American Morning
We Listen – Your comments 10/22/2009
Editor's Note: Thursday’s American Morning feedback was dominated by reaction to the Obama administration’s announcement cutting executive pay for the seven largest companies receiving bailout funds. Most angrily questioned the reasoning behind keeping or rewarding “incompetent” personnel who had created the financial chaos. Others were skeptical that the cuts were “real,” as any decreased compensation would be offset by increased stock, so executives would be simply be swapping forms of financial pay.
- Dan: Your guest this morning was talking about if you cut the salaries of the top personnel in these bailed out companies, then the top folks might leave, therefore, the company would go downhill. Is this guy an idiot or what? If the top personnel would have been doing their job in the first place, then we, as tax-payers, wouldn't have had to bail them out. So, I guess [their leaving] wouldn't hurt the company that much.
- Jerry: If the people getting large bonuses were as good as we're being told they are my question is: how did they lose or invest in products that lost billions of dollars while drawing large paydays? Time for them to suffer some; and since I'm a taxpayer, and I own part of the banks they work for, I don't see where they're earning their money.
- Bill: The worry that cutting exec salaries at the big banks will cause top execs to leave is not a bad thing. All the damage was done to the economy on their watch. They were either complicit or not watching the store. Either way, they were shown as being incompetent. How could getting rid of them be a bad thing?! In fact, they should be prosecuted for malfeasance. What should be regulated is someone else hiring them to possibly do it again somewhere else.
- Valerie: I think all this pay cut for Wall Street execs is mostly political smoke and mirrors. If the execs are going to get their cash portion of their pay cut, but receive additional stock, then their overall compensation is still the same. How is that a pay cut?
What do you think of the Obama administration’s proposed executive compensation pay cut plan?
The Vatican to welcome Anglicans to Catholicism
The Vatican made a historic bid Tuesday to win over dissenting Anglicans, with Pope Benedict XVI's approval of a document called the "Apostolic Constitution" authorizing the creation of "Personal Ordinariates" led by former Anglican priests or bishops.
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/10/22/pope.jpg caption="The Vatican says more Anglicans have expressed an interest in joining the Catholic Church."]
Previously, Anglicans could join the church individually, but this new provision will allow them to join in large groups, as well as let them maintain certain traditions such as liturgy and rites. It also includes a provision that allows married Anglican priests to remain married and still become ordained Catholic priests.
The Anglican Church, known as The Church of England when established by King Henry VIII in a break with the Vatican 475 years ago, has seen its membership decline to 80 million in recent times. The offer from Rome could prompt thousands of Anglicans around the world to switch to Catholicism in protest of their church's liberal stance on openly gay clergy and the consecration of women bishops.
In 1992, the Anglican Church approved women priests, prompting members to leave the church in droves. In 2003, the ordination of Gene Robinson as the first openly gay Anglican bishop led to the defection of conservative Anglicans, some of whom converted to Roman Catholicism. By contrast, the Catholic Church is opposed to same-sex marriage and gay clergy, and all Catholic priests must be male and unmarried.
This is the Vatican’s most open embrace of Anglicans since the schism in 1534 following Pope Clement VII’s refusal to annul Henry VIII’s marriage. Many supporters see this as part of the current Pope's goal to promote Christian unity across the globe as well as addressing multiple requests to the Holy See from groups of Anglicans wishing to enter into communion with the Roman Catholic Church. Others feel that it will harm relations between the two Churches and ultimately have a negative impact.
Organized crime's new target: Medicare and Medicaid
Organized crime gangs are exploiting a new target for illegal profit: Medicare and Medicaid.
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/10/22/arrest.jpg caption="Two members of a Nigerian organized crime ring are charged with defrauding Medicare of $6 million."]
Experienced in running drug, prostitution and gambling rings, crime groups of various ethnicities and nationalities are learning it's safer and potentially more profitable to file fraudulent claims with the federal Medicare program and state-run Medicaid plans.
"They're hitting us and hitting us hard," said Timothy Menke, head of investigations for the Office of Inspector General at the Department of Health and Human Services. "Organized crime involvement in health care fraud is widespread."
Los Angeles is among the hot spots for health care fraud, where Russian, Armenian and Nigerian gangs have been caught by federal agents.
Crime boss Konstantin Grigoryan, a former Soviet army colonel, pleaded guilty to taking $20-million from Medicare; Karapet "Doc" Khacheryan, boss of a Eurasian crime gang, was recently convicted with five lieutenants of stealing doctor identities in a $2-million scam, and last Thursday two Nigerian members of an organized crime ring, Christopher Iruke and his wife, Connie Ikpoh, were charged with bilking Medicare of $6-million dollars by fraudulently billing the government for electric wheelchairs and other expensive medical equipment.
Watch: Organized crime hits Medicare 
The two have entered pleas of not guilty and are being held in a federal detention center. "They deny any allegations of wrongdoing," said their attorney James Kosnett.
Defrauding government-run health care programs involves stealing two types of identities: those of doctors, who bill for services, and patients, whose beneficiary numbers entitle them to medical care and necessary equipment. Criminals are expert at collecting both.
Sailor forced out, facing punishment in Navy hazing scandal
The Navy has censured and will remove from active duty the former leader of its canine unit in Bahrain after reviewing a 2007 investigation into reports of hazing and abuse of a gay dog handler and other sailors.
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/10/22/toussaint.navy.art.jpg caption="Senior Chief Michael Toussaint's enlistment extension has been canceled, which will force him to leave active duty and retire in January, 2010."]
Admiral Gary Roughead, the commander of Naval Operations, has canceled Senior Chief Michael Toussaint's enlistment extension, which will force him to leave active duty and retire in January, 2010. Although the previous Navy investigation found more than 90 alleged incidents of hazing and harassment, including forcing the gay sailor, Joseph Rocha, to simulate oral sex with another man, no one appeared to have been disciplined.
Toussaint was subsequently promoted to senior chief and assigned to work with the elite Navy SEALS. Wednesday’s announcement meant Toussaint will be stripped of his leadership position and assigned to administrative duties at the Navy Special Warfare Group 2 in Virginia. In addition, Toussaint's retirement pay will be reviewed.
"Admiral Roughhead found that the incidents were not in keeping with Navy values and standards and violated the Navy's longstanding prohibition against hazing," said Navy spokeswoman and Commander Elissa Smith. "Our sailors are to be treated with dignity and respect in a healthy and positive working environment."
Joe Rocha, the sailor who says he was tormented daily for more than two years when Toussaint suspected he was gay, told CNN he welcomed the news. “It gives me and a lot of people a lot of hope in that this is a great day for everyone, for our men, our women, heterosexual, lesbian, or gay, for everyone, this reestablishes what Navy leadership is, that anything less than leadership that meets the corp's values will be punished.” Watch Rocha react to the news
Rocha does regret, however, that Toussaint will apparently not face a court martial. CNN reached out to Senior Chief Toussaint for a comment on the Navy’s decision, but a Navy spokesman said Toussaint is not commenting to the press.
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