Yeah, Why Didn't They Tell Us This Before

Whallah! has implemented a new policy about not providing links to the right wing squawkers. Unfortunately, I just have to violate that policy for this post.

McBride writes a lament about the increased fees related to driving a car. Registration fees, licensing fees, etc. She also complains about that darn Milwaukee Journal Sentinel for not telling us about these hikes sooner:

Thanks for telling everyone now. The information, presented in this detailed of a fashion, would have been particularly valuable to the public during the height of the state budget showdown. Back then, though, the media template wasn't focused on rising fees or escalating taxes. The narrative seemed to focus on the ramifications of a budget stalemate (read: obstructionist Republicans).

Oh, why oh why, didn't the MSJ tell us about this earlier? Oh yeah, that's right. They did. And McBride herself wrote about their report. On a whim, I thought I'd check something out and found a post, written by McBride, dated October 22, 2007:

Journal Sentinel:

Drivers will pay $53 for their titles when they buy a car next year, up from the current $28.50, for example. And getting copies of birth certificates will also nearly double, rising from $12 to $20. Death, marriage and divorce records will go up from $7 to $20.Commercial trucking companies will see a 30%increase in vehicle registration fees - twice as much as what lawmakers had earlier proposed.

The heaviest trucks would pay $2,560 a year, up from $1,969.50.Gov. Jim Doyle and legislative leaders announced late Friday they had a deal on the budget after more then three months of haggling. But it wasn't until today -less than 24 hours before votes are to be cast in the Senate and Assembly - that a 581-page summary from the Legislative Fiscal Bureau of the spending package was released.

The Fiscal Bureau also estimated that December property tax bills on the median-valued home statewide would go up $80, from $2,734 to $2,814 - or about$2.9% - under the budget compromise. That will would jump another $18, or 0.6%in the December 2008 tax bill.

So, not only does this "esteemed" member of the UWM staff, who flaunts her credentials, who claims to be a critic of the media, not only doesn't read the media she is to criticize, she doesn't even read her own tripe. The fact that she is supposed to be teaching the future journalists of the world, this makes one only shudder at what the news will be like if her students are unable to see past her own lack of journalistic skills.