309 20 12614 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Wednesday, December 05, 2001 12:37 PM Compensation for gays and lesbians Dear Mr. Zwick: We are writing in response to the Department's request for public comments regarding the forthcoming regulations for implementing and administering the "September 11 Victim Compensation Fund." We strongly urge the Department to draft regulations that ensure compensation is available to all victims of the attack, including the committed partners and the non-biological children of gay and lesbian victims. It is unquestionable that the devastating grief and economic losses suffered by the families of gay and lesbian victims are no less than that of other families. Just as the terrorists drew no lines in choosing their victims, our country must draw no lines in compensating those who suffered the most personal of losses from these horrific attacks. Many Americans lost their lives on September 11, each of whom left behind loved ones. We urge the Department to honor these bonds by treating the families of gay and lesbian victims as you would any other. Sincerely, Individual Comment Bulverde, Texas *** September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-05 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojA000928.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-12-05 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Thursday, November 29, 2001 8:31 AM Attn. Mr. Kenneth L. Zwick Dear Mr. Zwick: Regarding Sept. 11, we strongly believe that the USDOJ should include among relatives eligible for compensation those who lost their life partners or de facto parents or children, regardless of sexual orientation or marital status. What's right is right! Let's be compassionate! Sincerely, Individual Comment Milton, DE September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-11-29 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojA000178.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-11-29 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Wednesday, December 19, 2001 10:15 AM rules for administering the relief fund December 19, 2001 Dear Mr. Kenneth Zwick, I write as a member of Amnesty International, a worldwide human rights movement committed to ensuring respect for the basic human rights of people without discrimination, in support of equal access to benefits under the September 11 Victims Relief Fund for all victims, regardless of sexual orientation or marital status. As you know, the United States has committed to uphold international human rights standards, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which prohibit arbitrary discrimination. As you consider rules for administering the relief fund, I ask that you apply basic international human rights standards, and the general principle of equality, by including among relatives eligible for compensation those who lost their life partners, as well as de facto parents or children, without regard to sexual orientation or marital status. The State of New York has already adopted such a policy, granting compensation benefits "on a showing of mutual interdependence with the victim, in recognition that anyone who shared with the victim living expenses, day to day activities and the emotional bonds of family deserves help in this time of need." Many lesbian and gay people were killed in the September 11th attacks. Since then, lesbian and gay surviving partners of those killed have had mixed results in obtaining equal treatment at the local level in the distribution of relief funds by private and state agencies. An inclusive policy on the part of the federal government would help establish an important principle for other such funds. In compensating victims, real justice will be served only when all families - and all types of families - impacted by the human rights tragedy of September 11 are treated with dignity and equality. Thank you for considering my concerns. I look forward to hearing from you about your efforts to ensure that all surviving victims of the September 11 attacks have equal access to the relief fund. Sincerely, Individual Comment Malden, MA September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-19 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojA002951.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-12-19 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Sunday, March 17, 2002 9:20 AM September 11 Fund How dare you exclude the partners and families of Gay Americans who lost their lives on September 11. When you will cover Illegal Aliens but not AMERICANS you have truly joined the ranks of those on there way to HATE!!!!! Individual Comment Sacramento, CA September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-17 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojR001360.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-03-17 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Wednesday, November 07, 2001 9:02 PM Fundraising Efforts Dear Sirs, Re: Amounts collected for WTC victims and buildings The government has advised me that you are the appropriate agency to direct queiries to regarding the disposition of funds collected on behalf of the above. It occurs to me that the amounts collected far surpass the cost of rebuilding the WTC and of compensating each and every one of the victims appropriately. I wonder if I might inquire after a detailed itemization of the disposition of these funds with regards to whom received them. Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-11-07 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojW000325.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-11-07 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Tuesday, December 25, 2001 3:18 PM for Kenneth L. Zwick Kenneth L. Zwick, Director Office of Management Programs U.S. Department of Justice Dear Mr. Zwick, I am a member of Amnesty International, a worldwide human rights movement committed to ensuring that the basic human rights of people are respected without discrimination. International human rights standards including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights prohibit arbitrary discrimination and the US government is obligated to respect these rights. We therefore request that the Justice Department, consistent with such international human rights standards, and the general principle of equality, include among relatives eligible for compensation those who lost their life partners as well as de facto parents or children, without regard to sexual orientation or marital status. We ask the Justice Department to follow the positive example of New York state in granting compensation benefits "on a showing of mutual interdependence with the victim, in recognition that anyone who shared with the victim living expenses, day to day activities and the emotional bonds of family deserves help in this time of need." We remind Justice Department officials that real justice is only served when all families - and all types of families - impacted by the human rights tragedy of September 11 are treated with dignity and equality. We thank you very much for the attention. Regards, Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-25 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojN000894.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-12-25 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Friday, March 15, 2002 6:34 PM Victim Compensation For Gays and Lesbians I am a U. S. citizen and taxpayer, and I STRONGLY demand that the fund include gays and lesbians in its compensation. Gays and lesbians are human beings too. It is OUTRAGEOUS that the fund would compensate non-Americans but exclude our gay and lesbian citizens! Individual Comment Fort Lauderdale, Florida September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-15 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojR000874.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-03-15 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Monday, March 18, 2002 12:38 AM Compensation Fund I am shocked and disgusted that partners of gay people who died in the September 11th terrorist attack will not receive the same benefits as married people. Who has decided that gay people are second class citizens? Who has decided that the loss their partner's endured is not worth compensation? This is an outrage! Sincerely, Individual Comment Daly City, CA September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-18 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojR001589.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-03-18 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Wednesday, December 19, 2001 8:18 AM Equal Treatment of Surviving Gay and Lesbian Partners December 19, 2001 Dear Mr. Kenneth Zwick, I write as a member of Amnesty International, a worldwide human rights movement committed to ensuring respect for the basic human rights of people without discrimination, in support of equal access to benefits under the September 11 Victims Relief Fund for all victims, regardless of sexual orientation or marital status. As you know, the United States has committed to uphold international human rights standards, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which prohibit arbitrary discrimination. As you consider rules for administering the relief fund, I ask that you apply basic international human rights standards, and the general principle of equality, by including among relatives eligible for compensation those who lost their life partners, as well as de facto parents or children, without regard to sexual orientation or marital status. The State of New York has already adopted such a policy, granting compensation benefits "on a showing of mutual interdependence with the victim, in recognition that anyone who shared with the victim living expenses, day to day activities and the emotional bonds of family deserves help in this time of need." Many lesbian and gay people were killed in the September 11th attacks. Since then, lesbian and gay surviving partners of those killed have had mixed results in obtaining equal treatment at the local level in the distribution of relief funds by private and state agencies. An inclusive policy on the part of the federal government would help establish an important principle for other such funds. In compensating victims, real justice will be served only when all families - and all types of families - impacted by the human rights tragedy of September 11 are treated with dignity and equality. Thank you for considering my concerns. I look forward to hearing from you about your efforts to ensure that all surviving victims of the September 11 attacks have equal access to the relief fund. Sincerely, Individual Comment Wayne, PA September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-19 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojA002729.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-12-19 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Sent: Wednesday, December 05, 2001 5:29 PM Before the UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE Washington, D.C. 20350 September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 ) Notice of Inquiry and Advance Notice of Rulemaking ) 66 Fed. Reg. 55901 (November 5, 2001) ) December 5, 2001 &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp pappreciates the opportunity to comment on the Department of Justice's Inquiry and Rulemaking regarding the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 (the "Fund") on behalf of the immediate family of a victim of the September 11th terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. The Fund must focus on the long-term needs of victims and their families. These needs, largely unaddressed by other sources, can best be met by a uniquely designed compensation scheme like the Fund. To encourage eligible individuals to participate in the Fund and thereby forego litigation, the rules should ensure that the categories and amounts of compensation awarded through the Fund for both economic and noneconomic losses reasonably approximate what would otherwise be available to similarly-situated claimants in state courts. Economic Losses Each family directly affected by the terrorist attacks will likely face massive long-term consequences from the permanent loss of the household's primary wage earner. The Fund should be used to alleviate the burden that these families face in the absence of those contributing household members. Though it is impossible to make the victims' families whole again, accounting for future lost income and benefits can help provide families the financial means to continue their lives. The premature loss of a primary wage earner can be particularly devastating for a young family that has not yet had the opportunity to realize its plans or potential for long-term financial security. The Fund must include mechanisms for estimating growth in income and other economic resources over time, in order for surviving family members to have meaningful opportunities for financial independence commensurate with what they had prior to September 11th. Long-term losses associated with the death of the primary wage earner have not been addressed by private relief funds or other charitable organizations. These resources, while valuable, are focused on providing emergency relief in the form of immediate living expenses. Even if private relief organizations decide to help meet the long-term needs of victims, they are poorly equipped to do so. Private relief and other charitable organizations are designed to aid in emergencies or through broad discretionary grant programs. Neither means of financial assistance is appropriate for addressing the long-term financial losses of thousands of families. The Fund is in the unique position of being able to effectively aid victims' families by using its specialized resources to focus on a need that is not otherwise being met. The Fund is designed to "provide a no-fault alternative to tort litigation" for victims who are willing to waive their right to pursue civil action. 66 Fed. Reg. 55901. In order to be a true alternative to a wrongful death or negligence action, the Fund should compensate victims for long-term losses. Wrongful death suits regularly involve damage awards that include lost future income and benefit streams. If the Fund is to be a successful alternative to litigation, the benefits awarded must be comparable to those reasonably predictable through litigation. There must be an incentive for claimants to waive their rights to pursue civil actions. If the recovery is limited to shorter-term compensation, or the process is too cumbersome or speculative, victims' families will refuse to participate in the process, negating a principal purpose of the Fund. In this same vein, however, claimants should not all receive the same types or amount of compensation. Civil damages arise out of an attempt to quantify actual loss to the injured party. The Fund must attempt to make the claimants whole by acknowledging the disparate financial contributions that the victims were making before the attacks. A straightforward calculation can be used to determine a baseline for compensation amounts. The Maryland accounting firm of Regardie, Brooks & Lewis suggests the following process. The calculation should start with lost wages only. Apply an annual growth rate based upon the consumer price index and factoring in a conservative estimate representing merit raises and other salary increases to the base salary being earned in 2001. Apply this growth rate to the 2001 salary for a number of years equal to the difference between age at death and the projected retirement age for the victim's generation. Discount this cash flow stream back to the present value using an appropriate interest rate, such as the applicable federal rate for determining the present value of an annuity. Apply a similar growth rate to the amount of fringe benefits, such as employer retirement plan contribution, medical insurance, etc. and again discount back to present value. Add these two numbers to determine a minimum one-time compensation amount. Finally, factor in federal and state taxes, depending on the taxability of the award. Noneconomic Losses Avoiding litigation is a noble goal in that it seeks to avoid costs, time delays, and risk for victims already profoundly burdened by the aftermath of the events of September 11th. Survivors of attack victims should be able to avoid such problems by waiving their right to a day in court. To protect and provide comfort to survivors who decide to forgo litigation by seeking compensation through the Fund, amounts awarded under the Fund must incorporate all categories of noneconomic loss currently available through traditional litigation. While some reasonable adjustment for reduced risk and delay may be appropriate, ensuring comparability of awards granted under the Fund and in the courtroom will help eliminate uncertainty and encourage reliance on the Fund. The rules regarding the Fund should reflect this commitment to consistency with prevailing judicial practices. The regulations must also expressly provide that similarly situated claimants will receive similar treatment by the administrators of the Fund. Noneconomic loss determinations are, by their nature, subjective. To further reduce uncertainty and promote participation in the Fund, we urge the Department to ensure that the rules require that the methods and criteria for determining compensation for noneconomic losses be applied to all claimants in a consistent manner. Of course, as with all types of compensation available through the Fund, hearing officers or the Special Master should be able to adjust the outcome for each claimant, so long as such outcome is rationally related to the claimant's individual circumstances. Respectfully submitted, Individual Comment Washington, D.C. This email may contain material that is confidential, privileged and/or attorney work product for the sole use of the intended recipient. Any review, reliance or distribution by others or forwarding without express permission is strictly prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender and delete all copies. September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-05 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojA000986.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-12-05 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. December 13, 2001 Special Master Kenneth R. Feinberg September 11th Victim Compensation Fund U.S. Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20530 To Mr. Feinberg: I am writing to urge you to ensure fair treatment for all surviving families of the tragedy on September 11th, including the children and families of low-wage workers and gay and lesbian families. Under traditional rules based on lost wages, the survivors of a bond trader earning millions of dollars per year might receive thousands of times as much compensation as the survivors of a dishwasher in one of the restaurants destroyed. Justice requires looking far beyond the last paycheck to the inherent worth of all those killed, so that a high minimum compensation level is set to lessen the disparities. It would be a double blow to the survivors to first lose their loved one and then watch as most of the taxpayers money went to those who were already well off in the first place. The second major issue has to do with recognizing the legitimacy of gay and lesbian relationships and families. Gay and lesbian families are especially vulnerable when one partner is killed. Because the option of marriage is unavailable, these families may find themselves in a traumatic predicament of having to prove that their union is legitimate. Fortunately, both the Red Cross and the State of New York have already announced that they will not discriminate against gay and lesbian families. The Department of Justice should do the same. Thank you for considering my comments. I look forward to hearing how you will act on these very important issues. Sincerely, Individual Comment Huntington Woods, MI September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-13 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojA002227.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-12-13 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Sunday, March 17, 2002 11:07 AM I agree that excluding gays and lesbians from the compensation fund is wrong and as a tax paying voter what support any efforts to change that legislation. Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-17 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojR001386.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-03-17 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Thursday, March 21, 2002 6:29 AM gays are Americans too please cover everyone with the funds Individual Comment Texas September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-21 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojR002470.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-03-21 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Saturday, March 16, 2002 5:07 PM Misquote or Bad Judgement? Dear Sir or Madam, Please tell us that the statement below is a misquote or that somehow the meaning has been misconstrued. If not, we are appalled that our government would be so heartless and that our taxes will not be fairly distributed to the loved ones of those who showed unbelievable courage in defending the rights of all Americans. Don't make the mistake of thinking that denying relief to anyone who has been directly affected by the loss of their partner will sit well with the American people. Don't cheapen the loss of those heroes' lives by grouping them into a category that you may not consider mainstream. They were Americans, dying for Americans. We will not forget them. We suggest that you don't either. "In an appearance on the Sunday, March 10 broadcast of NBC's "Meet the Press," Kenneth Feinberg, the head of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund (a fund created by Congress and run by the Department of Justice), said that gay partners of the heroes of September 11th will not necessarily be eligible for the same compensation as heterosexual family members who lost their loved ones." Thanks for your time in this matter. Sincerely, Individual Comment Los Angeles, CA September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-16 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojR001119.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-03-16 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Sunday, March 17, 2002 1:30 AM gay/lesbian partners I have been alerted that the compensation fund plans to condone discrimination against gay and lesbian partners of those who died. This is wrong. In one case, the law is the law because our states probably won't recognize our partnerships. In another case, the law isn't the law for illegal aliens. Your bigotry is so transparent. Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-17 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojR001319.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-03-17 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Thursday, December 13, 2001 12:49 AM from a patriot and taxpayer Dear Mr. Zwick, I am a taxpayer and have been in a committed relationship for 10 years that is identical to my brother's marriage in every way, except that the federal government recognizes his relationship and not mine. It's not fair to grant monetary benefits from the Federal treasury to different citizens differently. I hope you will not compound the tragedy of the events of September 11th, by denying same sex partners and children of gay and lesbian victims the same benefits everyone one else will receive. Let's join the countries that are joining us in the war against terrorism and recognize same sex relationships. Thanks for listening, Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-13 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojA001531.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-12-13 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Thursday, November 22, 2001 10:17 PM WTC and insurance Dear Sirs, I do not believe that the earnings potential of the WTC terrorist attack should have an "age cap," nor that deductions be taken due to charity donated to the families of victims, nor be affected by victim's life insurance policy. I hope that those who are the survivors of victims will be given the right to appeal any decisions taken in this regard. SIncerely, Attachment 1: Help a community family hurt by the WTC tradgedy PS - We received the following note from : : I have been receiving your Shabbat Shalom from Cyberspace and "Minute" letters for quite awhile. Thank you. I have also been sending it on to those that I know would like to receive it. I now have to ask you to do the same for me. If you received the November issue of the Sephardic Image Magazine please read the article I wrote so that the community would get to know the family that I asked people to pray for. The story begins on page 54. I need your help to reach as many people as possible in order to prevent another injustice from befallling upon family. And I am still asking for people who want to donate to please make their donation thru 's Super Fund earmarked " ." As we all now know The Twin Towers Fund is going only to the families of the Firefighter, Police, EMS and Port Authority Police who perished. They are very deserving however so are the other innocent victims and their families. We know in our community that "if I am not for myself then who should be for me?" Charity must begin at home!!! Dear Friends, You have all been so wonderful in Praying for the saftey of my Great nephew, . Unfortunately we now know that he was among the victims of the disaster of the Twin Towers. At the same time the family has been notified that the Justice department is going to make a decision as to how to help the families of those inocent victims of terrorisim who were either on the ground or in the planes. They do not want a law suit because they believe that will force the airlines into bankruptcy and then nobody will get anything. They are interested in puplic opion regarding the following criterion for distributing the funds. The general idea is to give each family the amount that the deceased would have earned during their working life, had he or she lived. This is the standard by which law suites are usually settled. The problem is that in this case they want to subtract from the total designated for each victim's family the folowing: 1-Deduct the value of any life insurance the deceased my have 2- Take out the value of any gifts (charity contirbution) the family may receive. 3-Put a cap of age 58 (instead of 65) on the potential lifetime earnings the deceased would have earned. 4-Take away any right of appeal by the victim's dependants. To make this understandable--Imagine if your insurance company told your family that your million dollar policy will only pay your heirs the million MINUS----any savings, or gifts, or less the years that you didn't pay. Therefore, theoretically if you saved $50,000 and your friends want to help your family and they donate $50,000 and you only paid for 6 years on a 20 year life policy (est.) $25,000 per year.This means that the remaining 14 years of payments (Approx. $350,000), plus the $100.000 above will be deducted first and your beneficiarys will receive only $550,000 and not the million you thought you paid for. PLEASE EMAIL THE JUSTICE DEPT AT THE FOLLOWING ADDRESS: victimcomp.comments@usdoj.gov To Whom It May Concern: a) We believe there should be no age cap on the earnings potential of the victims of this terrible tragedy. Why should they have a cap if the rest of us are looking at retirement now starting at age 70. b) There should be no deductions for any charity received by the victim's dependants. They are ENTITLED to their share REGARDLESS of any gifts they may have received. c) Life insurance was PAID for by the Victim and should not have any bearing on what the family has a right to. d) The right to appeal should not be denied to those who are suffering due to the tragic losses inflicted on them by this horrific event. Signed, (your name) Please send this to as many people as possible as the deadline is November 25, 2001 Thank you all and May Ha Shem Bless you. Love, Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-11-22 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojW000507.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-11-22 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Sunday, March 17, 2002 1:32 PM DISCRIMINATION IS UN-AMERICAN SEPTEMBER 11 VICTIM FUND SHOULD INCLUDE SAME SEX PARTNERS. DID THESE INDIVIDUALS WHO LAID DOWN THERE LIVES AS OTHERS DID DESERVE THE SAME LEVEL OF RESPECT FOR THE ONE'S THEY LOVED. IT IS HIGHLY UN-AMERICAN AS WELL AS UNFAIR TO DISCRIMINATE AGAINST SAME SEX PARTNERS, ESPECIALLY IN THIS SITUATION. ON SECOND THOUGHT, OR IS IT. THIS IS THE BEST CASE SCENARIO TO LEGALIZE SAME SEX MARRIAGES IN EFFORTS TO ELIMINATE SUCH SITUATIONS. TO AFFORD OUR LOVED ONE'S OF THE SAME RIGHTS AFFORDED TO ALL OTHERS. Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-17 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojR001425.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-03-17 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Monday, March 18, 2002 8:13 PM Rights of Gay and Lesbian Survivors Dear Managers of the Fund, Please ensure that the gay and lesbian partners of those who died on September 11 automatically receive the same benefits as heterosexual spouses. They have suffered enough as is, please do not push them through further systemic discrimination. Thank you, Individual Comment NYC September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-18 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojR001752.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-03-18 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Thursday, December 20, 2001 7:48 AM Please read my plea December 20, 2001 Dear Mr. Kenneth Zwick, I write as a member of Amnesty International, a worldwide human rights movement committed to ensuring respect for the basic human rights of people without discrimination, in support of equal access to benefits under the September 11 Victims Relief Fund for all victims, regardless of sexual orientation or marital status. As you know, the United States has committed to uphold international human rights standards, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which prohibit arbitrary discrimination. As you consider rules for administering the relief fund, I ask that you apply basic international human rights standards, and the general principle of equality, by including among relatives eligible for compensation those who lost their life partners, as well as de facto parents or children, without regard to sexual orientation or marital status. The State of New York has already adopted such a policy, granting compensation benefits "on a showing of mutual interdependence with the victim, in recognition that anyone who shared with the victim living expenses, day to day activities and the emotional bonds of family deserves help in this time of need." Many lesbian and gay people were killed in the September 11th attacks. Since then, lesbian and gay surviving partners of those killed have had mixed results in obtaining equal treatment at the local level in the distribution of relief funds by private and state agencies. An inclusive policy on the part of the federal government would help establish an important principle for other such funds. In compensating victims, real justice will be served only when all families - and all types of families - impacted by the human rights tragedy of September 11 are treated with dignity and equality. Thank you for considering my concerns. I look forward to hearing from you about your efforts to ensure that all surviving victims of the September 11 attacks have equal access to the relief fund. Sincerely, Individual Comment Florence, MA September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-20 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojA004305.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-12-20