I personally believe that Congresswoman Lowey is really trying to slander the good names of Tom Fulp and Fabulous999. I don't think she is really after the truth in this matter. I read the disclaimer that Fabulous999 wrote for this game, and if that (excuse me) BITCH actually read it, she would know the truth, and that truth would conflict with her point of view. Some of what she said is absolutely right, but she was wrong to attack games like this, making excuses and such. She wants an excuse to silence people like us and guess what? I WILL NOT BE SILENCED!!

Tom, you're the MAN. Fabulous999, you're the MAN. And WE WILL NOT BE SILENCED by even congress. I respect her opinion, and I agree with everything Tom and Fab says, but I think she needs to realise that the name of this site is NEWGROUNDS, not Nitalowey.com. She also needs to look before she leaps.

I hope I didn't get out of line, and if I did, I apologise, but that's the way I feel about it, and if that is a crime I will plead...

...GUILTY AS HELL!!!

stick it to the government tom. there's always a loophole...

Very nice reply Mr Fulp.

My two cents worth:

I reckon that congress lady can have a whinge if she wants to, as should anyone, but its a bit moral high ground really.

As for her saying it "pokes fun at the Ground Zero workers and other brave... blah blah etc", I'm not aware any fingers for the S11 thing were pointed at Palestine (otherwise US would have bombed the shit out of it by now wouldnt they? I'm sure it would make a lovely little foothold too for excursions elsewhere in the Middle East).

I mean so far I thought it was more Hamas style to blow yourself up with explosives in civie areas than fly 747s - SO really I think it probably has good reason to offend Israelites and not yon USA people.

But then I'm not Israeli nor American so it's funny for me automatically.

IM ALSO sure we wouldn't get a letter from her if we had a "Yo'Busta Cap in Yassa'Fat" game where there is a rap-music bouncing car driving through Bethlehem and you shoot anyone with a teatowel on their head or something like that. Personally I think that would be a great addition, but my point is that you wouldn't hear boo about it. Unless you were a fullon Palestinean but then you wouldn't probably bother sending a complaint - you'd just send a singing bombogram or something.

Fuck it - put KABOOM and BustaCap In Yassa'Fat together make it like Red Alert so anyone can play the side that opposes the ideology they themselves oppose for whatever reason. Then everybody can be happy virtually killing each other but at the same time double the opportunity for more compaints!

Anyway, from my twisted undertanding of history, I always presumed the Republic of America was founded on terrorism, in that the revolutionary army who opposed the English utilised guerilla tactics to defeat them. But then history is written by the winners isn't it?

I think whoever orchestrated those pilots to ram the Towers should certainly be killed, but this whole "War On Terrorism" title is very corny and very cheap flag waving propaganda. The choice of their war title is designed more to publicly justify any incursion anywhere in the world that the US heads of state see fit to engage in, and not just in response to a what was a really disgustingly evil act with little objective military purpose other than to make people miserable and tie up the stock markets.

I'm so cynical I need games like KABOOM! to readjust my perspective on things - thanks for keeping it going.

Good job Tom dealing with our freedom. Kind of makes you wonder though. A congress woman..... trying to take away our right to free speech..... isn't that in the Bill of Rights? First line? Freedom of SPEECH, press, assembly and religion?...... Ya I think so. Good job upholding our Bill of Rights Tom. Never knew you were a politician.

KABOOM! sucks big elephant balls, remove it bitch

"...but this game is too tongue-in-cheek to warrant that response."

Actually, the fact that the game is so tongue-in-cheek is where the problem lies.

I made a post along these lines to the last news item. But Bandura's Bobo doll and remoteness of violence studies show some pretty disturbing things about human nature. Being that it is tongue-in-cheek, and a cartoon in fact can cause problems.

I'm all for the freedom of speech,and do not see a reason to take this game down, but I feel that you should be informed that this kind of material can influence people.

I am sick and tired that our freedom is becoming more and more controled by the day, even with this Kaboom problem, theres alway these so called people who are offeneded, well if it bothers you don't look at it, no one put a gun to your head, use the Drew Carrey episode fo rreffrence about thsi crap where that call tried to sue him because of a cartoon he had in his cubicle and she claimed she was forced to look at it every day, I was glad Drew won the sexuall harassment case, but that episode just pisses me off every time I see it, but I figure it proves a point

Nice to see political correctness once again rearing up to take another strike at the freedom act.

As far as I'm concerned, Congresswoman Nita M. Lowey is just trying to score some political points out of this. It happens so often within global politics that it isn't a surprise. You saw them come out when the Port Arther massacre happened in Australia (which resulted in the complete loss of gun rights for every legal licensed Australian gun owner). You saw them come out and attack sites such as Newgrounds.com and the video games industry when the high school shootings of 1999, 2000 and now 2001 (Germany) happened - this latest one now has German gun laws (which are among the top #5 in the world for strictness) becoming even tighter and games such as CounterStrike, Medal of Honor and Solider of Fortune being banned within certain Europian countries. And you saw them when that last US report on "how aggression is connected to video games" was made public about 6-8mths ago.

I was in Melbourne, Australia when the May 1 "rent-a-crowd" violence occurred world-wide, where they protested about everything from globalisation to the environment to union rights to Israel and the US being the terrorists and not the Palastinians (sp?). I even spotted some Iraqi and Palastinians I knew in the "rent-a-crowd" mob deliberately provoking the police who were monitoring the protesters in the hope of an outbreak of violence like last year - and they were successful.

To me it's all a massive case of prejudical double standards taking place. The Middle East crisis between Israel and Palastine (sp?) could have been solved if Yasser Arafat had of accepted the 95% land return deal that was last offered by Israel during the previous cease fire agreement between the two nations - instead Arafat choose to snub his nose at it since it wasn't 100% of all disputed Arab/Jewish lands and invoke random suicide bombings. No, I don't believe that Sharon should have sent his army in as he has to try and spook Arafat into backing off but I do understand what motivated him in the first place; Arafat's unwillingness to cooperate.

KABOOM in my opinion is a very tongue-in-cheek flash animation that is more about humour of the situation than actually supporting it. I have shown many of my Arabic, Jewish and Muslim friends and associates that flash animation and they have all had a good laugh at it since they know that it is not meant to be serious; just a parody of a RL event. Congresswoman Nita M. Lowey apparently doesn't understand that or chooses to ignore it in the hope of achieving minor political gains - look into her past political history if you don't understand what I'm referring to. Her shot at how this impacts on America's current international situation further underlines her political agenda in my eyes - really the level of impact this has to the US on a national and international level is very low. Mearly she is playing to the minority who is against such media being openly shown on the Internet from an American-based website.

As far as I'm concerned, the VERY vocal majority has spoken here at Newgrounds.com in support of the Newgrounds.com crew and our fellow artist who has been caught in the political crossfire, so the minority can go back into the shadows where they belong. For to censor this artist's work is to burn the foundations that the freedom act was based on and further push the civil rights of the community back until it is oppressed by those that seek power solely to benefit themselves.

I just looked back at my review of KABOOM. Cynical as it may seem, once again it looks as if one of my predicions was correct...

Congresswoman Nita M. Lowey proves it.

that was shit you know but the cyber war is still going
i have sent 3 of my best men to ohio he busted out are friend in huston i had to kill 5 man but in was in the name of canada right now im trying to hack in nasa in huston but i still cant get the code but im working on it im surprised power is still on in nasa because hacked in there power plant and shut it off with a virus once im in nasa i will set it on selfdestruct and then it will be kaboom for million and miles away

Hell yeah! Don't give up Tom!! You can't let them revoke your freedom of speech, no matter what! Besides, the creator of KABOOM is one of my favorite Flash artists..

At 5/2/02 11:07 PM, Spaldspald wrote: I don't think you people should all be so hateful towards the senator. She was very polite in her letter, and you have no idea what her personal agenda on sending this letter is. I myself thought the game was funny, and had fun playing it, it may have been over the top but it was a game. I think the senator was right in expressing her views, and you people should not shove them down her throat and call her names for it. Do you think she would come on here and you a piece of shit?

Your're right about that. As long as she doesn't force tom to remove kaboom. She has the right to say what she thinks of kaboom, just like anyone else. Let's treat her with a little more respect ok? Else she and many others might see us as ignorant barbarians. And if that happens, people might actually force tom to remove kaboom.

I am in the military, and don't have a problem with this game at all. The reason I don't have a problem with it is because IT IS A GAME!!!! While it may be seen as vulgar oh well. Leave it at vulgar and nothing more.

He doesn't have to remove anything. The senator is entitled to her opinions but so is he.

Thats right. This senator claims that this game pokes fun at America, while she attempts to compromise the very integrity of the American value of free speech. It is my opinion that it is more important to practice free speech than enshrine it.

come on~!! its just a freakin game biyotch~! get over it !! and about the attack.. its almost over 7 months now.. people should just 4get about it and go with tha flow.. you cant turn back time people!!

Peace

I support you on your idea o keeping the game on newgrounds. What teh hell is she talking about the victims of sept 11th should not go around playing games like this if they do not want to be offended

"Nice to see political correctness once again rearing up to take another strike at the freedom act."

Angel_frost, What's so bad about gun laws? Sure, our constitution says we have the right to have guns, but that was made a long time ago, when that right had an important stake in our future. But times have changed, and our founding fathers created a living document to become our constitution....not this stale unbending creation we have today. At one time it was legal to own slave, and at one time it was legal to beat women, and at one time it was ok for women to not have the same rights as man. But we changed.
Guns were a neccesity to our ancestors because it could be the difference between life and death to them.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not for making all guns illegal. But really, why would you need a fully automatic rifle, or some weapon with a 30-50 round clip? Sure, keep the shotguns, non-assault rifles, and handguns legal for hunting/protection. But whats wrong with having permits and waiting periods?
Times have changed.

Another problem with the constitution is that people constantly take one line out of it, and misuse it. If I say it's OK to kill in self-defense, and you quote me as saying 'it's OK to kill', you end up with a very skewed image of what I said and meant.
We have the freedom of speech, but only as long as that freedom does not infring upon the freedom of others. I have the right to say 'I don't like the president, and would not be angry if something bad happened to him'. I do not have the right to say 'I want the president dead, I think we should rise up, march on Washington, and gun him down'. That would be seen as infringing upon the rights of the president, but you could replace president with any other ordinary person on the street.
We have several freedoms, but we tend to forget how we got them, and what they truelly stand for. Sadly, so do our governing bodies.
If it was decided that Kaboom in fact could cause violence, then it would be infringing upon the very freedoms that we use to defend it.
And to believe that it might do just that, is not hard to when you look at the research. Once again I suggest you check out the research that Bandura has done.
Media tends to be the biggest supporter of 'free speech' when they are reporting on the front lines of a war. They will be following the army around, revealing information about troop positions, numbers, equipment. Half the time, the media gets info about where they will be before they get there....and then they set up shop and wait for them. In Somalia the media was waiting on the beach with big spot lights so they could get big nice pictures of the landing. No worry about revealing the militaries actions or about getting directly in the way of the soldiers. This kind of coverage in fact can be easily classified as infringing upon the rights of the soldiers.
Take the Olympic games (forgot the year) where the hostages were being held. The police were moving up sharp shooters on the rooftops across the way. These trained marksmen could have ended the entire fiasco, but a news reporter got word of this action and stuck live footage of the sharpshooters approaching the edge of the rooftops. The terrorists could have seen this, and if they had it would endanger the hostages, and the sharpshooters. The sharpshooters were forced to pull back for safety to themselves and the captives. The hostages were all killed later in a tragic accident. It's not hard to see where this so called freedom of speech could have been infringing upon the sharpshooter's rights, and more importantly the rights of the captives who could have been saved.

Our freedoms come at a price, and have limitations. If something you think is a freedom infringes on the freedoms of another, then you no longer have the right to do that. Also, the constitution is a living document that was designed to change with the times. To believe that we need exactly the same things as people 200 years ago did is kind of asinine.

Oh ya. I tend to play devil's advocate a lot. But I am in favor of keeping Kaboom up and running. It's a fun game, but I sure as heck wouldn't let my kid play it....not for a couple more years anyways.

Dear Nita M. Lowey:
Take your head out of your ass.

Sincerly,

Me

And America says it prides itself on Freedom of Speech. Yea right.

Normaly I have alot or a decent amout to write about.. but I was stuck for the words with this one..
KABOOM... I thought was a pretty funny game, i didnt think it would give anyone the idea of susicide bombing and it was just a joke... I think most people who email hate mail were just being attention seeker's because they had nothing too moan about. This woman from congress is just trying to get attention to make her self known across Newgrounds..
Well done Tom for not deleting KABOOM =)

-------------------------------
heyhey i wrwote more than i thought i would =)

I notice someone posted that Tom was backing down by removing it from the front page but... it's not like there aren't plenty of links in the front page posts!

- To Kmanweiss

I wasn't drawing solely from US politics/law; I was drawing from multiple countries. I have no problems with gun licenses/permits and waiting periods, as well as fully understanding and supporting both sides of the "freedom of speech" debate (note how I just said "freedom act" - I was drawing reference from multiple countries not just the US); just political "knee-jerk" reactions to take advantage of the "topic-of-the-day" society fears. I also have a problem with the minority groups trying to force the majority into accepting their standpoint when clearly they don't want to due to their own reasons (as with the call to censor Newgrounds.com and it's artists' submissions - namely KABOOM).

If you weren't already aware (I don't think too many Newgrounds.com members are...), Congresswoman Nita M. Lowey is funded by ZOG. Take a deeper look into her political history like I suggested if you want to understand more what standpoint I'm coming from.

And finally, I'm not an American. But I do know my world history as well as keeping tabs on current global events (you were thinking of the Berlin Olympics that happened after WWII), so please in the future try to remember that it's not just Americans who are members at Newgrounds.com.

It's understandable that some people would find this game offensive. This Neo-Macarthyist representative thinks that with a wave of the pen we will sign over our right to free speech the way Congress already tried to. (Ever heard of the "Patriot" bill?)

Although it is always going to be distasteful to make fun of those who are hurt, injured, or killed, the game strikes a blow against terrorism: The terrorist's goal is to shock us. If we destroy their ability to do so (by desensitizing, rationalizing, etc.), then they have lost.

Look, this game is not going to affect the view of any American or Israeli on the subject; I stand against terrorism just as much as anyone else. But the fact that someone thought to turn suicide bombing into a comical game is one of the programmer's steps to dealing with the shock and outrage of the subject- if anyone else plays the game and sees it in this light then perhaps we will stop badgering every person on the planet that doesn't stand on the corner from dawn until dusk waving an American flag and talking about the "Good Old Days".

KABOOM! is a stupid game that is not fun by itself but in addition it's also stupid. Why would it be fun to see innocent people die. THIS GAME SUCKS BIG ELEPHANT BALLS. TOm Fulp, you should remove it.
MY BLOOD QUICKENS KNOWING EVIL IS SO NEAR.

Firstly, three reasons why you should ignore what I'm going to say.
1) I'm only 14, so apparently I can't spell, and everything I say is naive and not thought out.
2) I'm English, so none of the things happening in Israel or the Middle East actually affect me.
3) I havn't even played KABOOM! so I only know what other people have said by it.
Now, if you still think I have a right to say something worthwhile, this is what I think.
I believe in free speech. The whole of the idea of democracy is that everyone is allowed their opinion, and so their choice of vote. The idea of free speech is that your allowed to voice your opinion. So a democratic society basically relies on free speech, otherwise its merely a country governed by an elite self-chosen few. Free speech is one of the coolest things of the 20th/21st centuries. The internet is the second coolest thing. It is the perfect tool for free speech, as anyone anywhere in the world (in theory) can read anything posted on the internet, and anyone in the world can post whatever they want on the internet. Newgrounds.com is one of the websites on the web that uses this huge advantage of the internet to the full. The point is that, instead of one or a few people having complete power over what is shown on here (eg Tom Fulp and co.) everyone is allowed a say, and can voice their opinions. So, basically, you don't like the game? Blam it. If you like the game, give it high scores. Thats what the voting system is for. I don't think it should have anything to do with Tom Fulp's opinion on what it's like. The whole point of this website is anyone can put whatever they like on here, and if it shouldnt be here, in the point of view of the majority, then it will get deleted. Of course, this assumes that the majority is NOT the sick and twisted people of todays world, which unfortunately it is, but hey. I havn't said whether I think the game should be on here or not, or should ever have been created or not... because I'll get flamed either way because there are people who feel strongly either way, whether for decent reasons or not. As far as I can see, a lot of people who posted on here, saying the hate-mailing people were dumbasses, were just as dumb... There were also a few people who had very good reasons and pointed them out fairly... but I'm sure a few of the hate-mailers had very good points as well. You're not going to get a solution flaming each other over here. Vote on the game and if it gets blammed, then end of story. If it doesn't, too bad for those who wanted it to be.
Also, I myself havn't played the game, because I personally didnt feel any urge to blow myself or anyone else up, either on here or in real life. If you feel the same, then you don't have to play the game. If you do play the game, then you should realise what you're subjecting yourself to (it's not like it's a surprise) and not complain that it might have 'containimated' your mind.
That's the first post I've put on here, and it was probably a load of crap, but I'm only 14, so's I've got an excuse. No one will care what I said, there's too many other people's posts on here for anyone to read this one, but that's one of the joys of democracy :)
Hasta luego

Yeah, Your rigth. You know we are fromm IL and we do suffer from all these terrorism sueside acts,It happens almoast every day...
I gotta hand it to ya, I think half of our country knows about it.
It was in the newspaper, I think "Yediot aharonot" or something...
Any how, I can surely tell you they didnt like the gig. If i'm not mistaking, it was 2-3 days ago, after schoo. I think it eaven sayd something about a neo natsi site or something... I'm really not sure.
Anyway, There always has to be a place where you can have freedom of publishing stuff. Like KABBOM!
So you did the rigth thing standing up to NG. And i think i talk for (allmoast) everybody when i say: Bravo!

Nice decision, I dont really see anything wrong with uploading work offending or not. everyone can keep their own opinions on the subjects but just because some people dont like it doesnt mean that everyone should be forced to not see these kind of things :D

im sure that KABOOM is merely a response to world events, it is not a delibrately offensive game, if anything, its poking fun at the trivial way that suicide bombers operate (i dont like the phrase 'suicide bobmbers' personally, i prefer homocide bombers)

"Your game is a sign of deep disrespect[...]" Wtf is this bullshit about? She can't even get her facts straight that fabulous999 is the creator. From fabulous999's post it seems like she had already contacted him about it and that now she's whining to Tom. When will people stop doing this shit where they go after anyone and everyone associated with internet content they don't like. The internet is ment to be free, LEAVE IT THAT WAY!!!!

AI agree with congress woman Nita M Lowey and i'm glad she brought it up. there is also another portal I would like to talk about. It is called crucify me jesus. The author aaron chapman said ,"A great toy for christian kids! Learn about the agonizing final hours of Jesus' life & gain valuable knowledge of the bible & Jesus' teachings! (1) yes some quotes were taken out of context, it's ... " If you have seen this game it deals with killing Jesus. This is not a toy. It's a big disgrace against religion. In this game you nail him to the cross while he screams and to finish it off a harpoon is launced at him. Out off all the newground portals I'm am deeply offended by this one. It's a sign against humanity to make fun of a religious idol and then killing it. It's a shame that this is put on newgrounds. I insist you check it out and hopefully follow my order to ban it. It's shows pain, fruy, and agony , to religious people and christians to watch this portal.
From a teenager who cares
Admiral casaba
t 5/1/02 04:59 PM, TomFulp wrote:

As the KABOOM controversy continues to escalate, I have received this letter from Congresswoman Nita M. Lowey (New York).

---

Dear Mr. Fulp:

I am writing to urge you to remove the game KABOOM!, The Suicide Bombing Game, from your web site immediately. This distasteful and offensive game makes light of the suffering of thousands of Americans, Israelis, and others who have been victimized by suicide terrorism.

KABOOM! trivializes the heinous act of killing and maiming innocent people. Even as our men and women in uniform continue to fight against terrorism in many places around the world, this program makes a game of terrorism in the global community, encouraging players to consider suicide bombing a recreational sport, complete with objectives and scores. Suicide terrorism has resulted in tragedy for hundreds of thousands of people in Israel and the United States who have lost loved ones. Your game is a sign of deep disrespect for the brave men and women who died on September 11th, and a symbol of contempt for the dedicated workers who continue to toil at Ground Zero in lower Manhattan, hoping to recover the remains of victims.

I urge you not to prolong the pain of those who have been victimized by suicide terrorism. In the spirit of decency, I hope you will remove KABOOM! from Newgrounds.com immediately.

Sincerely,

Nita M. Lowey
Member of Congress
---

I respect Nita's right to express her opinion on this issue. The mere fact that she sent me an email proves that she is more astute and involved than most members of Congress.

However, I do not intend to remove KABOOM. The subject matter may be uncomfortable, but it is a commentary on current events and does not undermine the impact of what has happened. Nor does it promote hate. Newgrounds has removed content in the past because it was found hateful, but this game is too tongue-in-cheek to warrant that response.

Newgrounds has always protected the freedom to make extreme games, and we will continue to do so in this case.