meetings. -- though boyars meetings did you have drinks with them? >> for instance the trial i ryan did in san francisco i took all my vacation time just to be in these rooms. i would echo eight or nine days before. but i was reading room to room where chad griffin buyer is mounting a huge campaign but what is interesting to me now is they are reading this book they find out things because i was the only one crossing room to room. >> host: i take it any litigator knows it is intimidating. i had the impression you were part of that intensity that you lived with it and a breathlessness to the experience and if you felt part of the teams that you had these close relationships you had developed. >> guest: what is interesting about being a journalist is the challenge is tear disappear so people don't notice you are in the room. there are scenes of the book is that they probably say that i wish she was not there for that particular moment but i did just disappear and over five years ever drive to court every court battle i was in in the car with the plaint

>> i always give young boyars -- boyars -- lawyers advice. if you're doing a case in it doesn't make sense, go back in do the research. the law should make sense. certainly, the constitution should make sense. back when doma was passed in 1996, there were opinions from very prominent constitutional law prefers -- officers saying that doma was completely kosher. you can't as a lawyer and as a person lose sense of who you are and what your gut tells you what is right. if you're gut tells you, you have to keep fighting. i lost the first marriage case. we got hosed by the court of appeals. but we kept fighting and i think this will be two victories throughout the country. >> today at the city club, we are learning a ton at the friday forum with robbie kaplan, counsel in the windsor case that overturned the defense of marriage act. we will return to robbie in a moment for our question and answer. and we encourage you in the audience to formulate questions for our speaker and remind you that they should be brief and to the point. we welcome you her

>> i always give young boyars -- boyars -- lawyers advice. case in itoing a doesn't make sense, go back in do the research. the law should make sense. certainly, the constitution should make sense. ink when doma was passed 1996, there were opinions from very prominent constitutional law prefers -- officers saying that doma was completely kosher. as a lawyer and as a person lose sense of who you are and what your gut tells you what is right. if you're gut tells you, you have to keep fighting. i lost the first marriage case. we got hosed by the court of appeals. think kept fighting and i this will be two victories throughout the country. >> today at the city club, we are learning a ton at the friday ,orum with robbie kaplan counsel in the windsor case that overturned the defense of marriage act. we will return to robbie in a moment for our question and answer. and we encourage you in the audience to formulate questions for our speaker and remind you that they should be brief and to the point. and all ofyou here andjoining us through 90.3 pbs. -

you mentioned him earlier, jeff boyar, the new gm vice president of global safety. he says this, customer safety is at the heart of how gm designs and produces vehicles. these announcements of examples of two ways we're putting that into practice. >> well i think that they waited way too long. part of that they didn't have enough safety inspectors. i don't think bankruptcy could not support all the fines from federal government. all additional expenses. on dealer to do repairs. they bill the corporate manufacturer of general motors and get their money back. if they didn't have the money because they were in bankruptcy that is a serious problem. definitely as consumer i would be very concerned. not if you own the car, if you have a friend, family member, acquaintance, see someone with one of these cars, tell them, if you have this car, go to the dealers. if you have tie rod customer problems and call the dealer they will flatbed it to the dealership and get it prepared. gm is being very proactive on gm's part. if i had one of these cars i would be have reservation, w

madam president, i want to tell a story of a 57-year-old man from boyars town, pennsylvania. his name is dean astadt. he's a self-employed, self-efficient logger. he's the kind of guy like a lot of americans out there who sort of grew up to believe that he could do everything for himself, that he didn't need a lot of help from people around him in order to make a living, in order to provide for his family, in order to keep himself healthy. now, he's been uninsured since 2009 and he had some particular thoughts about the affordable care act. he knew he didn't want anything to do with obamacare. now, in 2011, dean had a pacemaker and a defib later implanted to -- defibrillator implanted to help his heart pump more efficient. and not long after he got these two implants, this 6 6-foot, 285-pound guy was back out in the woods. but last summer his health worsened again and it was taking him about 10 minutes just to catch his breath after he fell a treatment. and by the fall, he was winded after just traveling the 50 feet between his house and his truck. dean said, "you knew i was

jeff boyar, who is basically the safety czar that's been appointed by mary barra, a long time gm engineere of all of the safety issues at gm, he's been going to washington on a regular basis and meeting with representatives from nhtsa, as has mark royce, who is the worldwide leader for vehicle development at general motors. so they've been in constant conversation with nhtsa. i think what this is is nhtsa saying to them, we want to know how you're going to revamp your oversights of any safety-related issues and how you're going to ensure in the future that you don't have another situation like you've had with the ignition switch recall. >> of course, we've seen some high-level retirements, phil, in the past few days. >> right. >> jim frederico, who was the highest-level executive, with safety in his title. >> right. >> now gone from the company. as a lot of the pressure now obviously focuses in on mary barra. >> and there have been a number of executives who have worked in the engineering department at general motors or who had some connection with the ignition switch who have quietly bee