699 20 70359 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 7:26 PM Victim Compensation Fund 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 dojA001015.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. Tuesday, March 12, 2002 4:53 PM please treat gay and lesbians equally Your comments on meet the press were horrendous. Federal agencies such as yours should honor the lives of people like and . Their parners, their families should be treated equally. Under your administration, it appears that some heroes are less equal than others, because of discrimination under state law. Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-12 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 dojR000495.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. 2002-03-12 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, December 21, 2001 6:35 AM 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. Sincerely, Individual Comment New York, NY September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-21 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 dojN000284.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. 2001-12-21 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. 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 Ventura, 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 dojA005240.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. Tuesday, December 04, 2001 11:08 PM Attachment 1: 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 San Diego, CA September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-04 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 dojA000635.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. 2001-12-04 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, November 23, 2001 2:08 PM Fwd: Comments on Rulemaking Attachment 1: Comments on Rulemaking My name is . I am the surviving spouse of , who died at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. We have two children, , 19 and , 17. Our address is Rockville Centre, N.Y. I have read Title IV of the Act, and my comments are as follows: The Rules dealing with Collateral Sources must make a distinction for insurance proceeds that are received under policies paid for by the decedent's family. Otherwise, similarly situated victim's families will receive unequal treatment depending on how they provided for life insurance. As a simple example, we paid substantial premiums for life insurance for almost 20 years. Assume that another family decided to self-insure, and instead of paying premiums, he/she places the amount equal to our premiums in a bank account or into a mutual fund. Twenty years later, we have the insurance proceeds, the other person has an appreciated bank account or appreciated mutual fund balance. Our insurance proceeds reduce our award, but his self-insurance fund does not reduce his/her award. At the very least, the collateral source amount should be reduced by the premiums paid plus interest. We would also point out that although some life insurance proceeds are paid through company plans, we, in effect, paid for the coverage by virtue of the fact that the premium amount was imputed as income to us. The Rules relating to Sec. 405(3)(B) should make clear that if our award is reduced by Collateral Sources, that we could file a civil action to recover the amount that reduced our award. Sincerely yours, Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-11-23 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 dojW000510.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. 2001-11-23 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 8:33 PM compensation The airline bailout act gave the airlines $15 billion in cash and loan guarantees and capped the airlines' liability for the September 11 crashes at the limits of their insurance coverage. Because of this cap, the damage caused by the crashes greatly exceeds the private fund available to compensate victims and their families. Thus for the vast majority of victims and families, the cap has the effect of eliminating the right that they would otherwise have to sue the airlines. Congress set up the fund to ensure that the airline bailout would not come at the expense of the victims' families. The act mandates full and fair compensation to victims and their families for their actual economic and non-economic damages. DOJ has ignored this mandate and instead has written arbitrary regulations that will result in compensation levels far below the losses actual suffered by the victims and their families. In fact, many families' total compensation from the fund and all collateral sources combined will not even fully replace lost income. In effect, these families will not receive any of the non-economic compensation required by the statute. After collateral sources are deducted, as required by the statute, some families would receive nothing from the fund under the interim final regulations. DOJ's formula allows for non-economic awards at only one-tenth the level paid incomparable cases, even though Congress explicitly enumerated a broader range of non-economic damages than could be recovered in any single jurisdiction. DOJ's formula for non-economic damages is $250,000 for the person killed and $50,000 for the spouse and each dependent. In a wide variety of air crash and terrorism cases, however, judges, juries, and mediators commonly have provided non-economic damage awards well into the seven-figure range. Independent economists have found serious flaws in DOJ's method of calculating economic damages, including use of outdated and inapplicable work life and life-cycle earnings data. DOJ greatly underestimates promotions and other increases in earnings for victims. It relies on civil service and military retirement system actuarial data that track federal worker incomes and pension requirements, not the higher-paying private sector career paths followed by the vast majority of the victims. The interim final regulations also arbitrarily cap a victim's income at $231,000 a year. Combined with the faulty methodology described above, the income cap would result in some families receiving compensation for less than 25% of their actual economic losses. Under DOJ's rules, a family's award may be increased above the "presumptive" award only by a showing of "extraordinary circumstances" -- beyond those suffered by other victims or victims' families. This high burden of proof makes a charade of the right to a hearing provided by the statute. DOJ should fulfill the act's intent by revising the rules to compensate victims and their families for the types of damages specified by Congress, at levels comparable to those provided in the tort system the fund was designed to replace. While DOJ has shown flexibility on some aspects of the rules, it is resisting the victims' and families' requests for significant changes. If the proposed regulations are not changed significantly, victims' widows will have to sell their homes, deplete their children's college funds, and give up their plans of being full-time parents while their children are young. Many families, anticipating little relief from the fund, will decide to sue the airlines and others, despite the handicap of the liability limits. We do not believe these are the outcomes Congress intended. Thank you for giving this matter your immediate attention. Individual Comment NY NY 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 dojN002022.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. Saturday, December 29, 2001 1:54 AM Equal Relief for Gay and Lesbian Partners! December 29, 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 Isla Vista, CA September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-29 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 dojN001162.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. 2001-12-29 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. Thursday, March 21, 2002 4:31 PM Financial benefits of partners of 9/11 victims Dear Friend, I received this information in my e-mail, sent by a friend who has a gay daughter, and who is very upset. If it is true, I question the humanity of the following statement: In recent interviews, the head of the September 11 Victim Compensation Fund (a fund created by Congress to help the families of those who died on September 11) has made clear that the partners of gay and lesbian heroes of September 11 will not necessarily receive the same benefits as the spouses of heterosexual victims of the horrible terror attacks. * * * I do not see how the sexual orientation of a hero should enter into the picture when it comes to financial benefits going to the partner of that hero. The tragedy of 9/11 was of such a magnitude that special dispensation should be given, and any law that bars rightful recipients of financial benefits is shameful and will arouse a great many people to take legal action. Of course, this may be merely a horrible rumor, but if it is not, you can expect a huge backlash if all the heroes families and partners are not treated equally. It will become a national shame and scandal, and rightfully so. Sincerely, Individual Comment 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 dojR002560.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. Monday, November 26, 2001 6:01 PM Comment on September 11th Victim Compensation Fund Dear Attorney General Ashcroft, The deaths on September 11th were the result of an attack on America and all Americans. Please do not discriminate against the unmarried partners of September 11th victims. All unmarried partners, gay or straight, young and old alike and their dependents, should be eligible for compensation. America mourns for all its citizens. Thank you for your time. Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-11-26 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 dojW000705.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. 2001-11-26 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, March 13, 2002 10:02 AM Compensation of Gay Survivors of 9-11 Your proposed rules for the compensation of gay survivors of 9-11 are an absolute DISGRACE! Gay people are as patriotic as anyone else and do not deserve the abuse heaped upon them year after year. It is a disgrace that bigots such as you are in a position to heap more abuse upon on us. Sincerely, Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-13 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 dojR000594.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. 2002-03-13 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. Tuesday, November 27, 2001 3:30 PM Victim Compensation Dear Attorney General Ashcroft; The deaths on September 11th were the result of an attack on America. Please do not discriminate against the unmarried partners of September 11th victims. All unmarried partners, gay or straight, young and old and their dependents should be eligible for compensation. This is America ... not Afhganistan, we don't discriminate here. Individual Comment Los Angeles, CA September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-11-27 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 dojA000035.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. 2001-11-27 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 14, 2002 1:19 AM 9/11 compensation Dear fellow Americans, I grow so tired hearing America talk about freedom, justice and courage when there seems so very little of it. Gay and lesbian partners need to be compensated for their horrible life loss too. You can make it happen if you have the courage and a true sense of justice. Please don't hide behind the excuse of state laws. Don't be hippocrates about all the American sentiments for the past 6 months. I leave you with this copy of the letter I sent to the president. I hope you have the courage to do what is right and stop the hate and fear within this country. I know you can. Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-14 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 dojR000715.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. 2002-03-14 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 10:35 AM Basic equal rights 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 GRANTS PASS, OR 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 dojA002994.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. Thursday, February 14, 2002 1:10 PM New Vote.com votes as of 01:09 PM EST on February 14th, 2002 Dear September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, Vote.com is the Internet's most popular voting site. Millions of people regularly express their opinions and - in just one click - automatically send their views to important decision makers like you. Here are the latest votes on the question, SHOULD FAMILIES OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS WHO DIED ON 9-11 GET MONEY FROM THE FEDERAL VICTIMS' FUND?: YES: 1 votes NO: 36 votes Group Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-02-14 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 dojP000511.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. 2002-02-14 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. 9 January 2002 To our Elected Officials: In the immediate aftermath of the tragic attack of September 11th upon our nation, Congress enacted the Victims' Compensation Fund of 2001 P.L. 107-42, to compensate the relatives of the victims of that brutal attack. As you know, this Fund was enacted as part of a comprehensive package which bailed out the airlines industry and imposed restrictions on the rights of the victims' relatives to sue the airlines in court. We implore upon you, as our elected officials, to demand changes to the interim rules issued by Kenneth Feinberg, the Special Master. As it stands, Mr. Feinberg's self-imposed rules fail to satisfy the letter or the spirit of the legislation which was enacted. Specifically, we request that you act on our behalf and demand the following changes to the interim rules: 1. The arbitrary income limits imposed by the Special Master are not only unfair but also inconsistent with the letter and the spirit of the law. Those victims from the financial industry are specifically harmed by this limit. They were targeted and murdered precisely because of the jobs they held, and where they worked-the World Trade Center, the Financial Capital of the world, the embodiment of financial success. Those who achieved such success should see that reflected in their awards. They personified American Business and commerce, democracy and freedom. We ask that you demand that Mr. Feinberg lift the arbitrary income limits so that each family can be treated fairly, commensurate with the support they provided their families before their death. 2. Mr. Feinberg has arbitrarily restricted the non-economic awards for pain and suffering, no matter what the extent of the pain and suffering. This is unacceptable. In the words of Rep. Peter King, "...every death is tragic, A murder is particularly tragic. But to have your loved one murdered in a burning building in full view of the world - in a scene which will be repeated in the media for decades to come-is a horror these families will never escape form... The Special Master cannot take it upon himself to restrict the rights of the families." Therefore, we request that the interim rules be amended to more appropriately compensate the victims' families for the immeasurable pain and suffering endured by our loved ones. As Mayor Giuliani stated in his farewell address: "we have an obligation to the people who did die... Their families need to be protected just as if they had been alive, financially and every other way that we can help and assist their families...There should be no compromise account that ever..."We request that the interim rules be amended and redefined to the extent that income caps be removed when computing economic loss and that compensation for pain and suffering more accurately reflect that horror which was suffered. Justice demands no less. Sincerely, Individual Comment Bronx, N.Y. September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-01-31 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 dojN002461.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. 2002-01-31 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 11:57 AM InterimFinalComments.doc Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc. 757 Seventh Avenue New York, New York January 18, 2002 Kenneth L. Zwick Director Office of Management Programs Civil Division U.S. Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Avenue Washington, D.C. 20530 Via e-mail Dear Mr. Zwick: I am the General Counsel of Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc., also known as KBW. Our main offices were located on the 88th and 89th floors of Two World Trade Center in New York. KBW lost 67 employees in the terrorist attack. I am providing these comments on the Interim Final Regulations adopted to implement the September 11 Victims Compensation Fund. On January 15, 2002, I met with Special Master Kenneth Feinberg and many representatives of families of KBW employees who were lost in the attack. It was clear that Mr. Feinberg has heard and understands many of the concerns that families have in response to the Interim Final Regulations. While his statements gave us some comfort, families are currently left with regulations and comments in the adopting release which cause great concern. If Mr. Feinberg is to get the trust from victims and families that he seemed to feel was justified, the regulations will need several material changes to encourage such trust. As currently drafted, the regulations have created great anguish and spurred a divisive debate in the country by misdirecting attention from the true purpose of the statute-to provide a no-fault alternative for fair compensation for economic and non-economic losses in conformity with state law. Although there are numerous portions of the Interim Final Regulations that could be the subject of comment, I would like to confine our comments to three very critical areas: the inherent limitations and caps on awards built into the regulations; the negative impact of an expansive reach in determining collateral source reductions; and the use of artificially low guidelines for the determination of pain and suffering. Unfair Imposition of Caps and Limitations Within days after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon and the related crash in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, Congress passed, and the President signed into law, the Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act. As this name suggests, a key purpose of this legislation was to provide the United States airline industry financial grants and guaranteed loans, as financial protection against the negative impact of the hijackings and terrorist attacks. The legislation was heavily supported through aggressive lobbying efforts on behalf of the airline industry. One aspect of the unprecedented financial protection granted to this industry was to limit the potential impact of liability lawsuits against the airlines to the liability insurance they carried covering these incidents. This liability protection went hand in hand with another purpose of this legislation. This was the creation of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, an unlimited commitment of our government to use our Treasury to provide a no-fault alternative to litigation. The Fund would compensate the victims of these terrorist attacks and their families for their economic and non-economic losses. At the time the legislation was adopted and signed into law, estimates of potential victims reached as high as twelve to fifteen thousand. Fortunately, the ultimate number of victims and the related cost of the Compensation Fund is much lower than what had been expected. It is clear that Congress and the President, in providing a fair no-fault alternative to protracted negligence litigation, anticipated paying awards similar to those that would be recovered in court proceedings. While the statute contained a more expansive definition of collateral sources, the law generally relied on the same state laws that would be used to determine loss in conventional litigation. There was no limit or cap on the compensation for loss that may be awarded. There can be an endless debate about whether the enactment of this legislation was an appropriate allocation of public resources. After all, airlines have far greater resources than just the insurance available per plane. They have paid massive negligence awards in many cases in the past. Even if the financial impact of these attacks led to airline bankruptcy, we have seen numerous major airlines suffer this fate without a catastrophic effect on our economy. Nonetheless, there is no question that these actions of Congress and the President also reflected the very noble and true outrage of our Nation and a heartfelt desire to aid the victims of these attacks, as well as a desire to protect an industry. The drafters and signer of this legislation clearly understood that the targets of this attack by foreign hostile forces represented the essence of our system-the government and the financial industries of our country. In subsequent airport security legislation, Congress and the President similarly limited the risks of litigation for other potential defendants. No non-terrorist defendant would have liability in excess of applicable insurance. Because of the unprecedented reach of this legislation, the unknown losses that may be faced and the speed with which it was drafted and signed into law, the actual law left the establishment of rules for the operation of the Victims Fund to the Department of Justice. An independent Special Master was appointed, with broad powers to implement and oversee the system. A basic principal of regulation is that the regulations not contradict or override the purpose of the statute. Unfortunately, in the current case, the Interim Final Regulations have ignored the clear intention of the statute to use conventional methods in the calculation of losses in conformity with current state laws. Instead, the regulations have imposed inherent caps under Track A and a clear intention to abide with those caps under Track B, based solely on the assumed resources available to the claimants. Such a regulatory action is in clear contravention of the statute designed to compensate for losses in a manner consistent with that applied in litigation. The Interim Final Regulations undermine the intention of Congress and the President to provide a full and fair alternative to litigation for all victims. The Interim Final Regulations replace this clear statutory purpose with a concept more akin to that applied under I.R.S. regulations governing the dispensing of charity benefits-a "need" based standard, as opposed to a loss based standard. The DOJ in adopting the regulations made very strong statements that the size of awards would be limited for persons who earned above the 98th percentile of national income because they were likely to have the resources to protect themselves and didn't need to be fairly compensated for their loss. Unfortunately, in addition to ignoring the statute, the imposition of such a cap ignores both the financial realities of living in many communities in the New York City area and the fact the Trade Center Victims were chosen as targets precisely because of their financial success. It is easy to understand that using a 98th percentile national cap had a far greater limiting effect in the New York area for the many employees of companies in the Trade Center. For example, this would imply that only 2%, or approximately 60, of the victims made over this amount. Our company, as well as several others, provided compensation histories for many victims in the Trade Center prior to the adoption of the Interim Final Rules. A roster of the companies in the World Trade Center reads like a "Who's Who" of the New York based financial sector of our economy. It was therefore completely clear to the DOJ and Special Master that many times that number of persons made over the unrealistic limit used in the regulations. In addition to ignoring the statute's intention regarding the meaning of "loss", the purported justification of imposing such limits to not unnecessarily use public resources also ignores the fact that a significant portion of the governments cost may be paid by the private sector. Section 409 of the statute provides that the United States is subrogated to any claim paid under the statute. Since we can assume the government would seek to minimize public expenditures, it would seem likely that the government will negotiate with insurers for significant payments under these subrogation rights. Overly Expansive Application of Collateral Sources As written, the Interim Final Regulations adopted a very broad reach for the definition of collateral sources. For example, voluntary survivors benefits that are paid by employers would be included in collateral sources. This will obviously have the effect of discouraging employers from making such payments. For example, our commitment to pay for health insurance of families may similarly reduce their awards from the Fund. This will force us, and other companies, to reconsider such voluntary This is, simply, cruel and unnecessary. In addition, the regulations penalize those conservative and industrious persons who saved in pension funds and purchased insurance by deducting the full amounts of these benefits from the awards they could receive under the fund. The statute clearly would allow a narrower scope in defining collateral source in the regulations. For example, the definition of collateral source could have excluded vested pension or retirement benefits (which are essentially nothing more than a form of savings account which belong to an employee) or other amounts (such as deferred compensation rights or the cash value of a life insurance policy) which were, in effect, already owned by the employee, as distinguished from a death benefit properly deductible from the award (such as term life insurance or previously unvested interests in a retirement fund). As adopted, the regulations are capricious and can serve no public policy purpose. The victims who were spendthrifts who never saved are rewarded with fewer reductions from the awards, as compared to persons who made voluntary contributions to pension funds or purchased whole life insurance as a savings and investment vehicle. Unfair Pain and Suffering Assumptions The adopting release for the regulations provides that pain and suffering awards have been fixed consistent with standards applied to law enforcement and military personnel. While pain and suffering awards are always subjective, it is hard to understand how the suffering of a group of civilians, completely unprepared for the risk of violent deaths and injuries, could be equated with persons who have voluntarily chosen to put themselves at risk of such death and injury as part of their daily job. This type of an assumption is, again, completely inconsistent with the language of the statute regarding compensation for non-economic loss. It imposes an unrealistically low and inapplicable standard whose sole purpose is to limit the size of the award without providing adequate compensation by any reasonable standard for civilians. Conclusion The statutory limitations on litigation designed to protect certain industries left the Victims Compensation Fund as the only viable alternative to recover losses. The noble intentions of Congress and the President to provide a fair alternative were structured to provide restitution without limit. The Interim Final Regulations have been expressly designed to alter the intended effect of the statute. This has put the squeeze on many victims and families. The victims we knew in the Trade Center were among the most highly motivated people in our country. Their families shared their motivations and dreams. Most paid taxes at the highest rates and never asked for, wanted or anticipated being on the government dole. Quite a few comment letters sent to the DOJ prior to adopting the Interim Rules took the shocking position that these people were being unjustly enriched at the public expense. Unfortunately, this shocking position has found its way into the Interim Final Rules. The statute would have provided support to companies likely to be defendants in lawsuits and just compensation for victims. This reflected national interest in preserving the airline and other industries and national outrage on the attack on our American system. Our government, through the legislative process, made a policy decision that the costs were properly placed on our Nation's Treasury. What has happened through the Interim Final Regulations is a trade-off, not envisioned by Congress or the President, which has turned the legislation on its head-potential commercial defendants have been protected at a cost to individual victims. A strong argument can be made that such limitations on awards, which have never before been found in our American litigation system, only further victimized the victims. We urge the Special Master and DOJ to reverse this injustice and act consistent with the legislation and honor the memories of the many unfortunate victims. Very truly yours, Comment by: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc. 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 dojN002513.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, November 26, 2001 8:33 PM Victim Compensation Fund Dear Attorney General Ashcroft: The deaths on September 11th were the result of an attack on America. Please do not discriminate against the unmarried partners of September 11th victims. All unmarried partners, gay or straight, young and old and their dependents should be eligible for compensation. Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-11-26 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 dojW000699.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. 2001-11-26 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 06, 2001 1:28 PM Payments to Victims To Whom it May Concern: I've got a major problem with this. Though I sympathize and feel for those persons who lost family in the attacks of September 11, I do not believe that those acts of terror should make the families of the victims millionaires, and that seems to be exactly where all this funding is headed. The Red Cross has ceased accepting donations after having already accrued $500 million. The September 11th Fund is up to $320 million. The death toll for NY is not yet final, but, more and more, it seems that the figure will come in well below that originally thought. If one takes the current estimate of those dead at 4800 and rounds it up to 5000 and divides that into the $820 million noted above, then each family can potentially receive $164,000 right there. This does not even take into account all of the monies donated to other charities as well as those designated specifically for the firefighters and resuce workers. And, in fact, the average worker in the Word Trade towers, the Pentagon, and rescue field was NOT without life insurance and a pension. Consequently, it seems most of these families are going to do all right without the funding set aside by the government. However, the morass is there and can't be undone (unless congress votes to rescind the bill, which they should not have passed in such a knee-jerk fashion in the first place!). Therefore, I strongly recommend that any charitable monies received by the victims' families be deducted from any government payment. Sincerely, Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-11-06 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 dojW000101.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. 2001-11-06 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, January 20, 2002 9:12 PM Compensating WTC families January 17, 2002 Mr. Kenneth Feinberg Special Master US Department of Justice Dear Mr. Feinberg: As most, hopefully all, Americans, I am deeply saddened by the tragedy of September 11, 2001. I share the pain of the victims families and those otherwise traumatized by that national misfortune. I humbly present my opinion on the method of providing compensation to the dependents of the victims. Unfortunately, we have a talent for making things more difficult and complicated than they really should be. A tragedy occurred and no one could have avoided it at that time. Neither the government nor the airlines. ALL THE VICTIMS DIED UNDER THE SAME CIRCUMSTANCE. Therefore all the victims families are in the same boat. We have expressed our sympathy and remember dearly those who have died. They will be in our memory forever. Therefore, it is not about the worth of the deads life. IT IS ABOUT THE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR THOSE THEY LEFT BEHIND, THE LIFE OF THE LIVING. Anyone of those who died in the tragedy could have died anyway the same day or the day after 9/ll under different circumstances, by natural cause and could have been covered by private personal insurance. By the same token, had 9/ll not occurred, anyone of those who died could have won the lotto jackpot on that day or the day after. And the life of the poorest would have then become more valuable than that of the richest of those who died!!! WE SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF OURSELVES, if thats how we evaluate the worth of a life. America, more specifically Dear New York, has a chance to show that it understands what is meant by the words equality of opportunity. The fairest way to compensate the families is to give them an equal amount of money based on the unit of dependents (per number of dependents) pure and simple. They are all in the same boat, their dead ones are as dear to them as those of anyone else, whether a fireman, a policeman or simply the pizza delivery person. Let us be supportive of one another. Sincerely, Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-01-20 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 dojN002141.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. 2002-01-20