A woman on her way to St. Paul really got the goat of auto repairman James Prusci. She went to Tires Plus in Winona Friday, wanting a belt replaced on her Chevy Malibu. While he was doing paperwork, she said she had a goat in her trunk. "A what?" he asked. She told him she planned to butcher it.

It was painted Minnesota Viking colors — purple and gold — with Brett Favre's No. 4 shaved on its side. Favre made his Vikings debut Friday in a preseason game.

Prusci called animal control, which took the goat to a local vet. He was renamed Brett and placed in foster care.

Animal control officer Wendy Peterson said Monday the city attorney was reviewing the case for possible citations.

---

crista, were you planning a formal protest or what?

Um. roadriverrail points out, via the community the_recession, that Sweden has just set new interest rates.

New negative interest rates.

They're charging people money for the privilege of keeping their money in the banks.

This happens in a week. Original data here. The money(!!) quote is: The deposit rate is at the same time cut to -0.25 per cent and the lending rate to 0.75 per cent.

Some commentary here.

I need an icon for this series.

Matthew 28:1

¹ In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.

Mark 16:1-2

¹And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.

²And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.

John 20:1

¹The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.

So--was it Mary Magdalene and "the other Mary", was it Mary Magdalenne, Mary, and Salome, or was it Mary Magdalene on her own?

Does anyone know?

Here comes a new series:

Biblical Contradictions.

In this series, which will be updated whenever I feel like updating it, I will list a (seeming) contradiction in the bible. Bible verses quoted will be linked to Bible Gateway, and will be quoted in the style I'm most familiar with, the King James translation. In every case I shall link to the whole chapter, so that it will be easy for you to get the context of the verses I'm quoting. Those of you who know an official explanation for the fact that there appears to be a flat out contradiction, please feel free to explain in the comments why I am misunderstanding what I am reading.

That's not sarcasm. The KJV translation is far from perfect, I don't know squat about Greek, Aramaic, or Hebrew, and I am certain that some of the alleged errors are merely translation issues that people can clear right up for me. And I'd actively appreciate it if you did so; increasing my knowledge is a good thing.

The "Biblical Contradiction" series may be extended at some point in the future, to include theological questions about certain points that I find sticky, but for now, I shall only include verses that seem to directly contradict each other--that is, if Verse 1 is true, then there is absolutely no way that Verses 2 and 3 can be as well.

Have you familiarized yourself with the rules? Great. Here we go:

Genesis 6:19-20

¹⁹And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female.

²⁰Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive.

Genesis 7:2-3

²Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female.

³Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth.

Genesis 7:8-9

⁸Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth,

⁹There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah.

So . . . did Noah take two of every kind of beast, or seven? If there was a mix, how did he sort it out? (The "clean" and "unclean" rules likely don't apply to kosher and unkosher animals--remember, those rules won't be written for several hundred years yet, in Leviticus, and Noah had no way of knowing what they would be.)

OK, Biblical scholars: Go!

Why is Communism considered to be such a great evil in America? Why do preachers sell it as anti-Christian? Marx pulled his ideas directly from the Bible!

Acts 4:32-37

³²And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.

³³And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.

³⁴Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold,

³⁵And laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.

³⁶And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus,

³⁷Having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles' feet.

Anyone care to explain this to me?