This is the best they can come up with?

I seriously need better trolls:

If one was vomiting and the other had constant bloody diahrrea, and they all had feet with horrible blisters then why did the people taking them to the church pass by a fire station and a hospital without stopping? Did they hate the poor people and want them to be in pain? What medical personnel were called? Someone's Aunt Bessie who was a nurses aide 10 years ago?

I'm really disappointed that all I seem to get these days for trolls are complete morons.

Probably my fault for not posting more.

Paging Doctor Gottlieb...

The Tucson Weekly has a story about Why are all the doctors fleeing Arizona?

Dr. Leonard Ditmanson, a Tucson physician and president of the Arizona Medical Association, is considering closing up shop in the next two months.

And there's anecdotal evidence that suggests he may not be alone.

Many Arizona physicians assert that increasing malpractice-insurance premiums--coupled with perennially low reimbursement rates from health-care providers--are threatening to knock them out of business.

"There are a lot of people with their heads in the sand about what's going on here," said Ditmanson, who estimates that he spends about 8 percent of his adjusted income on malpractice insurance.

Regular readers (do I still have any?) will recall that your humble coyote's favorite anti-Darwinist, Dr. Gary Gottlieb, was featured in an article about physicians fleeing from Ohio, to Arizona:

In the Plain Dealer ad featuring him, Dr. Gary Gottlieb appeared solemn, even a little sad. Below him was a line that read, "Gone. A real physician, with real patients, who is really leaving Ohio." The ad, paid for by the Ohio State Medical Association, warned that "frivolous lawsuits are driving up insurance rates by as much as 400 percent -- and driving good doctors like Gary out of town or into early retirement."

Gottlieb, a gastrointestinal specialist from Mayfield Heights, says that his malpractice insurance premiums will drop from $85,000 to $5,000 when he moves to Arizona. The medical association's ad was part of its campaign to support a bill limiting patients' right to sue that recently cleared the State House and Senate.

It's all such a fucking scam, and the doctors know it, but are playing the public.

In fact, trade mag Insurance Journal recently reported that "skyrocketing malpractice insurance premiums" are driving docs out of Arizona. "This is a line that insurance companies use all over the country," says Geoff Boehm, spokesman for Americans for Insurance Reform. "Doctors in state A say they're all leaving for state B, while doctors in state B say they're all leaving for state C."

Chaffin's: Here's a place NOT to eat

Got a craving for greasy food?

Don't go to Chaffin's.

Here's an email I got passed along to me:

Hi all,

I have a story I would like to share with you.

Earlier this afternoon, I was overtaken by the urge for greasy diner food, as happens occasionally. Since it is within walking distance from work, I headed over to Chaffin's for a late lunch. While eating, I witnessed the owner be hostile and cruel to a young woman who had come in for an application (as they have help wanted sign outside), presumably because of her rather ragged appearance. He refused to let a staff person even give her an application, and made such a scene in front of everyone that she turned and fled, embarrassed and hurt.

At this point, I left the remainder of my lunch on my plate, paid my bill, and prepared to leave. On my way out, I stopped and told the owner that while I work close by and come over occasionally, I would never be back because of his poor treatment of the young woman. The owner immediately became volatile, and both verbally and physically attacked me, calling me faggot (I guess it shows!) and literally pushed me out of the restaurant, telling me that he knew where I worked, and that "we" were not welcome there.

He and his daughter both continued to curse and threaten me as they followed me across their parking lot, all the way onto the Office Max lot. He repeatedly told me that he does not want any faggots or faggot lovers in his restaurant.

He then called the police and told them that I assaulted him. The police came, and things turned out fine, as this was not the first such incident for Mr. Chaffin--TPD is very familiar with him, apparently.

I am asking you to please abide by his wishes, and do not patronize his establishment. Feel free to share this information with your friends and families, so that they have the choice not to patronize his business as well.

There are so many great business around to support, please don't give your dollars to someone with such hate filled and hurtful treatment of others.

Thanks,
Gary

Gary Rhine
Program Manager
Gay Men's Health Project
Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation

Update: Further statement from Gary.

Hi to everyone.

I would first like to say thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who has emailed or called me to express you support. Your kind words and thought were much appreciated. Thanks also to everyone who took the opportunity to share with others. It is wonderful to know that our communities-fractured as they sometimes seem from each other-can come together for a purpose.

For those of you who wrote asking for verification, I did indeed write the email dated 2/13 that describes my unpleasant experience with James Chaffin at his family's restaurant. I also do stand by what I wrote as being the truth, without embellishment.

To be fair, I also would like to let you know that Alex Chaffin (James' son) contacted me on 2/16 to apologize. I met with Alex in person for about 45 minutes, and we had a friendly conversation. Alex apologized sincerely for what happened, and made every effort to convey his feelings of regret for the incident. Alex also presented me with a written apology bearing both his and James' names typed at the bottom.

I did accept Alex's apology, though was disappointed that it did not come directly from James himself. I also let Alex know that while I was grateful that he made an effort to reach out and correct a bad situation, the apology itself did not address James' specific actions, only their regret that an "unfortunate altercation" had occurred. Alex also informed me that he has begun the process of having a Sensitivity Specialist go and speak to the Chaffin family and the restaurant staff.

Many of you have been moved to take additional action, and have inquired about what is being done and by whom. Wingspan has stepped in to spearhead a resolution that will hopefully satisfy everyone's strong feelings around this incident. If you are interested in being part of the resolution process, I would encourage you to visit the Wingspan website to learn how you can participate.

Thanks again for all of your support, understanding and respect. Our community is an amazing place!

Best, Gary Rhine

Wingspan has announced they are holding a community forum on discrimination on Monday evening to address this and other similar shit.

More on Dr. Gary Gottlieb

Interesting article on the honesty of doctors moving from Ohio to Arizona:

In the Plain Dealer ad featuring him, Dr. Gary Gottlieb appeared solemn, even a little sad. Below him was a line that read, "Gone. A real physician, with real patients, who is really leaving Ohio." The ad, paid for by the Ohio State Medical Association, warned that "frivolous lawsuits are driving up insurance rates by as much as 400 percent -- and driving good doctors like Gary out of town or into early retirement."

Gottlieb, a gastrointestinal specialist from Mayfield Heights, says that his malpractice insurance premiums will drop from $85,000 to $5,000 when he moves to Arizona. The medical association's ad was part of its campaign to support a bill limiting patients' right to sue that recently cleared the State House and Senate.

But according to a 30-year study by Americans for Insurance Reform, rates are skyrocketing because insurance companies are trying to recoup the billions they lost on the stock market in recent years.

And the $80,000 difference between Ohio and Arizona? "The simple answer is that insurance is regulated by the states," says Rick Nelson, spokesman for the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies. "So state regulations play a major role in the cost of insurance."

In fact, trade mag Insurance Journal recently reported that "skyrocketing malpractice insurance premiums" are driving docs out of Arizona. "This is a line that insurance companies use all over the country," says Geoff Boehm, spokesman for Americans for Insurance Reform. "Doctors in state A say they're all leaving for state B, while doctors in state B say they're all leaving for state C."

And Ohio should have plenty of doctors for the foreseeable future: The number of doctors per capita in Ohio has risen steadily for years, faster than the national average. Even Gottlieb concedes that it's complicated. "Why are the rates higher here?" he says. "I don't know. I don't claim to be an expert in this."

Cute scam. Run ads in Ohio saying that the doctors are leaving for Arizona, and then run ads in Arizona saying the doctors are leaving for...where next, Montana? I don't know.

In any case, we should keep in mind that Gary's rates were extraordinarily high because there were an extraordinary high number of complaints against him:

In February 2003, his insurance company informed him that they would not renew his policy because five lawsuits had been filed against him in seven years. Perforating the bowel during a colonoscopy, a rare but known risk, and failure to diagnose cancer, which the patient developed years after a colonoscopy, were the primary reasons for the suits.

The rates ARE lower now:

In his new two-man private practice, Gottlieb's premiums will be $5,000 annually to start, a discounted rate because he has no claims history in Arizona. After a few years, the premium will rise to $12,000, he says.

...in other words, it's like if I got a lot of speeding tickets in Arizona, and my insurance company upped the rates sky-high, but then I moved to New Mexico and got a new driver's licence, and had no tickets on it. So I start over with lower insurance rates. Cute! A shame everything in life doesn't work that way.

Oh dear!

Oh no! I seem to have offended a Creationist! Via email:

From: Gary Gottlieb
To: Kiva Oraibi
Date: Jan 22, 2006 11:32 AM
Subject: Response to Your Blog of September 23, 2005

In your September 23, 2005 blog, you encouraged your readers to “choose a gastroenterologist who actually believes in science and not mythology,” based on a letter I wrote to the Arizona Daily Star. You apparently assume that I am not scientific because I believe that “Darwin's theory of cross-species evolution has never been proven, and thus is controversial.” There are many scientific theories that are controversial among scientists; that does not mean that they are based on mythology.

I challenge you to find any evidence that I believe in mythology based on this letter. True science has always been and always will be, I hope, based on evidence. It is a scientific fact that Darwin’s theories about the origins of life have never been proven. It is also true that there are many scientists with impressive credentials who have written books challenging Darwin’s theories. For example, (1) Michael J. Behe, Professor of Biochemistry at Lehigh University (Darwin's Black Box) and (2) Daniel C. Dennett, Distinguished Arts and Sciences Professor and Director for Center of Cognitive Studies at Tufts University (Darwin's Dangerous Idea).

Those who want to believe that Darwin’s ideas have been unequivocally proven and accepted by the scientific community are acting more out of faith than out of rigorous scientific method. Open-minded scientists are motivated by a quest for the truth, wherever that will lead, rather than by a desire to prove what they already believe.

My original letter to the editor was edited down to their specified length. In that original letter I stated that in the future, scientific research may eventually come up with evidence that proves Darwin’s theories. Until then, the theories should be taught as theories and not as fact. Perhaps that will motivate students to pursue that line of scientific research.

My own background is thoroughly immersed in science and research. The following excerpts from my CV will attest to my rigorous training and research background:

EDUCATION AND TRAINING

Undergraduate The Johns Hopkins University
1965 - 1969 Baltimore, Maryland A.B., Liberal Arts
(Pre-Medical), 1969

Graduate Temple University School of Medicine
1969 - 1973 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
M.D., 1973

Postgraduate Internship in Medicine
1973 – 1974 Hospitals of the University Health Center
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
James J. Leonard, MD, Chairman

1974 - 1976 Residency in Internal Medicine
Hospitals of the University Health Center
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
James J. Leonard, MD, Chairman

1976 - 1978 Fellowship in Gastroenterology
Hospitals of the University Health Center
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Roger Lester, MD, Director

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

1978 - 1983 Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of
Gastroenterology, University of Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania

1978 - 1983 Chief, Gastroenterology Section, Medical Svc.,
Veterans Administration Medical Center,
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

1981 - 1983 Medical Director, Nutrition Support Service,
Veterans Administration Medical Center,
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

1978 - 1983 Full-time Active Staff, Gastroenterology, Presbyterian-University Hospital Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

1983 - Present Private Practice in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Tucson.

PUBLICATIONS

1. Gottlieb GP, Turnheim K, Frizzel RA, and Schultz SG. P-chloromercuribenzene sulfonate (PCMBS) blocks and reverses the effect of amiloride on sodium transport across rabbit colon in vitro. Biophysical J 1978; 22:125-129.

2. Van Thiel DH, Lipsitz HD, Porter LE, Schade RR, Gottlieb GP, and Graham TO. Clinical Conference. Gastrointestinal and hepatic manifestations of chronic alcoholism. Gastroenterology 1981; 81:594-615.

3. Openbrier DR, Irwin MM, Rogers RM, Gottlieb GP, Dauber JH, Van Thiel DH, and Pennock BE. Nutrition and lung function in emphysema and chronic bronchitis. Chest 1983; 83:17-22.

4. Stanley MM, et al. Peritoneovenous shunting as compared with medical treatment in patients with alcoholic cirrhosis and massive ascites. New Engl J Med 1989; 321:1632-1638.

5. Euler AR, et al. A report of three multiclinic trials evaluating arbaprostil in arthritic patients with ASA/NSAID gastric mucosal damage. Gastroenterology 1990; 98:1549-1557.

Wow, all that good science learnin', and he still believes in superstition. Because I'm sorry, I don't buy that he's just concerned with the scientific purity of calling "Darwinism" "just" a "theory". That's Creationist/Intelligent Design/Dominionist speak; it's anti-intellectual fundamentalism that is ashamed to state what it truly is: Darwin is attacked because the Christian Right wants to push their religious views in school, and they hold such an inflexible and backwards of the world that they have to tear down anything they view as a threat to that flawed worldview.

I'm waiting for him to prove me wrong, and deny that his religion shapes his view of Darwinism. I doubt he will. (PS: Yes, I know Gottlieb sounds Jewish.)

I should post more...

...but for now a roundup will have to do. Sigh! Lazy coyote.

• Homer exercises his first amendment rights.
• Rick U-C wins a spitting contest.
• Jeneiene has a religious experience.
• Mary fights the flu.
• Daniel warns of Arziona's global warming winter.
• M Massino and the cavemen.
• Ken checks in from the surveillance nation.
• Art attends a play.
• Eli points us at the effects of uranium mining on the Navajo nation.
• hilforprez2036 wants help stopping Alito.
• Mister T sticks up for Grijalva.
• William warns of the next Arziona voting crisis.
• The Rat catblogs.
• shrimplate challenges your intrepid coyote.

I'll have to think about that last one, and whether I can answer those four questions without breaking my own pseudonymity.

Some Tucson posts I've missed lately...

Yes, it's lazy roundup time again!

If I can't produce interesting content, at least I can point you to others who can!

After all, isn't that what blogging is all about, really?

• Daniel R. Patterson, one of Tucson's best bloggers, is now on the planning commission.
• Dangerous amounts of high explosives are missing in New Mexico, and only Ablogalypse Now seems to have paid attention.
• Michael at Blog for Arizona tells us of a Sierra Vista army private who was beatened and threatened at knifepoint for being gay, and now is forced out of the service.
• Rum, Romanism and Rebellion has the goods on child-molesting Minuteman leader Chris Simcox.
• Jim Stradler at Vocatio! has an unofficial ordination date, and speaking of dates, he reports that he's "been seeing this wonderful man." Woohoo!
• Rick Ufford-Chase preached at the National Cathedral in D.C. on borderland justice issues. Keep speaking truth to power, Rick.
• In the azprogressives livejournal community, a member was nearly arrested for photography of a public building.
• The Local Couple discover questionable public art outside the train depot, as they explore About Tucson.
• Bad Methodist challenges the foundation of evangelical "salvation" notions.
• At the People's Policy Project, Steve Farley outs a Jim Kiser source as a right-wing flak pimping for urban (corporate) sprawl.
• Humane Borders reports on a House bill that is targetting humanitarian aidgivers.
• Firefly Forest Blog has...well, the best Arizona wildlife pictures anywhere. I can't narrow this down to just a few posts. Go see all of them.
• mary's little life has taken her to Lake Havasu for the holidays.
• The Data Port moves to a new location. Update your bookmarks appropriately!
• Desert Rat Democrat introduces us to The Nation's article on the many faces of John McCain.
• There are some beautiful mountains in Homer's World
• Kevin Spidel eulogizes Monsignor Edward Ryle.

Sorry, Everyone...

...this coyote's just been real busy lately. I'll do my best to find time to blog more.

I've been busy

I'll try to post more soon.

Are people still reading this, besides The World's Dumbest Troll? I hope I haven't lost my entire non-wingnut audience. Speaking of MentalDisorder, here's an amusing post and cartoon about exactly the kind of dialogue that our local talking-point pusher tries to engage in.

Humanitarian Aid is Never a Crime

On July 9, 2005 two No More Deaths volunteers, Shanti Sellz and Daniel Strauss, were arrested by the United States Border Patrol while medically evacuating 3 people in distress from the desert near Arivaca, Arizona. Shanti and Daniel go on trial December 20, and are facing charges that could land them in prison for fifteen years.

Join with border activists, humanitarians, faith-based groups, and others who are supporting Shanti and Daniel in saying Humanitarian Aid is Never a Crime by posting this message on your Web site, journal, or blog.

Get a copy of this message here.

Dumbest troll ever, or just amusing parody?

Every now and then I convince myself that LiberalismIsAMentalDisorder, the local right-wing troll on left-wing blogs (including this one) is just some sort of parody by a clever progressive.

Because I'm convinced nobody can be this dumb.

Kiva: "Americans are liberal. We're a liberal democracy. Our very foundations are liberal-libertarian hybrids; conservatism is an aberration, and a hateful one at that. Look, for example, at the hateful rhetoric of people such as ... well, such as "LiberalismIsAMentalDisorder"

That is just an outright lie and a misconception, america is not inherantly liberal. Why else do you think this country was founded on a Christian basis with Christian fundamentals being the basis of law? Why is it you think that God is mentioned in the constitution? Conservatism is not an aberration, its a fact that the signers of our declaration were conservative, God fearing Christians. Do your history studies, you will see this.

Emphasis mine.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

Thank you, Mister "Do Your History Studies," for pointing out to me exactly where in the constitution "God is mentioned".

Dumbest. Troll. Ever.

No More Arrests

Um, I would really like an explanation from Southside Presbyterian as to why they're calling the border patrol on suspected illegals:

Tensions are rising in a neighborhood where border crossers who gather on a street corner south of Downtown to be hired for the day mix with dope dealers, alcoholics and thieves.

Neighbors - including Southside Presbyterian Church, home base of the No More Deaths border activists - have complained to police about the day laborers.

Those complaints culminated in the arrest of 20 illegal border crossers by U.S. Border Patrol agents at South Ninth Avenue and East 23rd Street on Monday. Such operations by the Border Patrol are rare in the area. [...]

Tucson police received several calls last month about the day laborers and vagrants, said Capt. Tom McNally. In turn, police alerted the Border Patrol to an illegal-migrant problem.

McNally said police decided to call the Border Patrol for help because the people who complained, including church officials, told them the problems were caused by illegal border crossers.

"It always seems that for political reasons, we always back away from that. In this particular instance, we had to do something,"' McNally said.

But the call from police is being criticized.

Tucson police will not stop and interview someone based only on a suspicion that the person is here illegally, said Sgt. Mark Robinson.

But Tucson-based Derechos Humanos argues that by calling the Border Patrol to alert them to the day laborers, police did exactly that.

"This could happen to anybody. Does that mean that anybody can make an assessment that you're undocumented and the police are going to act on it?" said Derechos Humanos organizer Kat Rodriguez.

The role of Southside Pres in this incident is extremely troubling to me. I don't see how fair and humane border policy can be reconciled with calling the border patrol on workers -- some of whom were indeed legal (see the full story) -- simply because they look Mexican.

Southside, some explanation, please?

No More Deaths update: NMD in the news

No Mas Muertes is in the news again, as the upcoming December trial of Sellz and Strauss has them taking their message to the people. It's good to see them acting proactively on this.

For example, former U.S. prosecutor A Bates Butler III is speaking out for dropping the charges:

"The prosecution is a waste of resources," said A. Bates Butler III, who served as the federal government's top prosecutor in Arizona from 1980 to 1981. "The resources of the federal government can be better spent prosecuting people who pose a danger to our society, and the two defendants in this case are not that." [...]

Butler speculated that the government was prosecuting the case to deter others from volunteering.

He cautioned against the strategy.

"The best thing the government ever did for the Sanctuary Movement was indict the people," said Butler, referring to the prosecution of 11 religious workers in 1985 for illegally bringing Central American refugees into the county. Butler, who started a private practice in 1981, served as lead defense attorney during the trial.

The government's prosecution inspired more people than ever to join the movement, and, he said, it's already had the same effect on No More Deaths.

That's certainly true. More people have heard about NMD because of the prosecution for giving humanitarian aid.

"But it's the law!," people will cry, such as this brief blurb in the Tucson Citizen which gets the law wrong:

As college kids Shanti Sellz and Daniel Strauss face a Dec. 20 felony trial for trying to help three illegal immigrants in medical distress, members of Tucson's medical community are calling on U.S. Attorney Paul Charlton to drop the charges.

The defendants don't deny transporting the men, which is against federal law.

But nurses and doctors in the No More Deaths movement say they have given medical aid to more than 3,794 illegal immigrants this summer, rushing more than 68 to emergency centers.

The death toll hit a record 282 in Arizona and Sonora this fiscal year. Illegal immigrants must not be helped deeper into our country, yet the stricken cannot be left to die. We hope Charlton can clarify this clash over what is criminal and what is basic human decency.

They get it wrong in the bold part above. Here's what Butler says, and he'd know:

Butler said he doesn't believe Sellz and Strauss committed a crime. Transportation of illegal immigrants is against the law only when the intent is to further their illegal entry, not to get humanitarian help, he said.

See the difference?

Of course, the government is letting people go if they transport illegals in furtherance of a right-wing extremist ideology:

Today the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico expressed concern over reports that a member of the Minuteman vigilante group illegally detained two migrants near the Mexican border last week.

The ACLU said it has learned through discussions with the Border Patrol that a Minuteman volunteer from Colorado was arrested after he was found with two migrants in his car. According to the Border Patrol, the volunteer came across the migrants after they flagged him down for food and water while he was driving in Hidalgo County. The ACLU noted that the volunteer’s actions contradict the Minutemen’s standard operating procedure, which states, "Minutemen do not verbally contact, physically gesture to or have any form of communications with suspected Illegal Aliens."

"If the report is corroborated, it would confirm our suspicions that the Minutemen are, at best, not well-supervised and, at worst, inclined to take the law into their own hands, including unlawfully detaining people who they think are undocumented immigrants," said Ray Ybarra, Racial Justice Fellow for the ACLU of Texas, who has been monitoring the activities of the New Mexico Minutemen.

"We don't yet have complete information on the arrest," he said. "What we do know is that this individual was taken into custody, but that the charges were eventually dropped.” [...]

Ybarra questioned why Sellz and Strauss, who were acting as good Samaritans, would be more aggressively prosecuted than the Minutemen. "Letting the Minutemen violate the law without accountability sends the signal that vigilante activity is welcome in New Mexico. This can lead to a very dangerous situation for migrants and New Mexican residents alike," he said.

"Get out of jail free" card if you're a border vigilante; hard time if you're a humanitarian.

E.J. Montini in the Arizona Republic gets it exactly right:

"The essence of this case is that we must never get to the point where it is a crime to provide humanitarian aid," Cowan said. "That's why we hope that the prosecutor will drop the charges. That is why Daniel and Shanti didn't take a deal. This isn't just a case about these two young people."

Although it could be. In a culture obsessed with Katie and Tom's prenup, with TiVo, iPods and Netflix, with blogging rather than doing, here we have two young people who understand the difference between unwavering convictions (which dictate action) and simple opinions (which require only words, spoken or in print).

Instead of branding them as criminals maybe we should be praising them for what they really are: Role models.

You can help No More Deaths by downloading their Campaign Action Toolkit (163K PDF) and getting involved.

The Weekly endorses... um... um...

"Fuck, we don't know. Vote for whomever you want," says the Tucson Weekly, throwing their hands up in the air and not really endorsing anyone in the city election.

Here's your bottom line: If you think the city is making progress in repairing roads, hiring new cops and firefighters, and investing in neighborhoods, then you should vote for Republicans Kathleen Dunbar and Fred Ronstadt.

If you believe in leaner government that has less money to spend on services but makes life more difficult for the Growth Lobby, the payday-loan sharks and the billboard industry, vote for Nina Trasoff and Karin Uhlich.

Thanks, guys. Glad to know we can count on you for insightful political commentary and non-endorsements.

Being a newspaper is HARD!

Give to Goodwill, so their employees can steal it!

You know, I'm really not that sympathetic to the plight of a Goodwill employee who got fired over 33 bucks:

After Larimore returned to her job in September, one of her co-workers while sorting donations found $100 in an otherwise empty wallet. Larimore says the long-standing practice among Goodwill employees is to split found money, an assertion confirmed by several other employees.

"Before, we had shared and pocketed the money," she says. "We've always done it, and everybody does it. I didn't realize we had to turn it in. If they fired everybody who finds money and keeps it, they would have to fire everybody."

Based on that common practice, even though the employee who discovered the money initially wanted to turn it in to their supervisor, she quickly changed her mind. Instead, the money was split between the three workers then in the store.

That decision violates company policy, according to Goodwill's human resources director, Stephanie Smith. She says money found while sorting donations is to be turned over to the employee's supervisor. "It's (considered) a donation to Goodwill," Smith declares.

I call bullshit on the employees; maybe this is their unwritten practice, but if so, it's a horrible and awful policy, one which makes the entire operation look like a bunch of greedy thieving shitheads.

Screw the "common practice" -- if someone leaves a hundred dollar bill in a wallet, it should be a donation, not something for the employees to steal.

... Smith says: "For theft, we always terminate. It's been a policy since before I came here 10 years ago."

That may be Goodwill's stated guideline, but keeping found money seems to be standard operating procedure among company employees. Even though Smith disputes that conclusion, one reason given for the practice is that store clerks are paid wages of $7 an hour or less, and haven't received a raise in several years.

Oh, yeah, that's a good reason to pocket the money. Riiiight.