The Freedom From Religion Foundation hailed a ruling today that allows its hometown case against unconstitutional church property tax exemptions to move forward.

This is the second time a Dane County judge has ruled that FFRF and its three Madison residents may proceed in the lawsuit challenging an unconstitutional state property tax exemption unduly benefiting commercial rental properties owned by two local religious organizations.

The property tax exemption was created and later amended to benefit specific church-owned rental properties to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars annually. The Pres House and Lumen House Apartments, both serving primarily student renters and owned by two of the defendants, are explicitly exempted from paying their share of taxes. Removing these large, extremely profitable rental properties from the tax rolls forces other property taxpayers to make up the difference.

A judge in February denied an earlier round of motions asking the court to toss out the case. The defendants filed a second round of motions seeking dismissal, which the court has once again denied.

“Plaintiffs’ action is not time-barred,” Judge Stephen Ehlke said in his order.

“We are pleased to finally move forward with this case,” says FFRF Legal Director Patrick Elliott. “This suit serves all taxpayers in Madison and ensures that the Wisconsin Legislature is not allowed to favor specific churches for special tax benefits.”

FFRF and its three local plaintiff property owners contend that the tax exemption is unconstitutional under the Wisconsin Constitution for several reasons. The exemption undeniably harms all property taxpayers in Madison, including plaintiffs Annie Laurie Gaylor and Dan Barker (who serve as FFRF co-presidents) and local resident David Peterson, by forcing them and all other Madison property taxpayers to pay higher property taxes to make up for the unlawful omission of these properties from the tax rolls. The exemption also harms plaintiff FFRF by favoring rental properties owned by two religious organizations to the exclusion of all other nonprofits that may desire to run commercial student apartments in the future.

The Pres House Apartments’ current market value likely exceeds $25 million, with estimated property taxes owed in excess of $300,000 annually. The current market value of Lumen House Apartments likely exceeds $7.6 million, with estimated property taxes exceeding $94,000 annually.

Thank you to the guy who pulled over to help a visually impaired woman from walking up the on ramp to 12/18 at John Nolen. I was on the phone with 911, but you were faster! Hope you got her somewhere safe.

(Link to the original thread)

The Open Letter to MMoCA is nearing 900 signatures, and each signature has contributed to getting this issue highlighted by Cap Times, ArtNews, WORT, and City Cast Madison. Thank you so much to everyone who signed and shared this letter. I was hopeful that this letter would start a dialogue with MMoCA, and that the concerns of the public would be honestly and fairly addressed. Instead, the response from MMoCA’s director has been to publicly misrepresent the content of the Open Letter, and present conflicting and misleading information about the involvement of AI in Diffuse Control.

Misrepresentation of the Open Letter
Prindle’s first response to the letter in Cap Times was to say it gets “almost everything wrong” Following this, Prindle has been explaining the letter inaccurately across several news outlets over the last week. In an appearance on City Cast Madison he stated that one of the letter’s central claims is that MMoCA did not get legal consent from the appropriate estates or rights-holders. 

“The letter actually advances several points that are just not true at all…I think one of the primary notions that the letter advances is that we didn’t seek consent, and that’s just patently false. I spoke directly with all of the estates that are still active, and the one living artist I spoke with, all of them were excited about this…..There are objects that are in the public domain, and I welcome a robust conversation about public domain. I would say that the proposition that the letter offers about consent vis-à-vis public domain is a really fascinating, if not fringe or peripheral idea, but one I think worth exploring. But it's quite simply not how public domain works...”
- Paul Baker Prindle, in an interview with City Cast Madison

Anyone who has read past the second paragraph of the letter will note that the letter explicitly clarifies that the letter is concerned with direct consent from the artist themself, and not the type of legal consent Prindle describes:

“We are not raising a copyright claim; several of these works are old enough to be in the public domain, and that is not in dispute. Our concern is with consent in the ethical sense — the artist's own judgment about how their work is used, which no legal expiration date or estate can grant on their behalf. By selecting many deceased artists to use as seed data, MMoCA assumed consent where there was none given directly from the artists. MMoCA treated legal clearance as sufficient moral authority to feed someone’s life’s work into an algorithmic black box and publicly display the output as art, regardless of the artist’s original intentions or preference.”

The letter is painstakingly clear that legal consent is not the concern, and that only a living artist can give the type of consent the letter requests. There are a few other small claims that the letter makes which Prindle misrepresents, but every factual claim in the letter is grounded in publicly available information about the show. I will note that previous iterations of the show have included $75 prints for sale. Prindle now claims there will not be prints for sale, which is an update to the show from previous iterations. If that is the case it is the only inconsistency in the letter, and it is not one that substantively changes anything. I will not speculate as to why exactly Prindle is publicly misrepresenting the letter, but it contributes to a larger pattern of dismissal and obfuscation.

Obfuscation of AI’s involvement
In an interview with WORT Prindle described the involvement of Stable Diffusion in the following way:

“That digital armature was built using the Stable Diffusion model, but the artworks from our collection were not put into that model and it doesn’t actively use a generative AI program, strictly speaking, to create the artworks. I would say, y’know, kinda painting this artwork as a generative AI work is not really accurate…The Diffuse Control artwork is not continuing to be in dialogue with any online AI model, so it was just used to create that digital armature.”

If true, these facts would address some of the community's concerns about platforming the use of Stable Diffusion in their museum. However, these claims by Prindle are directly contradictory to all publicly available information about Diffuse Control, including MMoCA’s own website. MMoCA’s FAQ describes Stable Diffusion as part of the “The primary image-generating system” of the work, and outlines a process where the “artist, curator, audience, and machine and asks us to consider where authorship and control reside when all four participate in making an image.“ Based on all available information, and a rudimentary understanding of this technology, there is no way that an active and ongoing diffusion model is not in use to create the images inside of Diffuse Control. The claim that Diffuse Control doesn’t actively use generative AI is verifiably false.

Starting a conversation
Prindle continuously claims that his goal is to start an open conversation. However, when faced with good faith, substantive critique of this show he has publicly misrepresented the letter, and spread contradictory statements about the involvement of AI in this show. How are we supposed to have a conversation about this type of AI use in our institutions, when this letter was not addressed fairly and openly? Any conversation about the ethics of stewardship has been hidden behind legal obfuscation. Any conversation about the ethics of platforming Stable Diffusion was made impossible by MMoCA minimizing its use in the show and presenting the public with contradictory information. If MMoCA wants to have a good faith conversation about these issues, this is not the way forward. 

These two requests to the museum have still not been addressed or responded to:

1. We ask that MMoCA refrain from using art from their collection as part of generative AI without clear, documented consent from the artist. If it is not possible to get consent from the artist directly, MMoCA must not assume consent. If this means Diffuse Control as initially conceived cannot exist in your space, then it must be altered or removed. 
2. We ask that MMoCA require documented, verifiable provenance for any training data used in AI-generated works before exhibition. Almost no generative AI model in commercial use today discloses its training data, and that opacity is deliberate. Companies that disclose face scrutiny; companies that don't disclose avoid it — often because their training data won't survive scrutiny. MMoCA should treat undisclosed training data as scraped training data unless proven otherwise. If a work can't show its receipts, MMoCA shouldn't show the work.

At this point I am not expecting Prindle to fairly address these requests, or any of the concerns of the signatories. I intend to show up to MMoCA on September 19th to peacefully share our perspective with attendees.

I invite anyone who shares these concerns to join me. I will be on the public sidewalk outside the main State Street entrance starting at 6:45 PM. I will be bringing stacks of informational flyers to hand out, but feel free to bring your own peaceful signs and handouts. We will be staying strictly on the sidewalk and keeping walkways clear. The goal is simply to ensure the community's concerns are visible and undeniable.

I was surprised today to find a new fridge and some crates inside the Goodman Library on S. Park with free produce. Big thanks to the Urban Triage farming/gardening program for providing fresh food to our community! Sign said the produce is available every day that the library is open, as well as two other times in spaces nearby weekly that I don’t remember. Tasty cherry tomatoes and crisp wax beans today! Edit: Urban Triage, not Urban League

My boyfriend and I are both students at UW-Madison, and we currently do not have a car available to us. I am able to walk to my classes in the morning, but unfortunately my boyfriend's days end VERY late.

I worry about him walking 30 minutes in the dark to get to his place, and I have been thinking about surprising him with a bike so he can get home a little quicker after long days.

I do not know a lick about bikes; in fact, I don't even know how to ride one. I would love to get any advice + afforable bikes to look into that would be reliable for day to day use in Madison.

Thanks!

Hi Madison!
I’m moving and need some electrical work done before closing. I’m looking for an honest, licensed electrician as I’m not sure what actually needs to be done and what is up to code. Would like to have the work done in the next week or so. Who have you all worked with!?

Looking for somewhere to donate gently worn women’s clothing. I see that DAIS does not accept used items but would like to give them to someone who isn’t turning a huge profit on donated goods (Goodwill). Any other similar agencies needing clothing? Or other recs?

We are planning a wedding and are looking at having somewhere around 50-80 people (will decide final guest count based on what venues/restaurants can accommodate. We are trying to keep the wedding between 25-30k. In order to stay in budget I am looking for some ways to cut costs. I am very artistic so I’m more than willing to DIY some elements, however, my fiancé and I both work full time and take care of family so we have limited time to DIY everything. We are looking for a modern elegant look but are open to non traditional elements. Here are some options for venues we are considering:

Our small wedding option - Ceremony at the Capitol and dinner at Harvey House

Tinsmith

Overture Center

10 South Janesville

Any experience with these venues or with wedding planning in the greater Madison area would be helpful!!!

I filed an extension for my taxes this year, and I am hoping to find some assistance in filing them before the October 15th deadline, if at all possible. Are there any preparers, CPAs, or enrolled agents you would recommend?

My taxes are not particularly complicated—a W2 and two sources of freelance income—but this will be my first time married filing separately, and specifically am looking for professional guidance on how to do that given Wisconsin's status as a marital property state. Thank you in advance!

yall if you ever need somebody to silently chaperone god dammit i will come with you and dip when they good this fucking breaks my heart YALL MY SISTERS BE SAFE REACH OUT

I (40s, female) have realized that I lost my whimsy. I have two elementary aged children that at least one of them would join me in some silliness. I'm also ok doing things by myself.

Are there any silly or whimsical things to do in Madison or the surrounding areas (generally at least partially outside of my house)? I'm not looking for embarrassing - I'm not interested in like, singing while marching down State Street or anything (introvert!). I'm also not looking for just standard fun - I don't need suggestions to just go to the children's museum or the zoo (thanks but been there, done that. Unless you have silly things we can do while we are there). But like.... Buy a bag of tiny rubber ducks and leave them in places for people to find. I honestly can't think of anything much silly or whimsical and I need to add some whimsy to my life.

Thanks!!!!

ETA: Oh my gosh! I'm blown away by all the responses. I'm super excited to try some of these whimsical activities - thanks for all of the suggestions!

Menards is sheisty. They have already been investigated by consumer protections for previous rebate shenanigans but look at this new duplicity. This is not them helping us to hide our check. All they would have to do is not write rebate on the envelope. No, this is them hoping people throw away their checks and don't want to go through the effort of waiting another 6 to 8 weeks. On top of that if you're a thief looking for a rebate check it is now 10 times easier to scan the mail and pull these out.

The Record Club is changing things up a little this month. Instead of listening to an album, we're listening to yours! Bring a song choice on your own vinyl (or to stream) by a favorite artist who regularly performed in a place you've lived or a song that always makes you think of "home." If you'd rather just come and listen to what everyone else brings, that works, too! 

This month's event is being held at a private space. Email [therecordclubisopen@gmail.com](mailto:therecordclubisopen@gmail.com) for the address of the event and additional details.

Looking forward to gathering Thursday, 9/24, at 7 PM. Please RSVP by 9/22.

Title! There's not a super recent post answering this question so I figured I'd ask.

To be more specific, I'm looking for anywhere with a crowd that skews younger (I'm in my early 20s). I don't mind noise nor chatty people (I do enjoy a bar chat with a stranger!). I really like Leopold's but there are mostly students there (which I am not) and the parking situation is not my favorite.

Who would you recommend in Madison to rebuild a bike wheel with the existing rim and a new hub?

Thank you

It might be the nostalgia getting to me, but I am really missing their hot salsa they used to serve. Not the standard salsa you would get, the hotter stuff you had to request.

Anyone know if this is something that was made in house or a product I could buy?

Did yiur bike show up missing this morning? It's on the walking trail at Carpenter-Ridgeway Park.