46 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 19, 2001 9:47 AM September 11 Victims 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 Brookline, 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 dojA002895.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. Friday, March 15, 2002 2:19 PM compensation for gay partners I cannot believe you hide behind "state law" on compensation for gay/lesbian partners of victims of Sept. 11, especially when you are making just and fair exceptions to all such laws for undocumented workers. Shame on you. Individual Comment 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 dojR000854.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. Thursday, March 28, 2002 12:47 PM 9/11 Victim Compensation Dear Sir: Your discriminatory decision to deny Victim Compensation to American Citizens is an insult to this nation, its flag, and the principles for which it claims to stand. Gays and Lesbians lost life partners who were there when the victim was sick, mourning and needed comfort. The suvivors of 9-11 Victims are fully entitled to full benefits - certainly before illegal immegrants although they are entitled as well. Your actions are an insult to every practicing Christian, Jew, Moslem, Budhist who are citizens of this union. You can bank on me and my family noting your discriminatory and damnable behavior as we rank your performance and that of the administration you represent when we evaluate wheather or not to recontract you for another four years. You SIR are our employee - and by your own hand commit a sin that condemns you to eternal disgrace. May G-- turn His face from you in that time that you most need it for a family crisis of your own. PS: I am forwarding a copy of this to friends around the country and will encourage each and everyone of them to register their contempt at your hard heartedness. Your act is a reminder that people like the Pharoah with Moses, Herod with the newborn still live in your actions. Sincerely, Individual Comment Arlington, VA September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-28 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 dojR002795.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. 2002-03-28 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 taxpayer 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 the 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 Oakland, CA 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 dojA004633.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. January 24, 2002 Mr. Kenneth L. Zwick, Director Office of Management Programs, Civil Division U. S. Department of Justice Main Building, Room 3140 950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, D.C. 20530 Re: Sept. 11th Compensation Fund of 2001 Rules Dear Mr. Zwick: I am a trusts and estates attorney. This firm represents the families of a number of victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks, but I am writing in my individual capacity to comment on the Rule (the "Rule") implementing the September 11th Compensation Fund of 2001 (the "Fund") and, in particular, on the importance of distributing awards from the Fund solely in accordance with applicable State law. In the Statement by the Special Master published as a preface to the Rule, the Special Master noted that the Rule referred to state law to determine the identity of the Personal Representative, and stated, "[n]or would it be advisable for the Special Master to step in and supplant state court practice or the testamentary intent of decedents." Statement, p. 8. We agree that this approach is correct; unfortunately, the Rule departs from this salutary principle with respect to the distribution of awards. The Rule provides that "[t]he Personal Representative shall distribute the award in a manner consistent with the law of the decedents domicile or any applicable rulings made by a court of competent jurisdiction." Rule, § 104.52. But the Rule then authorizes the Special Master to modify any proposed plan for distribution of the award if the Special Master "concludes that . . . it does not appropriately compensate the victims spouse, children, or other relatives." Id. I respectfully submit that the Special Masters power to direct that an award be distributed in a manner that is not consistent with applicable State law or the rulings of a court of competent jurisdiction is grossly unfair, may be unconstitutional, and will create serious practical difficulties for Personal Representatives. Under New York State law, tort damages in respect of a deceased victim are categorized either as damages for the victims conscious pain and suffering, which are payable to the victims estate and therefore will be disposed of under the victims Will or in accordance with the rules of intestacy if the victim died without a Will, or, alternatively, as damages for wrongful death, which are payable to the victims distributees within the meaning of that term in New York Estates, Powers and Trusts Law Section 5-4.4 (i.e., generally, the persons who would inherit under the rules of intestacy). Section 405(c)(3)(B) of the Act provides that submission of a claim under the Act constitutes a waiver of the claimants right to be a party to an action for "damages sustained as a result of" the events of September 11. Section 104.21(b)(1) of the Rule states that the Special Master "may require that the claimant certify that he or she has dismissed any pending lawsuit . . . and that there is no pending lawsuit brought by a dependent, spouse, or beneficiary of the victim." Thus, the Rule contemplates that submission of a claim under the Act constitutes a waiver of all rights to seek damages arising out of the death of a victim - both for pain and suffering and for wrongful death. Any award from the Fund should be distributed among those persons who would have an interest in damages recovered as a result of the victims death under State law. Distributing an award from the Fund to either a larger or a smaller class than permitted under state law - or designating the award as either entirely pain and suffering or entirely wrongful death compensation -- would open the door to many possible disputes and complexities, and might even constitute an unconstitutional taking. Upon the death of a victim, two potentially different sets of people acquired a vested interest in the causes of action for pain and suffering (those interested in the victims estate) and for wrongful death (the victims distributees). If a victim died intestate, the persons interested in the wrongful death and pain and suffering damages would be the same in most cases. They would differ in two situations: First, if the victim was survived by a spouse and one or both parents, but no descendants, the spouse would be the only distributee for purposes of distributing the victims estate and therefore the pain and suffering damages, while the spouse and the parents would be the distributees for purposes of distributing wrongful death damages. Second, if the victims estate was insolvent, the pain and suffering damages would be an estate asset that could be reached by the creditors of the estate, while the wrongful death damages would be distributed only among the distributees. If a victim died testate, the persons interested in wrongful death damages could be quite different from the persons interested in the pain and suffering damages, since there is no constraint on the identity of the beneficiaries under the victims Will, who would generally receive the pain and suffering damages. When a Personal Representative submits a claim under the Act, the Personal Representative has effectively waived all rights to seek wrongful death damages and pain and suffering damages in exchange for receiving the no-fault award from the Fund. Thus, the award from the Fund is effectively the sole compensation for the foregone tort causes of action. I submit that it is fundamentally unfair to distribute the award to anyone other than the persons whose rights were waived in order to obtain the award. Although there does not appear to be any case on point, it appears that an enforced waiver of State law tort actions without requiring distribution of the award in accordance with State law to those persons whose rights were waived could be rise to the level of an unconstitutional taking. Distribution in accordance with State law will not always produce a perfect, or even a necessarily just, result. This is equally true with respect to the multitude of actions brought in State courts to recover damages when a victim is killed in a vehicular accident. The law does not, however, allow a judge in a negligence case to disregard State law to produce a result that the judge considers more "appropriate." While the circumstances of the deaths of the victims of the September 11 attacks were horrific, this goes to the question of the amount of an appropriate award. It is not a reason to depart from principles developed through extensive judicial and legislative experience as to the best way, in general, to distribute compensation available with respect to the death of a victim, especially in the context of a special, unappealable administrative procedure with limited ability to present and develop evidence. The Special Master has expressed the view that he would exercise the power to reallocate an award if a victim had made a Will leaving his or her entire estate to charity, since the taxpayers did not intend the Fund to enrich charity. First, based on anecdotal experience, it appears that the vast majority of the victims died intestate, and that the vast majority of the victims who left Wills did so in order to provide for their families in ways that most people would instantly recognize as "appropriate." Therefore, this is not likely to be a frequent occurrence. If it does occur, in my experience, testators cut their relatives out of Wills only after very serious consideration and to implement very strongly held beliefs. Failing to respect those beliefs would be a very profound betrayal of such victims. Second, to the extent that such a situation might arise, I simply believe that upholding the overall fairness and consistency of the administration of the Fund is more important - especially as an example of the strength of a society built on respect for impartial administration of legal principles- than protecting the fisc against the off chance that a small portion of the Fund may go to charity in accordance with the wishes of a deceased victim. Finally, giving the Special Master the power to direct that an award be distributed in a manner inconsistent with State law will place the Personal Representative in a position of intolerable conflict in those cases where the Special Master exercises this power. If a victim left a Will that bequeathed the entire estate to charity, and if the Special Masters practice is to prohibit distribution to charity in those circumstances, the Personal Representative will be between the proverbial rock and hard place. If the Personal Representative submits a claim to the Fund, the Personal Representative will be depriving the charity of its interest in pain and suffering damages, and the charity can sue the Personal Representative for breaching its fiduciary duty to the charity. If the Personal Representative bows to the charitys desires and does not submit a claim, it is exposed to a comparable lawsuit from the distributees who would presumably be entitled to receive the entire award from the Fund in these circumstances. In contrast, if an award is to be distributed strictly in accordance with State law, the Personal Representative can bring a proceeding, on notice to the persons entitled to share in the award, and obtain a court order specifying how the award is to be distributed, avoiding the risks outlined above. I urge, accordingly, that Rule § 104.52 be clarified as not authorizing departures from State law (or, if applicable, foreign law) with respect to the distribution of awards. Respectfully Submitted, Individual Comment ____________________________________________ 1 The Supreme Court has recognized several kinds of intangible interests to be property for purposes of the takings clause of the Fifth Amendment. See, e.g., Ruckelshaus v. Monsanto Co., 467 U.S. 986 (1984)(trade secrets may be subject of compensable taking); Armstrong v. United States, 364 U.S. 40 (1960)(state law materialmens lien); Louisville Joint Stock Land Bank v. Radford, 295 U.S. 555 (1935)(real estate lien); Lynch v. United States, 292 U.S. 571 (1934) (contract rights). 2 In all cases, the Personal Representative is potentially liable to be second-guessed about the question of whether it is better to sue or to submit a claim. There is no way for the Rule to decrease this risk, but there is no reason for the Rule to aggravate it by exposing the Personal Representative to additional risk based on the Special Masters discretion to re-allocate an award. September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-01-24 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 dojP000068.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. 2002-01-24 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 4:46 PM Distribute 9/11 Relief Fairly 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 Montville, NJ 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 dojN000032.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 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 Lake Oswego, OR 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 dojA002225.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. 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 taxpayer 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 the 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 Reading, PA 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 dojA004026.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, December 20, 2001 7:35 AM Please grant gays and lesbians equal access to benefits 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 Webster, TX 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 dojA004300.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 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 taxpayer 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 the 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 New Haven, CT 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 dojA001784.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. Friday, January 18, 2002 10:55 AM September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 January 18, 2002 Via Electronic Mail & Regular Mail Mr. Kenneth L. Zwick Office of Management Programs Civil Division Department of Justice Main Building, Room 3140 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Washington, DC 20530 RE: World Trade Center Disaster Dear Mr. Zwick, My 22-year old son, &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp, was a passenger on American Airlines Flight 11 on September 11, 2001. We all know what happened that fateful day. Let me say that my life, and the lives of my family have been forever changed. Words cannot describe that pain and anguish that we have suffered. My son had always lived with me. I miss his presence in my home. I miss his telephone calls to work. I miss him! He was kind and tender, strong and determined. He was full of life. He had become a bright young man starting out in life. His tragic death has robbed us of so many plans and hopes for the future. I have had an opportunity to review the regulations regarding the administration of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001. I do not believe that they capture the purposed or intent of the statute which is to provide compensation for the economic and non-economic losses suffered by each claimant based upon the individual facts and circumstances of each claim. I also do not believe that limits, caps, or predetermined amounts were intended in this statute. Every case is, and should be, separate and individual. It is evident that families will have to demonstrate extraordinary circumstances in order to obtain an award in excess of the predetermined amounts set out by the Special Master. Additionally, the Special Master has established a two-hour time limit on hearings related to the extraordinary circumstances. I am not an attorney, but I feel that the Special Master has come up with limits, caps, extraordinary circumstances and other such limiting factors in the regulations in order to limit awards from the fund. I sincerely do not feel that this was the intention of the statute. Haven't the families suffered enough? Day to day life is very difficult for the families. We are all trying to go on with our lives. Please support us. Remove caps and limiting language from the regulations. Treat each claim individually. Given the horrific circumstances, I feel it is your duty. Please feel free to contact me directly. Sincerely, Individual Comment Wakefield, MA September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-01-18 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 dojN001977.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. 2002-01-18 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. Monday, March 18, 2002 10:31 AM Gays & Lesbians Partners for Fund Why aren't partners of gay/lesbians being fairly compensated by the Septemebr 11th fund? That is unfair discrimination and wholly un-American! Individual Comment 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 dojR001736.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. Saturday, January 19, 2002 5:30 PM Help all victims of terrorist attack Dear Mr. Zwick: The very humane Fund for relatives of victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks must include all relatives of all the victims. This importantly should include the partners and children of same sex unions. They suffer just as grievously for their deceased loved ones as do other survivors, and their need for assistance is just as great. Please do not give in to the importuning of callous homophobic groups and individuals who would have the Department of Justice limit compensation to survivors of heterosexual unions. They are interested in a political victory, not humane assistance. This Fund is intended for humane purposes; it is not a political statement, Mr. Zwick. Individual Comment Berkeley, CA September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-01-19 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 dojN002104.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. 2002-01-19 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. Wednesday, December 05, 2001 1:50 AM Dear Mr. Zwick: I am 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." I 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. I urge the Department to honor these bonds by treating the families of gay and lesbian victims as you would any other. Sincerely, Individual Comment 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 dojA000664.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. Wednesday, December 19, 2001 11:49 AM Equality for Gay and Lesbian Partners of 9/11 Victims 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 Austin, TX 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 dojA003139.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. 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 diswasher in one of the restaraunts 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 famillies are especially vulerable 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. Fortunaely, 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 Santa Ana, CA 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 dojA001904.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. Saturday, January 19, 2002 12:41 PM (no subject) To whom it may concern, I am writing in reference to the Federal Victims Compensation Program. My brother &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp was an FDNY Firefighter for only a short nine months. He was 25yrs. old when he ran into the WTC and gave his life for a city and a country that now want to rob him of the money that he is due. I feel that it is an absolute disgrace that certain money is even thought about being taken away from the victims. If the government is so worried about saving money or where they are going to get the money to pay the victim's families, I have an idea. STOP SENDING MONEY TO HELP RE-BUILD AFGHANISTAN! Let's worry about helping our people first. I don't see any Afghanistan people rushing to help us re-build our city. I was shocked and sick to my stomach to know that the country that my brother gave his life for is dishonoring him so much by helping to re-build the country that took his life. It is very sad that we even need to take time to write such letters to our government. Do not let your people down again. It is time we start to worry aobut the people of our country first. Give the vicitm's the money that they are due so instead of rebuilding Afghanistan we can begin to rebuild what is left of our lives. Sincerely, Individual Comment Franklin Square, NY September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-01-19 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 dojN002047.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. 2002-01-19 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 11:09 AM UNAMERICAN DISCRIMINATION OF 9/11 FUND To the 9/11 FUND, and those of us Americans WATCHING. Please make clear to America that you have made a mistake, deciding to dishonor those heroes of the 9/11 tragedy who had gay or lesbian partners, by disregarding their relationships or treating them as somehow lesser under the "law." They will not necessarily receive the same benefits as the spouses of heterosexual victims of the horrible terror attacks? Please, please recant. Americans of conscience are outraged. Even fetuses and illegal aliens will be receiving benefits -- despite FEDERAL LAW those families won't kick out the families of illegal aliens, nor will they punish American companies that hired illegals in violation of federal labor laws! But when it comes to gay and lesbian heroes of the day - &nbsp who helped bring down the flight in Pennsylvania, NY Fire Dept. &nbsp who died in the line of duty when the first tower fell, and &nbsp who was &nbsp of the plane that crashed into the Pentagon --THERE WERE MANY OTHERS- - we are told the law is the law and no exceptions can be made. Americans of conscience know this is not true. PLEASE! ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! If September 11 has taught us anything, it's that our patriotism and love of country transcend our differences and unite us all. We were told that September 11 was the day that "hyphenated-Americans" were no more, and rather than being Italian-Americans, African-Americans or gay-Americans, we were now simply Americans, all of us together as one American family. Apparently, that family just got a divorce. The hyphens seem not to matter when our government wants to use our heroism to inspire others, but when it comes time to actually aid the families of those heroes, the hyphens come back with a vengeance, and it seems that some American heroes are now more equal than others. Please honor all the heroes and victims by remembering them all equally. "Minority" is no longer an acceptable excuse for discrimination or disenfranchisement in this great country. 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 dojR001387.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. Tuesday, November 13, 2001 8:54 PM September 11 Victims Compensation Fund My husband went to work on September 11th at the WTC and will never make it home again to me, (his wife), our unborn son due in January, and my 15 month old son. We lived a modest life and were financially responsible, yet my life now will NEVER compare to how it would have been if he had lived and all the money in the world couldn't change that. My children will NEVER know their father. I will NEVER have the opportunity to grow old with him. I am now a single mom with 2 children 17 months apart and not because my husband made a mistake but because he was a victim of homicide...a mass homicide. Who is responsible for this tragedy? Someone must be held accountable. Take the frozen assets from the terrorists and use that money for some good. I would trade all the money in the world to have him back, but that it isn't going to happen, so all I ask is that I can live the life I would have lived had my husband survived. He was 30 years old and had another 35 years to earn income. I am never going to be more well off then I would have been had he survived. I just don't want to worry about my children's education or health expenses or anything. I don't know what the future will hold, but I need to be financially sound, as I once was, in order to not be so anxious. And if I happen to receive this 'windfall' that everyone thinks I'm getting, then I would be perfectly willing to give it back to those in the community that need it. I don't know how much people think we victims are getting from the charities but it isn't much and it surely isn't enough for my family to live on. I don't get my husband's salary for life nor did he go to work that day thinking his life could be in danger. The families of firefighters, rescue workers, and policemen affected, totalling around 500 people, will get salary and medical for life, as well as funds from the Twin Towers Fund and other charities. That means that $40 million dollars from the Twin Towers Fund will be dispursed among the 500 families and then they can also collect from the other funds and the government fund or a lawsuit. It seems like those are the people who are going to end up with the windfall. Give me my husband's salary for life and I would be satisfied. I appreciate that these people were trying to save lives, but THAT WAS THEIR JOB! My husband worked behind a desk and was trying to provide for his family as best he could. His job was not one where he thought he could be endangered but he lost his life. I am not asking to be rich, just not to worry about paying my bills. The government victims compensation act needs to be fair, based on the victims' earning potential and actuary tables, etc. If the point behind it is to convince victims' families not to sue then it needs to be worth their while. It shouldn't take into account the charities monies (which at this point is insignificant). In terms of life insurance, that should not be included either since the purpose of the government fund is to compensate for pain and suffering, etc. in lieu of a lawsuit. Realize that people who aren't happy with the government VCA will merely turn around and sue and your purpose is to avoid that from happening. With respect to my feelings on the charities... It isn't easy for people to figure out what charities are out there. What about all the people who don't have access to computers, etc.? The charities know who the victims are and should be seeking us out rather then us playing this cat and mouse game. Why should I, 7 months pregnant, have to go into Manhattan every two weeks in order to collect the Safe Horizon/September 11th fund? That is ridiculous! It should be easier for us to receive benefits that the American people so generously gave for us. That is not the case. Trying to get the charities to dole out the money is frustrating. You need to constantly follow up and be on top of things. This is in addition to straightening out your financial and legal life, as well as whatever you did before. I am proud and didn't want to ask for money, but I also don't expect to be grilled to no end in order to get money. I am suffering tremendously and don't need the added stress of that. Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-11-13 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 dojW000341.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. 2001-11-13 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. Wednesday, November 28, 2001 2:47 PM Inclusion I don't know a lot about law but I know what I think is fair. It seems to me that to be fair all prejudices must be put aside, including positive predispositions, as in "fallen heros" of firefighters and police officers, when considering recompense to the injured and the survivors of the war crime. I would like to see the workers, like dishwashers at Windows on the World for instance, treated in exactly the same manner as the workers who were trained to be in harms way and lost their lives. If there is a way to calculate the total benefit package amount per claimant and make them equal in all cases, I would be in favor of that. I quite imagine the professional life-saver has a secured pension for his or her survivors, whereas the exampled kitchen worker may have minimum settlement amounts from workers compensation payout for loss of life or limb. Also, in keeping with fair and equitable treatment, same sex spouses need to be treated the same as "legally" married partners, with appropriate proof of cohabitation and commitment. Thank you. Individual Comment San Diego, CA September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-11-28 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 dojA000104.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. 2001-11-28