The Rev. George M. Docherty, credited with helping to push Congress to insert the phrase “under God” into the Pledge of Allegiance, has died at 97.

Docherty died on Thanksgiving at his home in central Pennsylvania, according to his wife, Sue Docherty.

…

Docherty, then pastor of the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington, just blocks from the White House, gave a sermon in 1952 saying the pledge should acknowledge God.

Rest In Peace, George.

You know you have serious issues when you trample a man to death just to get inside a store for a sale.

A Wal-Mart employee in New York state’s Long Island died on Friday when a throng of shoppers surged into the store and physically broke down the doors, a police spokesman said.

The 34-year-old man was at the entrance of the Valley Stream Walmart store when it opened at 5 a.m. local time and was knocked to the ground, the police report said.

The exact cause of death was still to be determined by a medical examiner.

Four shoppers, including a 28-year-old pregnant woman, were also taken to local hospitals for injuries sustained in the incident, police said.

No sale, at any store, is worth a man’s life. No clothes item, electronic device, or bamboo shades are that important. I hope the people who trampled this man to death are happy with their Black Friday savings. Maybe they can purchase a little common sense with that extra money they have now.

William Gibson, 94, a Tony Award-winning playwright best known for “The Miracle Worker,” the inspirational story of Helen Keller and her teacher Anne Sullivan, died Nov. 25 at his home in Stockbridge, Mass. The family did not disclose the cause of death.

Gibson, whose work appeared on Broadway for five decades, was known for the demanding roles he wrote for women. Working frequently with director Arthur Penn, he helped make a star of actress Anne Bancroft in the plays “The Miracle Worker” (1959) and “Two for the Seesaw” (1958).

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Gibson’s wife died in 2004. Survivors include two sons, Thomas Gibson of Stockbridge, Mass., and Daniel Gibson of Cambridge, Mass.

Rest In Peace, William.

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!

Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name;
make known among the nations what he has done.

Sing to him, sing praise to him;
tell of all his wonderful acts.

Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.

Look to the LORD and his strength;
seek his face always.

1 Chronicles 16:8-25

Ethel Bradley, who was the longest-reigning first lady of Los Angeles as the wife of the city’s first black mayor, Tom Bradley, has died. She was 89.

Bradley, whose husband held office from 1973 to 1993, died Tuesday at Kaiser Permanente West Los Angeles Medical Center.

…

Survivors include her daughters, Lorraine and Phyllis.

Services were pending.

Rest In Peace, Ethel.

Sometimes you just have to laugh.

When I post one of my in-depth articles at 101 Dead Armadillos, I keep forgetting to mention it over here.

The day job has me quite busy, so I don’t have as much time as I would like to concentrate on posting.

In fact, I have really slowed down on posting actual content overall, but I hope to change that soon by finishing up the project I am working on and returning to regular working hours.

Last night, I wrote about Citigroup and the special bailout package put together just for them.

Last week, while the federal government continued tossing life jackets to other members of the financial community, Citigroup hit an iceberg. Everyone heard the unique crunching sound that is made when a ship smashes into ice. Then again, maybe it wasn’t ice crunching as much as the cash in our wallets shrinking in value as the feds printed more money to handle the ongoing crisis.

The words of the year, for 2008, are ’stimulus’ and ‘bailout’. The fashion trend is silk ties. Use them sparingly.