the source of
the Grand Jury leak.
Although told by a former legal beagle that the
attorney general himself would have to sign off on a subpoena (said it
would never happen) and Mark had meet with President Bush himself who
praised them for their good work, Mark was subpoenaed for his source two
months after the book came out.
Mark had promised their souces that the would remain
anonymous and stuck to it, making life very unpleasant as the FBI began
investigating for the leaks. The
federal judge threatening Mark with 18 months jail- whereupon he had to
explain to his small children that not everyone in jail is bad.
Mark estimates that the Hearst Corporation, who owned the
Chronicle, spent over $2 million defending them.
The source later revealed himself.
Today, Mark is an advocate for the Federal Shield law
which makes federal agencies abide by their own stated rules to shield
reporters from prosecution except in cases of national security or which
are immediate threats to persons. He
has been to
Next up, a new movie deal ….
Good luck with that Mark, and thanks for upholding the ideals of
fairness and openness in American Society- ideals which we all enjoy
oftimes only after great personal sacrifice on the part of others.
May we all find your type of courage when it’s our watch.
Adieu.
GW