Web Exclusive: Our readers speak out (Fiction)

By Doug Fields
The Reader’s Editor

While most our staff recovers from a suspected Russian biological attack, I decided to share some of the letters we’ve received. The ones I’ve selected cover the hot issues in our exceptional burb. 

We received quite a few letters about gun control. Some were very disturbing. A few Bolingbrook High School students argued that they should be able to buy assault rifles from the pawn shop across the street, to “protect themselves from teacher tyranny.” Other residents say they have the right to shoot at any public official they disagree with. We have forwarded these letters to the proper authorities. At the very least, you won’t be getting any awards from the village this year.

This is one of the sensible letters on gun control:

To the editor:

It seems that my fellow Second Amendment supporters are more interested in triggering liberals than promoting sensible gun use.  I’ve seen women put pistols in their yoga pants, and men put pistols in the crotch of their jeans. Don’t get me started on so called “open carry activists” who bring their guns to crowded places. Their actions endanger both themselves and the public. 

Thanks to some unfortunate incidents, more people support gun control today. It is scary, but that is no excuse to scare others. The public cannot tell the difference between a good guy with a gun, and a bad guy with a gun. We need to start acting like a well-regulated militia, or else the government will regulate us!  

Peter Z. Williams,
President of the Bolingbrook African American Rifle Association

Next, what would a Bolingbrook letters page be without a garbage letter: 

To the editor:

I am pleased to announce that I will be marrying the garbage toter I just met at the Home Depot. Not only will I be marrying the love of my life, but my spouse will be able to go anywhere on our property.  My love will be spending her days sitting by the side of our house, and no one, not even our dictatorial housing association, can stop my spouse!

I’m sure (Bolingbrook Mayor Roger Claar) will try to stop me, or impose a fee on my spouse.  He will fail because I know that every Bolingbrook resident, with few exceptions, supports freedom, and therefore will support my freedom to marry my loving garbage toter!

Name withheld by request,
Bolingbrook, IL

We believe in many things here at the Babbler, but we don’t believe that a garbage toter can consent to marriage.  I do have to wonder if this letter and the next letter are part of the same campaign:

To the Editor:

The Cook County Democrats have gone too far!  They’re organizing a “Bolingbrook Pride” event.  We’ve never had a gay event in Bolingbrook before.  Why now?

The answer is simple. The Chicago political machine, lead by Rahm Emanuel, Louis Farrakhan, and Jesus Garcia, want to take over Bolingbrook. This “pride” event is cover for an invading Cook County army! 

I don’t hate gay people.  I just don’t think they belong in Bolingbrook—  and Cook County has no business imposing them on us!  

I’m calling on every decent resident to stand up to this invasion force.  We stood up to Cook County last year.  We will do it again.  Keep your (offensive term redacted), Cook County!  Bolingbrook is a wholesome community!

Matt X. Stone
Bolingbrook, IL

I think I can speak for the entire Babbler staff regarding this letter.

First, there is no word in the English language strong enough to describe your total lack of knowledge about Cook County politics and your disrespect for LGBTQ+ people. Second, there are LGBTQ+ residents in Bolingbrook, and they help make Bolingbrook the diverse and vibrant community that it is today.  As far as we’ve determined, Bolingbrook Pride is locally organized, and we should be at their event in some manner.

You may not hate LGBTQ+ people, but attitudes like yours make life difficult for them.  They should be proud to be surviving the hate and discrimination imposed on them, as well as proud to be who they are.

That’s it for this week’s letters.  Remember, anyone can post a web comment.  Only a select few will have their letter published by me.  Are you up for the challenge?

Also in the Babbler:

Babbler staff recovers from Russian biological attack
Alien arrested at Bolingbrook storage facility
Mayor Claar planning secret trip to the Congo
God to smite Bolingbrook on 5/3/18

Interstellar court dismisses Michael Shermer’s lawsuit (Fiction)

File photo of Judge Kilos Surgon.

By Reporter X

The 109,298,291 Interstellar Circuit Court dismissed skeptic Michael Shermer’s lawsuit against Clow UFO Base, the Escape Velocity Blog Network, and Bolingbrook Mayor Roger Claar.

“Instead of wasting this court’s time with frivolous lawsuits,” stated Judge Kilos Surgon in her decision. “He should just stick to lecturing about his questionable hypotheses, and keeping his appendages to himself.”

The lawsuit stemmed from an investigation of an incident in February at a skeptical symposium at Clow UFO Base.  A disciplinary board, lead by Claar, found Shermer guilty of inappropriately touching an alien on stage during a panel.  The ruling was then reported by the Escape Velocity Blog Network, an interstellar organization that distributes “electronic social justice content from non-interstellar civilizations.”

Shermer’s lawyer, Charles X. Smith, argued that the conviction was flawed, and caused irreparable harm to Shermer.  He explained that the sentence of Shermer relied on eyewitness testimony, which he claimed is always unreliable.  “No one can remember all of the details of everything in their lives. Therefore eyewitness testimony should never be allowed in any court.”

Smith also argued that video evidence of the event shouldn’t have been considered.  “Video evidence can be faked.  Look at all the UFO videos on YouTube.  Unless you can prove with 100% certainty that the video wasn’t faked, it shouldn’t be allowed.”

Smith also noted that Escape Velocity distributes material from Freethought Blogs and The Orbit.  “They value distributing material that makes my client look bad.  My client simply wants to be compensated.  He is the supplier.  They are the consumer.  This court should respect the capitalistic market and give my client money.”

The defense lawyer, Joan Z. Parker replied that Claar’s investigation was proper.  “Eyewitnesses were interviewed in a way that reduced the risk of contamination of their testimony. Also, the witnesses were discussing someone they were very familiar with.  The videos were examined and were not tampered with.  Michael only received a warning for his actions and will be escorted during future visits to Clow.  He is also still a member in good standing of the Illuminati, and The Skeptics Society is still the official skeptical organization for the Illuminati.  I should also note that people still cite his article on the lifespan of civilizations — even though he is not an anthropologist. In short, if this court allows this lawsuit to proceed, then every human believer in UFOs and the paranormal should be allowed to sue Michael for damages done to their reputations!”

The judge dismissed the case with prejudice, and Smith said Shermer would not appeal.  “We really thought we had a good case and could overcome Clow’s army of professional lawyers.  We know better now.  At least Michael didn’t have to pay for my services.”

A receptionist for Claar said he was in an important meeting with the mayor of Naperville and could not be disturbed.

In the background, a man who sounded like Claar said, “I don’t care what your press releases said.  Your incinerator is sending smoke into my village and annoying my residents!  I can respect that you fooled the EPA into approving it, but I won’t tolerate you offending the noses of my voters!”

A man who sounded like Naperville Mayor Steve Chirico laughed.  “We’re Naperville.  We have a reputation to uphold.  Taking directions from Bolingbrook politicians is not part of that reputation.”

“I too have a reputation, and taking ‘no’ for an answer is not part of it!”

Also in the Babbler:

Congressional candidate Sean Casten denies soliciting funds from aliens.
Representative Peter Roskam buys ad space on UFOs
Romeoville Mayor blames New World Order for his DUI arrest
God to smite Bolingbrook on 4/29/18

Web Exclusive: Bolingbrook’s covert budget posted on village website (Fiction)

For the first time, Bolingbrook’s covert budget is posted on the village’s website.  It is encoded within the seemingly blank pages of next fiscal year’s public budget.

“I don’t care if a village staffer messed up, or someone from the Chamber of Commerce screwed up, or an Illuminati chaosmatician decided to have some fun,” said Village Trustee Robert Jaskiewicz, during a secret meeting of the village board. As a member of the opposition Bolingbrook United party, Jaskiewicz demanded the removal of the file.  “The fact is, we have a budget on our web page that is classified as beyond top secret, and anyone with the right equipment can read it.  Don’t any of you realize that there are secret societies that are hostile towards Bolingbrook?  I hope my colleagues will pull the covert budget from the web page, and not waste any time trying to spin this debacle against me.”

“Oh we will find a way to blame you, Bob,” said Deputy Mayor Michael Lawler, a member of the ruling Bolingbrook First party.  “We just need to take a few weeks to scrutinize every Facebook post you’ve ever written.”

Mayor Roger Claar said there was nothing to worry about:  “The average resident won’t even download the file.  Most of the people who will bother to download it, like Mrs. Giamanco—”

“Jaime Olson.”

“Whatever!  The point is, she and her fellow foes won’t be able to read the covert budget.  If I find out that anyone can read it, they will get a special visit from the Men in Blue.”

Claar then scolded Jaskiewicz: “Once again, you are bringing up a problem in a meeting, and making my staff look bad.”

“I must be the only one who notices when things go wrong,” stated Jaskiewicz. He then turned towards the other trustees and said: “Did any of you notice that our secret budget is on the Internet?”

The trustees shrugged.

“Damn it, Bob,” said Claar.  “Now you’re making my trustees look bad.  If you noticed a problem, why didn’t you do something about it.”

“I just found out about it an hour ago,” Jaskiewicz replied.  “I left messages with the village attorney and you.”

“Bob!  You are supposed to fill out Form 3798i, perform the Illuminati Rite of Correction, then hand it to the Grand Scribe in Harvey.”

“You never told me that, and you know I can’t go to the Illuminati because I’m a member of the New World Order.”

“This is why opposition trustees should be banned in Bolingbrook.  Only Bolingbrook First members get the full orientation.”

The covert budget is still online.  Experts contacted by the Babbler have partially decoded it.  Notable items include:

  • Clow UFO Base is still expected to show a profit, despite a decline in traffic.  The village plans to save money by no longer buying display ads on the far side of the moon.
  • Bolingbrook will increase spending on anti-ghost training and equipment by 20 percent.
  • The WeatherTech Restaurant at Clow UFO Base will expand and still pay no rent.  “The restaurant may contribute monetarily to the Base, but it does provide a value-added service that makes Clow one of the most attractive bases on Earth.  It also allows WeatherTech to profit off of its plastic scraps.”

Bolingbrook’s Art Bell Party demands answers (Fiction)

Ten members of Bolingbrook’s Art Bell Party picketed in front of Clow Airport to demand an investigation into the death of radio host Art Bell. 

“We’re just asking questions,” said Art Bell party leader Michael Faith.  “Like, will (Bolingbrook Mayor Roger Claar) create a panel to verify no resident was involved in Art’s death?  For that matter, where was Roger yesterday?  Can he account for his whereabouts at the time of Art’s death? We want to know, and we think that every true Bolingbrook resident wants to know, too.”

Bell, who started the paranormal-themed radio show  Coast to Coast in 1988, died 4/13/18 at his home in Pahrump, NV.  At its peak, Coast to Coast was syndicated on 500 radio stations and had 15 million listeners.  In 1996, Bell was the first to report Chuck Shramek’s claim that a UFO was following Comet Hale-Bopp. Though stories about the alleged UFO may have inspired the Heaven’s Gate cult to commit mass suicide, Bell denied any responsibility for the incident.

“Art Bell taught us to not accept the official truth,” said Faith.  “So many other residents believe Bolingbrook is an average suburb, and Clow is only an airport.  There still are residents who laugh when I tell them Clow Airport is just a cover for a UFO Base.  Art opened our minds to the truth, and the Babbler told us the truth.”

Jane Z. Cantor, who will be running for Village trustee in 2019, believes there are too many coincidences surrounding Bell’s death:  “Why are we just now debating garbage toters?  Why was American Atheist president David Silverman fired before Art’s death?  Why were atheists holding a convention after Art’s death?  Why is there suddenly interest in organizing Bolingbrook Gay Pride events?  We want answers, and we’re going to keep asking until we hear what sounds like the truth!”

Faith believes Bell was about to make a major announcement about Bolingbrook:  “Could it be that Art was going to announce Clow UFO Base? Could the announcement have involved a scandal?  Could it be that someone in the village didn’t want that information to come out?  We need to know the facts, and there cannot be even a hint of doubt about the innocence of any village employee or official.”

A receptionist for Claar said he was in a meeting and could not be disturbed.

In the background, a man who sounded like Claar,  said: “So Charlene, how is purging the Bolingbrook Friends page going to help me?  It’s supposed to be a friendly page about Bolingbrook.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, Roger.  You don’t understand the full power of this group.  I’m going to show you with this post.  Let me borrow your account.”

“Let me see.  Wait.  My daughter has epidermis?  Of course, she has skin.”

“I just posted it.  Now refresh your browser.”

“Wow!  Look at all these thoughts and prayers!”

“Exactly.  It’s not a matter of having a Facebook Page with the most members.  It’s about having a Facebook page with the right members.”

“I see.  Well, I’d better delete this post before my daughter reads it.”

Also in the Babbler:

Sources say PZ Myers really loves his cat
Syrians agents set off stink bombs in Chicago
Russian weather attack fails to stop OrbitCon
God to smite Bolingbrook on 4/18/18

Illuminati honors Qanon at the Bolingbrook Golf Club (Fiction)

The Illuminati honored Qanon for her controversial conspiracy theory Internet posts.  The secret ceremony was held at the Bolingbrook Golf Club:.

“Qanon’s work is inspiring Trump’s supporters around the world,” said Bolingbrook Mayor Roger Claar.  “Instead of believing Trump is helping the Illuminati create global chaos, many now believe Trump is the mastermind behind an elaborate plan to bring down the deep state.  Instead of believing that Robert Mueller is investigating our President, many Internet thought leaders now believe Robert is really working for Trump.  Join me in welcoming and honoring Qanon. Ford!”

After Claar finished performing the glowing orb ceremony, Claar presented Qanon with the Adam Weishaupt Award for Excellence.  Qanon wiped away her tears before starting her acceptance speech: “Before I shoved my father into the HARP chamber, he said I would never amount to anything.  Dad, if you can see me from Hell, I want to say this: You suck!”

Qanon described her assent from the Illuminati scribe pool to a low-level Internet seer.  She admitted that she wasn’t satisfied with her career, but then her mentor gave her a special assignment:  “He tasked me with creating a post that would fool Trump supporters into thinking Donald was a political mastermind.  He explained that his high seers couldn’t get very far without suffering from uncontrollable laughing fits.  I figured I had nothing to lose, so I agreed to help.”

She then explained how she created the first few posts: “I decided to use one of the oldest tricks in the book.  I just took pieces of various conspiracy theories, padded a few random facts, and threw in a photo every so often.  I hinted that Trump was a mastermind, and I implied that the truth would be revealed to the world any minute now.  Then, I let their imaginations run wild.  It worked better than I thought.”

According to Qanon, her posts on 4chan have spread to Reddit and Twitter.  She claims that there are over 92,000 YouTube videos about her work, PZ Myers hates her, and InfoWars editor Jerome Corsi writes about her posts. She stated:

“When Roseanne featured my work in one of her tweets, I knew that I had made it.”

Qanon does not expect her Internet notoriety to end any time soon.  “No one wants to think of themselves as an average Internet user.  They want to see themselves as geniuses.  They think they see the Matrix.  They think they’re special.  The Illuminati can and will use that to their advantage.  We can make a transgender allegory seem like an affirmation of ridged gender identity.  We can make administrative entropy seem normal, and we can make Donald Trump look like a competent President. Together we will tear down the New World Order, destroy International cooperation, and conquer the human race.  Fnord!”

After leading the audience in a chant of “Fnord,” Claar asked if Qanon could help with his political troubles.  She replied that she could and asked Claar for a list of nouns and adjectives.  After typing for a few seconds, she read a draft of a post:

What do they really mean by ‘Toters?’ Who is RJ working for?  JT?  467.  Is there only one Bob?  Where is Bonnie?  Learn Monopoly.  You are not stupid. RC fighting CCD.  Victory is near.  Guns will be coming back to Bolingbrook.  Line not secure.  Must go.  Think Raiders.  The Legend of Billie Jean.  Roger means business.  Business is good.

“Interesting,” replied Claar.

Also in the Babbler:

Mayor Claar accused of planting anti-toter aliens at garbage forum
Aliens praised for shooting down rouge Chinese space station
Gay aliens demand Bolingbrook host a pride parade
God to smite Bolingbrook on 4/5/18

Geese protests continue to annoy Bolingbrook residents (Fiction)

Many Bolingbrook residents are annoyed by noisy, radical geese encampments in the village.

“I can’t sleep because of all their honking!” said Brenda, who did not provide her last name.  “If they’re not going to respect me, I won’t respect them!”

Mona, a Bolingbrook psychic, says the gaggle is made up of radical geese who are protesting suburban development.  “To them, Bolingbrook is a symbol of human colonization and exploitation of the Earth.  In their eyes, we take up too much space and are destroying their nesting sites.  Some are mad that their old nesting grounds have been replaced with townhomes, strip malls, and an overpriced golf club.  They’ve had enough, and they’re drawing the line in Bolingbrook.”

An anonymous source claims to have seen a gaggle harass Mayor Roger Claar.  “He was walking towards Village Hall when they accosted him.  They kept honking at him, and he kept shouting: ‘I don’t understand any of you.  Go away!’  When he got to the front door, he turned around and said: ‘Until you can either vote for me or donate to my campaign fund, I won’t listen to you.’  Then they marched on his patio for a few minutes before flying off.”

James, another resident who did not provide a last name, said he sympathized with the protesting geese. “We feed them food that’s bad for them, like bread and popcorn.  It not only discourages them from migrating, but it gives them malnutrition.  Then, as we grow the suburbs, we start taking away their homes.  They have a right to be mad at us.”

Instead of trying to kill geese, James urges Bolingbrook residents to stop feeding geese, and for Village Hall to preserve the remaining green spaces in Bolingbrook.  He also called for more “sustainable development.”

“Bolingbrook is so spread out that you pretty much have to have a car to get anywhere.  We should focus on building more sidewalks and bike lanes, as well as more pedestrian-friendly subdivisions.  These would help reduce our carbon footprints and make Bolingbrook a friendlier place to live.  Sure Bolingbrook is great, but if we don’t adapt, things will get worse.  We should always be trying to improve.”

A receptionist for Claar said he was taking an urgent phone call and could not be disturbed.

In the background, a man who sounded like Claar said: “So Dana, you don’t like the letter I sent to the governor. You’re going to do what?  Good luck with that.  The NRA’s money is poison, and its getting its (expletive deleted) handed to it by teenagers.  So no, I won’t allow the sale of AR-15 assault rifles across the street from Bolingbrook High School. And I stand by my call for discussion and action to raise the legal age of gun ownership to 21; ban bump stocks and high capacity magazines; toughen background checks, and increase the waiting period for all firearms.  Do my job?  I am doing my job.  My job is to protect Bolingbrook.  Your job is to sell more guns by creating an atmosphere of fear and anger.  I’m not going to help you do your job!”

Also in the Babbler:

Aliens peacefully protest gun violence
Village warns residents not to shoot the Easter Bunny
Moses spotted in Schraeder Park
God to smite Bolingbrook on 3/28/18

Web Exclusive: Russian agents spotted at Will County polling sites (Fiction)

Multiple anonymous sources claim to have seen Russian operatives near many Will County voting locations.

Election Judge “Beth,” (real name withheld), said she was approached by Russian operatives the night before the election.  That night, two men approached her holding stacks of ballots.  The men claimed that they were Will County Ballots printed on “DuPage County quality paper.”  When she refused, the men told her that, “DuPage is the best rich county in Illinois.  Rich people always get the best ballots.  You want the best ballot paper from the best county.  You don’t want bad ballot paper from bad Will County.”

“I told them to leave before I called the police,” said Beth.  “I think I used language not fit for your publication.”

An anonymous election observer in Bolingbrook, who asked to be called Doug, said he spotted Russian operatives in Bolingbrook.  According to him, the election judges summoned Village Clerk Carol Penning.  The men, according to Doug, said that that they were fans of Bolingbrook Mayor Roger Claar — “Except they pronounced his last name, ‘Clarr,’ so I knew something was up.”

When the men offered Penning the ballots, she replied that it was against the law for her to accept them, and even if she did, the type of paper used couldn’t be read by the county’s optical readers. Penning said they were friends of Bolingbrook, then offered the men membership in the Bolingbrook Friends Facebook group.  The men said they would consider her offer, then left.  The source claimed that Penning then turned towards the judge, smiled and pointed at her “What Would Roger Do?” bracelet.

On election day, DuPage County’s scanners couldn’t be shut down.  Initial reports suggested a problem with the paper stock used for the ballots.  When this reporter visited a polling site in Naperville, an official, who wished to remain anonymous, insisted the problem had nothing to do with the Russians.

“You’re funny.  Seriously, the problem is we can’t remove the memory card until we scan an ender page into the machine, and our ender page is too thick to fit.  We didn’t have this problem during the testing phase, so I don’t know what happened.  All the sites in DuPage County are having this problem.  So we’re going to have to bring our machines to Wheaton to have the memory cards removed.  All the close races will have to be resolved tomorrow.  It looks bad, I know, but merging the DuPage Election Commission with the County Clerk’s Office is not the answer!”

An election judge then walked up to the voting machine.  “Why are you doing this to us!” she asked.  “We’re Naperville.  We have a reputation to uphold.”  She started kicking the machine.  “Malfunctioning voting machines are not part of that reputation!”

Wereskunks promise not to disrupt Bolingbrook’s garbage forum (Fiction)

Bolingbrook’s wereskunks promised not to disrupt the public forum on garbage collection to be held on March, 26 at 6 PM at the Bolingbrook Community Center.

“Mayor Claar has assured us that we will be safe at this forum,” said Jacob Z. Porter, president of the Bolingbrook Wereskunk Service Organization. In return, we promised not to release a defensive scent whenever someone threatens our cousins.”

Porter said that their members hope to address many misunderstandings that residents have about skunks.

“Our cousins eat almost anything.  They help reduce the number of bugs in Bolingbrook.  Humans hate bugs, right?  They’re also the first line of defense against vicious bees.  Never been attacked by a swarm of bees?  Thank our cousins.  When the killer bees come to Bolingbrook, our cousin will protect you.  Will Bolingbrook protect our cousins?”

Doug, who refused to give his last name, called the proposed garbage toters an act of “genocide” against Bolingbrook’s skunk population.  “Garbage toters deprive our cousins of food.  Residents would rather waste food than give their scraps to our hungry cousins.  Village Hall will spend money to attract more restaurants to Bolingbrook, but when our cousins are hungry, (Mayor Roger Claar) says he hopes they freeze to death over the winter.  After all, wereskunks have done for Bolingbrook, this is how your government thanks to our cousins.  We will not descend into the mud with Roger, but we will respond to the village’s hatred towards us.”

Matt X. Larson, a member of Bolingbrook Residents Against Animal Air Polluters, said he was glad the wereskunks will have a peaceful presence at the meeting, but he said his group still supports garbage toters:  “They tear open our garbage bags, spread litter on our yards, and stink up our neighborhoods.  I can’t wait to tell these wereskunks that garbage toters are as American as apple pie and assault rifles!  Don’t ask me what I think about Roger.”

Doug disagreed:  “What residents call littering, we call artistic expression.  If the village had smart leadership, they would take pictures of our cousins’ works and sell them on the art market.  The village would have a budget surplus in no time.”

A receptionist for Claar said he was mentoring someone and could not be disturbed.  She added, “I think its great that you are promoting this important public meeting.  We have some great toter prototypes to show our residents.”

In the background, a man who sounded like Claar said: “Okay, Charlene, you’ll be on press release duty Tuesday.  I’m giving you a pop quiz.”

“I’m ready.”

“The race between Bruce Rauner and Jeanne Ives is too close to call.”

“It is now up to God to decide who will represent the Republican party in the general election.  Whomever God decides on, our party must come together to fight the Chicago Democratic Machine and their extremist candidate for governor.”

“Bruce Rauner wins in a landslide.”

“Four years ago, the voters decided that Illinois should be run like a business and elected Bruce Rauner.  The Cook County Democrats in the state house are still acting like politicians.  It’s time for all God-fearing Illinoisans to come together to help our boss fire those slackers and make our state profitable.”

“Jeanne Ives wins in a landslide.”

“As a supporter of an organization inspired by God, and as a natural-born citizen, a married father, and someone who goes to church almost every Sunday, I know the power of miracles.  Tonight’s victory was a miraculous event.  Today, my faith in God is stronger than ever.  I hope all Illinois residents will come together and vote for His chosen candidate.”

“Close enough.”

Also in the Babbler:

Aliens finally allowed to visit Beggars Pizza in Bolingbrook
UFO crew refuses to place Jeanne Ives sign on craft
Claar decides to ban anti-matter bombs without consulting trustees
God to smite Bolingbrook on 3/21/18

Satanic non-profit vows to help Bolingbrook’s ‘at-risk youth’ (Fiction)

After rapper MC Set Nine finished his performance in front of a small crowd of pre-teens, he pulled up a chair and asked the audience to move closer.  An assistant handed him several large photos.  MC Set Nine chose to hold up a picture of a painting of King George III.

“This man was a king,” Nine said.  “He was the lord of a large empire.  He could kill or imprison anyone he wanted to.”  Nine holds up another picture.  “Kind of like Darth Vader.”

The audience laughs.

Nine holds up another picture.  “You know who this is?  This is George Washington.  He led the American Revolution because he believed that Kings were evil, and no one should lord over another person. He opposed Feudalism.”  He holds up another picture.  “Just like Luke Skywalker.”

The audience nods.

Nine holds up a picture of a painting.  “This is God.  What are God’s titles?

“King of Kings!”

“Our Lord!”

“Those sound like titles in a feudal state,” said Nine.  “George Washington opposed feudalism.  Would George Washington support an even more powerful King?”

“No!”

“No is right, but he wasn’t strong enough to oppose God.  Do you know who is strong enough?”  Nine holds up another picture.  “This is Lucifer.  Lucifer is a revolutionary against King God.”

“I want to be like Lucifer because I believe in freedom!” said an audience member.

MC Set Nine is one the members of Humans Helping Others Out, Bolingbrook’s newest youth service organization.  The staff members say that their support for Lucifer motivates them to serve Bolingbrook’s “at-risk youth,” but is open to families of all religious backgrounds.

Nine explained: “We believe Bolingbrook parents shouldn’t be forced to choose between creepy Christians and arrogant atheists.  We provide a safe middle ground where our youth learn the sanctity of their bodies and the importance of defending your freedom against supernatural tyrants.  We want to help young people avoid the dangers of crime, drug abuse, and dependence upon the supernatural.”

One attendee, who asked to be called Sheila, said H2O2 wasn’t what she expected.  “I thought they were going to teach me black magic and how to sacrifice my annoying kid sister.  Instead, they’re teaching me individual responsibility and how we can build societies that don’t force us to be (expletive deleted) towards each other.  They even taught me to value my sister.  Not even God could do that.”

Nine says he’s not discouraged that the majority of Bolingbrook residents believe in God.  “That just makes our work more important.  More people are killed in the name of God than in the name of Satan.  If residents give us a few years with their children, we’ll all but eliminate youth crime in Bolingbrook.”

Nine added that H2O2 is willing to fight for recognition.  “There’s a certain local Christian organization that politicians are willing to give grants and free publicity to. We hope to get the same level of support because we offer the same kinds of programs that they do.  Otherwise, let’s just say that Satanists love the court system.  Because you shouldn’t hate us because we hate God.”

Both Heart Haven Outreach, and the DuPage Township Board members, refused to be interviewed for this story.

A receptionist for Mayor Roger Claar said he was out of the office. However, there was a line of people waiting to see him.  The receptionist said: “I’m sure Roger will be fair to an organization of people volunteering to go to Hell, but you didn’t hear that from me.”

In the background, a man who sounded like Trustee Sheldon Watts said, “Charlene, I can’t believe (Trustee Bob Jaskiewicz) held a fundraiser for his party with over year to go before the next election.”

“I know.  His party is in trouble because since the last election Bolingbrook First has spent over $47,000 and held four outreach events.  We’ve also donated to Representative Roskam’s campaign, so he’ll owe us—”

“La!  La!  La!  I can’t hear you.  Jesus loves me.  STEM is good.”

Also in the Babbler:

Aliens arrested after attending the wrong opening for Beggar’s Pizza
Twenty injured during shooter drill at Clow UFO Base
Claar:  I have not been questioned by Mueller!
God to smite Bolingbrook on 3/15/18

Bolingbrook to bid on the 2042 Winter Olympics? (Fiction)

Will the 2042 Winter Olympics be held in Bolingbrook?  Sources inside village hall say the village will bid for the games.

A cartoon skunk waves at the reader. Below it are the words "Bolingbrook 2042" and the Olympic Rings.

An alleged graphic of Snowy The Winter Olympic Skunk, the alleged mascot for Bolingbrook’s Olympic bid.

“We don’t have mountains, or an Olympic stadium, or the right climate,” said one source.  “But why should that stop us?”

A member of the Bolingbrook STEM Association confirmed the planned bid.  “Roger came up to me and said we needed to design a winter Olympic complex,” she said.  “I laughed until I realized that he was serious.  He said former Trustee Leroy Brown told him that when you believe in God, you can do build anything.  Since I believe in God, Roger told me that I shouldn’t have any problem designing it.”  She added:  “Roger wanted to host an Olympics because it would humiliate Chicago if Bolingbrook won its bid while Chicago didn’t.  I asked why he wanted to host a winter Olympics instead of a summer Olympics.  He said he’d show me pictures of his granddaughter if I stopped asking questions.”

According to the sources, the bid would commit the village to the most significant infrastructure project since the village’s founding.  It includes a promise to add 100,000 seats to Rocket Ice Arena.  It also promises to add a dome to the Bolingbrook High School Stadium so it could also be used to host events, like speed skating.  The Leroy Brown Olympic Village would be built on the site now occupied by Bolingbrook Commons.  Bolingbrook, according to the bid, would work with the village of Lisle to raise the height of Four Lakes’ ski hill by “several thousand feet” to make it suitable for downhill events.

Sources say that the plan is for the village to use the revenue from the sale of its remaining lots at Americana Estates to pay for its Olympic plans.  The sources said if the sales didn’t generate enough money, the village charter would be amended so the village would be required to issue the necessary bonds in 2032.

“This way, Roger can keep his promise not to add to the village’s debt because the bonds will be issued long after he’s out of office.  It will be some other mayor’s problem.”

Anonymous economic advisors for the Bolingbrook United party condemned the proposed bid.  According to them, the debt from preparing for an Olympics can take decades to pay off.  They noted that it took Montreal thirty years to pay off its debt from hosting the 1976 Summer Olympics.

“This could turn out to be the most expensive bid in Olympic history,” said one of the economists.  “That’s before taking global warming into account.  Olympic games are a terrible investment for any community except Los Angeles.  The best move for Bolingbrook would be not to bid for any Olympic games.”

An anonymous member of the village staff defended the proposed bid.  “Some people only think about negatives.  I’d rather think about the positives— Like the billions of people watching a future Mayor Claar opening the Olympics, and the world falling in love with our mascot, Snowy the Winter Olympic Skunk.”

A receptionist for Claar said he was in a meeting with a trustee and could not be disturbed.

In the background, a man said, “You know, Bob might be on to something.”

“I’ll ignore that you said the “B” word, and give you a few seconds to explain yourself.”

“Sorry.  Um, even though we outsourced production of the village directory to the Chamber of Commerce, we still are responsible for any mistakes that are in it.”

“Are you attacking the Village staff?”

“Not at all.  Our staff members want to do a good job.  The flaw is with the process behind producing the directory, not them.  Shouldn’t we review the process and fix it so we can empower our staff to fix errors in the directory?”

“Why?  Every time an isolated mistake happens, Bob points it out, and I tell a sob story about the village employee involved.  The voters feel sympathy towards my village staff, and I make Mr. B look like a bad person.  When I make him look bad, I hurt his party and help our party.  Don’t think of these isolated incidents as problems to be solved.  Think of them as opportunities to exploit.”

“Okay?  So the message we want to send to our staff is—”

“Don’t be afraid to screw up.”

Also in the Babbler:

Village Trustee Robert Jaskiewicz sets the record for longest trustee report
Mothman threatens Bolingbrook Jaycees
Alien disqualified from Rotary Club Mac N Cheese contest
God to smite Bolingbrook on 3/8/18