Saturday, October 4, 2008

What's Missing?

Sometimes bias presents itself from what's missing in a news article.
Read this article and tell me if there is a small bit of information missing?
An excerpt:

The national proclamation issued this year asked God's
blessings on our country and called for Americans to observe
the day with appropriate programs, ceremonies and activities.

Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle is named in the suit because he is
one of 50 governors who issued proclamations calling for the
prayer day. The foundation is based in Madison.

Shirley Dobson, chairwoman of the National Day of Prayer
Task Force, and White House press secretary Dana Perino
also are named.

The foundation has filed numerous lawsuits in recent years,
including one rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court last year
that attacked President Bush's faith-based initiative.

The question I had immediately after reading this article was: Since when
has this National Day of Prayer been around? The article didn't state
this information so I went to the National Day of Prayer official Web site
and behold I found the answer:

It was created in 1952 by a joint resolution of the United States
Congress, and signed into law by President Harry S. Truman

I'm curious why they would leave out that information since it provides
historical context. For a moment I thought President Bush signed into law this
legislation and that's why they were suing him. They took the time to mention
the foundation is based in Madison, why not mention that it's been around for
more than 50 years? I did a word count and the article is a measly 224 words,
I doubt it was length the problem.