i think michael copps served as interim chair and showed what an outstanding public servant he is and what an outstanding leader he was. and then we have two new commissioners, both of whom are known to the industry, meredith atwell baker from her service as the administrator of ntia and minion clyburn who we know from her state regulatory positioning. so this is a very eminent fcc, i think, from their comments and their testimony in the case of minion and meredith, really very focused on moving the telecommunications industry forward and on, and on pursuing policies that are really, i think will be impactful and helpful to our companies. >> host: if i could segway to the hill, senator rockefeller and congressman waxman, how do you think they're going to get along with mr. genachowski as things go forward? senator rockefeller has on numerous occasions thought that the fcc needs overall reform although a couple days ago he said maybe that might not be necessary, but he's certainly laser focused on the fcc. >> guest: and i think not only senator rockefeller has been focused on that, but

it started in may with hearings organized by the acting fcc chairman michael copps. they have a group of 31 advisers who were there to try to figure out a way in which they could take media licenses from one group and give them to minorities and women. i think that is fine to have diversity in america but it has to be earned through the free marketplace. i am a free marketplace person and you cannot tell me taking a license away from one group and giving it to another doesn't impact speech. it absolutely does. if they cannot, maybe they can, claim it does not impact free speech in america. >> host: this is a force of affirmative action. >> guest: forced affirmative action. >> host: let me ask you what with the new fairness doctrine in the form you are talking about apply to national public radio which pays tax payer funded and quite liberal as we know. so npr is xm from all of this. >> guest: absolutely. >> host: why? >> guest: it is their own turf. it will not apply to them. of course it would apply to than in the legal sense they couldn't pass a law or regulation t

>> and january this year shortly after michael copps became acting fcc chairman i gave him advance copies so we could work it out in this period of transparency he wanted it on the web site and our sort of exchange of letters and ideas. these ideas are of mine and i don't care who gets the credit for them. many of our excellent ideas picture without going into details it is a long letter is to make the fcc more open and transparent and collaborative both from the outside looking in but also on the inside like commissioner being able to see the various machinery work. we should be able to, as commissioners, get the same information and analysis the chairman is getting for instance from our wonderful career professionals we have working for the fcc. we have about 1800 or so employees. economists, engineers, lawyers and other professionals and many of them have great expertise and we need to be able to use them and get them involved in these things. and here, the variety, the diversity of their opinion. a critic samples under acting chairman copps during the digital tv transition between jan

i sent michael copps a very similar letter and sort of gave him advance copies so we could all work it out, but all in the spirit of transparency, wanted it posted on the web site in our exchange of letters and ideas. and these ideas aren't mine, and i don't care who gets the credit for them. i think many of them are excellent ideas, but the overall picture without going into all the details -- it's a very long letter -- is to make the fcc more open, transparent and collaborative both from the outside looking in, but also when you're on the inside like a commissioner being able to see the various cogs in the machinery work. we should be able to as commissioners get the same information and analyses that the chairman is getting, for instance, from our wonderful career professionals that we have working throughout the fcc. we have about 1800 or so employees there, economists, engineers, lawyers and other professionals. and many of them have great ideas and great expertise, we need to be able to more fully use them and get them involved with these things. and here the variety, the diversi

there's a statement made by the acting fcc chairman michael copps. it's spelled with two p's by the way. the "huffington post" did not get that right. if the market cannot produce what that market wants in terms of the diversity of that market, then government has a legitimate role to play in regulation of speech. this from the federal communications commission. to me that is one of the most arrogant statements about the free marketplace and the free public determining for what it wants to hear, read and see. and for a major bureaucrat to not understand that the free marketplace determines free speech in america is absolutely incredulous in my opinion. >> host: how do they square that circle, brian? think about it, there are certain and very limited limitations on free speech. for example, you can't yell fire in a crowded theater. you can't incite violence and there's some hate speech laws on the books. >> guest: that's right. >> host: but it is a very limited part on free speech. how are they getting away with this in modern times when we have so ma

a brand new information on the car crash involving olympic swimmer michael phelps. copps said that he was -- it was absolutely not his fault. the other driver is a female driver who ran a red light and hit his suv. they said that drugs and alcohol were not a factor. in the bottom box, tropical trouble. two patches of severe weather on the brink of becoming tropical storms off the coast of africa now heading for the caribbean and possibly the southern united states. rick: also today, calif. fire crews are working overtime and battling a fast-moving wildfire as we speak. this video is coming in from the santa cruz mountains, where flames have forced more than 2000 people from their homes. the wildfire first sparked wednesday night. s -- it has engulfed more than six square miles. right now, it is only 5% contained. that is not a whole lot. what is the latest? >> the latest is that this fire is growing. it has grown to 4,100 acres. that is about five times as big as central park. we understand two buildings have been destroyed. we are here on the western edge of the fire. fo