138 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. To whom it may concern, & Mr. Feinberg, My name is &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp . My husband &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp was killed on 9/11 in the World Trade Center. He was a wonderful man and father to our three children, &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp age 9, &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp age 7 and &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp age 5. He worked for &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp for 14 years. &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp as many of the victims of 9/11 was a young, hard working citizen who provided well for his family. He had recently earned the title &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp , one of the youngest ever at age 35. The only thing my husband was more proud of was his three children. &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp also survived the bombing of the Trade Center in 1993. He was called a hero that day because he carried a pregnant women down 103 floors. To him that is just what anyone would do. After 1993 I was concerned about him working in the Trade Center. He said to me, " &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp this is America, the Greatest Country in the world! We will never let something like this happen again." My husband like others got caught in the middle of this War on America. A war that I believe could have and should have been prevented by the Clinton administration but was not. I am writing this letter now was a single Mother of three asking that my government do what is Right for my family and all those that have perished. In Regards to the Compensation fund I ask for Consistancy of regulations. The applied rules should remain the same regardless of salary. The Salary cap should be waived. I ask that all families be given an idea as to their outcome with at least three examples of presumptive award senarios. This should be given to us before we sign away our rights as citizens. I ask these things of you because, like my husband believed this is America, The Greatest Country in the World It is time to do right by our families. Respectfully yours Individual Comment Kinnelon, NJ September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-01-29 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 dojN002391.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. 2002-01-29 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, January 17, 2002 10:07 PM Interim Final Rule What about mistresses? If the rules are going to be changed to include gay/lesbian domestic partners and/or fiancé's, then I think that mistresses should be included too. I imagine it would be just as easy for them to show the economic and non-economic impact on them as a result of victim's death. They are all in the same boat - not recognized by the laws of most states as legal heirs. I think you have to open it up to all situations, or none. While we are at it, what about pets? They are after all "mans BEST friend". I am again hearing on the news/reading in the papers about how are "warnings of future attacks" are being reemphasized. New information coming in every day. I STILL have not heard anything about plans for a comparable "fund" for ALL FUTURE VICTIMS OF TERRORISM. This needs to be addressed/resolved BEFORE ONE PENNY IS DISPERSED FROM THIS FUND. Individual Comment Denver, CO September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-01-17 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 dojN001960.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. 2002-01-17 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. Friday, December 21, 2001 6:55 AM Justice help all terrorist victims 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 San Jose CA 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 dojN000331.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. Tuesday, November 27, 2001 10:09 PM Compensation for families and partners of 9-11-01 vicitms 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. Sincerely, Individual Comment Alameda, 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 dojA000051.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. Wednesday, March 13, 2002 7:29 AM911 fund I gave generously to the funds and collections for the victims of 911. I want assurance that the funds will be distributed to ALL the victims and survivors of those killed or injured. I stongly object to discrimination toward any group based on their race, religion, sex or sexual identitiy. I will base all further voting decisions on the choices made in this issue. 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 dojR000565.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. Thursday, March 21, 2002 12:29 PM FW: 9/11 fund discrimination There is absolutely NO reason why gays and lesbians should be treated differently regarding relief benefits from Sept. 11th. If this is the case, action should be taken immediately to correct the guidelines for relief benefits so they are distributed in a fair and just manner. Individual Comment Worcester, MA 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 dojR002516.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. Sent: Monday, March 11, 2002 9:15 AM Serious misuse of my donated funds It is my understanding from statements made by Kenneth Feinberg on NBC's Meet the press that September 11 funds will be distributed to illegal aliens. Furthermore in that broadcast, he indicates that gay domestic partners, who are legal citizens, will not be included, in many cases, in the compensation from the fund. With these provisions, how do I get my donated money back. Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-11 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 dojR000061.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. 2002-03-11 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 4:16 PM Benefits for surviving partners of lesbians and gays 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 Glenview, IL 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 dojA003512.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. Tuesday, November 06, 2001 2:06 PM Public Comment on Victims Fund Funds should be disbursed directly to victims, in amounts determined to be appropriate by an independent review panel. Funds should not be disbursed directly to victims' lawyers Applications for compensation should be provided on-line, be as simple as possible, and provide for assistance from DOJ in completing the applications. Appeals should be allowed based upon circumstances provided in writing to a special appeals panel. 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 dojW000107.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. Monday, November 12, 2001 7:56 PM Kenneth LZwick, Vctim Compensation Program Dear Mr. Zwick, My name is , my husband was killed in the World Trade Center. He was on the 105th floor, we have not found his body. I can and will not describe the pain and total devastation this has inflicted upon myself and my three children who absolutely adored their father. I am pleading with you to be compassionate in the matter that you regulate this fund. I hope and pray that every family will be treated individually and respectfully. Please allow us to tell our story and to be able to reach a fair and adequate compensation. I will never be capable to express the loss in my life ,please do not compound this horror by grouping all the victims in dollars and numbers. Please remember that any charity that has been given to us thus far has been in the best case a short term band-aid for our financial security. Do not allow that to be used as collateral source to be deducted. I also believe that life insurance should also not be used as a deduction. I have spoken to many other grieving families, I know of no one who is looking to exploit this fund. We are hoping that a fair judicial system will simply help all of us whose loved ones were killed on American soil by terrorist can continue with their lives without major financial hardship. Please use your heart as well as your mind in preparing the financial considerations of so many devastated Americans. I thank you for your consideration. - Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-11-12 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 dojW000328.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. 2001-11-12 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. Wednesday, December 18, 2001 11:47 PM Sexual preference is a personal choice! December 18, 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 Wellesley, MA September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-18 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 dojA002558.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. 2001-12-18 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Wednesday, December 19, 2001 5:00 AM Equal Access to Crisis Relief Benefits for Surviving Gay and Lesbian Partners December 19, 2001 Dear Mr. Kenneth Zwick, I write as a member of Amnesty International, a worldwide human rights movement committed to ensuring respect for the basic human rights of people without discrimination, in support of equal access to benefits under the September 11 Victims Relief Fund for all victims, regardless of sexual orientation or marital status. As you know, the United States has committed to uphold international human rights standards, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which prohibit arbitrary discrimination. As you consider rules for administering the relief fund, I ask that you apply basic international human rights standards, and the general principle of equality, by including among relatives eligible for compensation those who lost their life partners, as well as de facto parents or children, without regard to sexual orientation or marital status. The State of New York has already adopted such a policy, granting compensation benefits "on a showing of mutual interdependence with the victim, in recognition that anyone who shared with the victim living expenses, day to day activities and the emotional bonds of family deserves help in this time of need." Many lesbian and gay people were killed in the September 11th attacks. Since then, lesbian and gay surviving partners of those killed have had mixed results in obtaining equal treatment at the local level in the distribution of relief funds by private and state agencies. An inclusive policy on the part of the federal government would help establish an important principle for other such funds. In compensating victims, real justice will be served only when all families - and all types of families - impacted by the human rights tragedy of September 11 are treated with dignity and equality. Thank you for considering my concerns. I look forward to hearing from you about your efforts to ensure that all surviving victims of the September 11 attacks have equal access to the relief fund. Sincerely, Individual Comment Los Angeles, CA 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 dojA002509.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. Illegal Aliens are better than Gay US Citizens??? 3/17/02 12:22:41 PM Bangkok Standard Time "In Germany, the Nazis first came for the Communists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, but I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me, and by that time there was no one left to speak up for me." -Martin Niemoeller, Berlin Lutheran pastor arrested by the Gustapo and sent to Dachau concentration camp in 1938; the Allied forces freed him 7 years later. I am really upset that the land of the free and the home of the brave can STILL discriminate against gay people because it seems to be popular. Gays are American Citizens and deserve every right afforded all citizens. If this is the land of the free lets see some action on that right now. If gay heroes are not as good as straight heroes, then we have some sick idea of what freedom is. Better we all move to Holland od Denmark where freedom really rings. 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 dojR002732.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-03-17 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Monday, January 21, 2002 7:45 PM Comments on documented Interim Rules To: Kenneth Feinberg Deborah E. Greenspan Office of the Special Master Re: Comments on the Interim Rules of the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund From: We have received from your office the additional information on the presumed economic loss calculations for the September 11 Victim Compensation Fund, and we have comments on the Interim Rules for calculating damages. First, we want to thank you for making this information available. We agree with &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp comments to us that much confusion has occurred over the past month concerning the interpretation of the Interim Rules, and that a number of families of victims have, rightly or wrongly, been disturbed by the presumed economic loss calculations for the VCF. We would point out that this confusion partially results from the lack of detail and explanation contained in the original release of the rules on December 20. It was impossible to replicate or adjust the calculations given the level of information provided. The first explanatory release contained no specific information or documentation on effective tax rates, self-consumption rates, work-life expectancy, fringe benefit rates, or decipherable application of age-earnings growth rates. Whether the last formulas were part of the original calculation, or were added in response to criticism, is really irrelevant. We are grateful that that information has now been released and we have an additional set of observations concerning the accuracy and fairness of the calculations. You have not provided information related to documented sources that you relied upon, or will be relying on, to determine "effective tax rates" or the sources of the life-cycle earning adjustments (you simple state two actuarial boards). You have provided no detail regarding how the discount rate was determined and then adjusted for taxes, and the information regarding the self-consumption rates appears to be deficient. We hope that you will release this information as a part of the final rules. You are correct that no one model will be viewed as fair or appropriate to all groups, or that one set of compensation tables will be relevant to a specific individual. You have stated that individual factors will be considered in each case of compensation, and that individuals may appeal your findings through the submission of an alternative set of compensation assumptions. No one can predict the outcome of such appeals in advance, but we are sure that you will strive to give a fair hearing to all claimants. Obviously, families will be reluctant to sign-up as claimants for the VCF without knowing the outcome of the final compensation in advance, but the same would be true in a litigation arena. We appreciate the opportunity to provide you with recommendations for enhancing the procedures for compensating the September 11 victims and their families. We know this is a difficult and unenviable task for you as Special Master. We have talked to a number of families of victims, as you have, and we can understand their anxieties about the compensation process. Our comments are directed at assuring the families that the process will be fair and accurate. Specific changes to the methods of compensating economic damages can still be made that will address some of the concerns of economists and the victims' families. Below we offer some comments that fit broadly as a part of the plan. There are many specific issues that we do not address. We continue to offer a group meeting with you and your experts along with leading authorities in the academic study of forensic economics to go over the many necessary adjustments to your basic structure that will force a response on a case-by-case basis. The most obvious deficiency in the plan is the omission of lost services as an economic loss suffered by families of victims who were working on September 11. The plan calls for the calculation of the value of such lost services for non-working or part-time working victims, but provides no direct compensation to families of working victims as clearly referenced in the "Act." Lost household services are almost universally recognized as an element of economic loss in personal injury/death litigation. There are a number of statistical sources and procedures for making such calculations, and their absence in the plan to all victim families is inappropriate. The following are comments in the order matching your "Explanation of Process for Computing Presumed Economic Loss" that you released Friday, January 18, 2002 as follows: 1. Establish the victim's age and compensable income. You should adjust the three years of earnings information to a 2001 constant dollar base. For example, in 1998 the Consumer Price Index for All Items (CUUR0000SA0) was 163.0, in 1999 it was 166.6, in 2000 it was 172.2, and in 2001 it was 177.1. Under this one approach, you would multiply 1998 total earnings by 177.1/163.0, 1999 total earnings by 177.1/166.6, and 2000 total earnings by 177.1/172.2. The average earnings will now be in base 2001 dollars for projection into the future. As an example of the appropriateness of this calculation, it is easy to see that you would never average nominal earnings in 1990 (say $12.00 per hour) with nominal earnings in 2000 (say $20.00 per hour), for an expected earnings level of $16.00 per hour in 2001. The same logic applies when averaging 1998-2000 earnings for a 2001 earnings base. 2. Determine after-tax compensable income The tax rate data for this adjustment has yet to be published by your office so comment is difficult. An average effective tax rate across various household types can be deceiving. You note that you will consider the victim's tax returns, please do so. Also keep in mind the differences in tax rates possible based upon position in life with circumstances such as home mortgage deductions, number of dependents, tax deferred income, etc. For example, even though a person might earn $100,000 at their job, through 401(k) plans they might be able to defer up to $15,000 of that income. So, current income taxes would be computed on $85,000 of W-2 taxable earnings instead of $100,000. Simply applying some average statistics will not satisfy the requirement for this adjustment. Perhaps a more appropriate methodology would be to use the Consumer Expenditure Survey data, which actually includes tax payments by level of household income. We find it inconsistent that you are going to use national data for some major economic adjustments, but for a subtraction from loss you are planning to use local income tax rates, which are in many cases higher than national averages due to domicile. 3. Add pension and other benefits. You state, absent supplied information, that you will substitute $2,400 per year in current dollars for loss of health insurance. To be made whole, loss must be based upon the cost to secure replacement insurance in the market by age and number of dependents. The $2,400 figure might be insufficient in many cases to replace this loss. We urge you to probe each claimant for the correct figures in each case. Pension and other benefits can be very complicated. Many financial workers will be accumulating stock options, profit sharing, ownership positions, etc., which will require very detailed analysis. We urge you to consult known experts when making these computations. Whatever collateral source benefit you deduct, you will need to consider adding the benefit back for an offset due to loss of benefit accumulation. For example, you state that you are deducting current pension income as a collateral source, so you rightly add it back in as a benefit. However, if you deduct current Social Security collateral income, you may also need to also add that benefit back in. For example, a survivor's Social Security is based upon the decedents earned Social Security credit to the time of death. A future Social Security benefit would be based upon additional Social Security credits at a higher earning level. By receiving Social Security now, lost Social Security may exist in the future. There is a literature in the forensic economic field regarding these calculations. 4. Worklife expectancy The use of the Ciecka Work-Life Expectancies is an improvement over the previously unavoidable presumed use of Bulletin 2254 Work-Life Tables. Officials at the Department of Labor had told us that your analysts requested the Bulletin 2254 tables, and no mention of the Ciecka tables was contained in the Interim Rules. These tables, however, still must be used with caution. The tables represent average labor force participation and death rates for males and females, by age, which may have limited applicability to a specific individual. A working single mother will likely have a longer worklife than a married wife/mother who has elected to stay at home because of financial security. Nevertheless, both are contained in the same average length of expected labor force participation. Many forensic economists generally use the "Male" category for career working females. We urge that education also be considered when using the tables. An inconsistency in your application of worklife and lost services reveals itself in the case of women. Women often exit the labor force to provide services for their family members. The difference in worklife for younger women is 4 to 5 years shorter than younger men in the Ciecka table. You would compute replacement services loss damages for families of part-time or not in labor force (NILF) women and ignore their potential re-entry into the labor market. However, by using the shortened worklife of women, you implicitly consider the exit from the labor force of women in order to provide services that you compensate those that are NILF on September 11. You should recognize the 4-5 years of projected NILF status of women and at least give them the same damages for these years that you give those that were NILF on September 11. You should also give women who were NILF on September 11, the expected value of their future earnings upon probable future re-entry into the labor force. The problems you face using gender specific worklife tables can be mostly avoided using other gender-indifferent methods of determining worklife. We would be happy to discuss those alternatives with you and your experts. Finally, Professor Ciecka, through his own publishing company, sells an expanded set of worklife tables based upon the exact methodology and data contained within his JLE article. We urge that you use the accurate, detailed tables that Professor Ciecka offers for sale instead of the abbreviated tables published in the JLE. 5. Project compensable income The assumed growth rates in future earnings will likely overcompensate the lower paid (low human capital) individuals under 30, while under compensating the highly educated and high earner individuals. The methodology you employ is not generally accepted in the abundant literature regarding life-cycle earnings. The use of established age-earnings cycle formula by level of human capital would be preferable to the methods you employed in the proposed loss tables. Age-earning cycles should be recomputed based upon human capital. You have also not provided citation to the life-cycle growth rates in your calculations. 6. Present value You continue to not document the source for the interest rate and the procedure you used to adjust the interest rate for income taxes. In footnote 5, your statement of the net discount rates is mathematically incorrect, using a simple subtraction of growth rates from the discount rate rather than a geometric subtraction. You will have to use a non-tax adjusted interest rate (i.e. pre-tax nominal interest rate) when figuring the present value of some collateral sources. For example, some collateral sources will generate taxable income (e.g. Social Security survivor benefits may be taxable given the level of future other income and most pension benefits would also be taxable) and using an after-tax interest rate to compute present value for the annuity collateral benefits will overstate their present value. Reducing loss for pension, thrift or profit sharing payments and life insurance creates a set of potential difficulties in calculating loss. For example, the future marriage of a surviving spouse could revoke payments in specific pension or survivors benefit payments that would occur in the future. Yet, the loss might already be reduced for such payments. The calculation of net losses and gains in Social Security and pension payments because of early death or disability is very complex. These collateral income reductions will be a continuing source of conflict between the VCF and the families of victims. 7. Self-consumption Self-consumption rates appear to be liberal in many cases. It is troubling, however, that you list Table 2 of the CES 1999 as the source for the computations. Table 2 simply presents consumption in households by total income level up to $69,999 and then $70,000 and over. Additional data would be required to make the calculations you show. For example, you compute rates for single households where no data for single households exist in Table 2. The understanding of the data is also limited by your comment about low-income households. Low-income households and low-earning households do not necessarily correspond. There is a portion of households in the low household total income range that are, in actuality, very wealthy households. For example, farmers owning 1000's of acres of land with millions of dollars of cash flow and expenditures could show $2,000 of total household income figuring huge farming losses. Such outlier households, in Table 2, are averaged with living poor with an actual $2,000 of total income and cash flow. The Consumer Expenditure Survey is a relatively small sample and just a few households can skew estimates. We urge caution when working with data at the low and high end of these income categories. 8. Computation methodology favors claimants Statements you make in this paragraph are non-economic. You believe that your methods favor the claimants, but fail to provide relevant comparators. For example, a projected worklife of 20 years would benefit a person dying of cancer on 9-11, but it could hardly be applicable in the case of many career-working females. Your last statement is without basis and can easily be turned around with relevant economic analysis. Your "wage growth" as stated in your documents is 1.03*1.005-1 = 3.52%. Your post-tax discount rate is 5.13%. The combination of these rates computes to a net post-tax discount rate of 1.56%. A post-tax net discount rate of 1.56% is not uncommon to see in wrongful death damages litigation. Unfortunately, you are confused in your secondary application of a series of life-cycle adjustments to account for growth due to individual productivity with the concept of the "net discount rate" that is used in the academic literature. In the academic literature, the net discount rate is the difference between the discount rate and the general rate of price or wage rate growth absent individual productivity. The application of life-cycle adjustments adds a concept outside the net discount rate term and your remark has no comparator in the literature. Every case generates a net discount rate that can be compared across cases, but it also generates a unique value of life-cycle adjustment. Your statement may provide confusion to academic work presented in courtrooms in the future that follow the generally accepted approach of comparing net discount rates. Although you do not provide documentation of your pre-tax interest rate, we can turn around your arguments in this section with a simple adjustment. Suppose that you made a 25% adjustment to the interest rate to account for taxes. Dividing 5.13% by 75% yields a pre-tax discount rate of 6.84%, a reasonable figure if you are taking a historical average. Now, the relevant net discount rate that you are using must be figure on 6.84% and 3.52% to be comparable to those net discount rates in the literature. Under the 25% assumed tax adjustment, the net wage rate discount rate would be 1.0684/1.0352-1 = 3.21%, which would fall at the higher end of observed pre-tax net discount rates, not the lower. Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-01-21 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 dojN002193.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. 2002-01-21 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. Wednesday, December 19, 2001 10:16 AM Attention 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. This issue is of particular importance, since America now seems to be putting itself in the position to police all other nations of the world. With our pathetic track record in our own country in terms of just and equal rights for people of different ethnic groups, economic classes, and most relevantly, for people who live outside of "traditonal family values", it is most important to me that we prove ourselves to be just in this case. Please allow the families of all those killed in the September 11 tragedy to receive equal benefits under the law. 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 Newburyport, 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 dojA002955.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. Wednesday, December 19, 2001 1:00 PM Gays and Lesbians of Sept. 11th 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 Syracuse, NY 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 dojA002140.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. Wednesday, March 20, 2002 8:49 PM Compensate gay victims and families My husband and I are outraged that same sex families will be denied compensation in the 9/11 disaster. We have two sons one is gay. Our gay son is denied safe employment in 39 states. If he were in New York and killed his partner would be denied compensation. This is not fair. Until our son told us that he was gay we assumed that here in America both our sons had equal rights. We hate that our tax dollars are used to discriminate or support legislation that denies our gay son rights. We support civil unions equal to marriage or marriage so that these kinds of discriminations will cease. Sincerely, Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-20 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 dojR002434.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. 2002-03-20 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. Thursday, December 20, 2001 11:20 AM Equal access for all victims 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 Pennsauken, 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 dojA004252.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. Wednesday, December 19, 2001 6:47 AM don't discriminate based on race, gender, age, nationality or sexual preference 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 Brooklyn, NY 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 dojA002532.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. Saturday, December 22, 2001 2:35 PM Protect Traditional Marriage Mr. Kenneth Zwick Office of Management Programs Department of Justice Washington, DC Dear Mr. Zwick: I want to express my opposition to any effort by the federal government to provide 9-11 victim compensation funds to "domestic partners" of unmarried survivors of the terrorist attack upon our nation. Funds disbursed through the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 should only go to the surviving family members of those who died on 9-11. Funds must go to the widows, widowers, orphans, and other blood-related or adopted members of the family--not to unmarried sexual partners of those who died. To provide funds to "domestic partners" is to undermine the traditional definition of marriage and family to include any number of sexual liaisons between same-sex or opposite-sex unmarried couples. Many homosexuals and swinging heterosexuals, for example, engage in sex with multiple partners. Do we provide funds to each of the sexual partners? Where do we draw the line on how many "domestic partners" a person may have? Homosexual activists are exploiting the 9-11 tragedy by asking the federal government to redefine what constitutes a legitimate "family" under the law. In fact, homosexual activist , writing in Out magazine has openly called for the subversion of the concept of marriage between a man and a woman. He has urged homosexuals to fight for the legalization of homosexual marriages and once legalized to "redefine the institution of marriage completely . . . . to debunk a myth and radically alter an archaic institution. . . . The most subversive action lesbians and gays can under take--and one that would perhaps benefit all of society--is to transform the notion of 'family' entirely." If the DOJ provides funds to "domestic partners," it will be helping accomplish his goal: That of redefining marriage and altering what he calls an "archaic institution." We also oppose September 11th Funds going to the estates of the deceased instead of to their surviving family members. No one can know for certain where these funds will end up if they are deposited in the estate of a person who has died. The person may have willed his estate to a terrorist, racial hate group, or even to an organization like the North American Man-Boy Love Association. No one will know unless each person's will is examined by a DOJ lawyer. The money should go to the surviving family members of the deceased, not to the estate or to the surviving "domestic partner." Individual Comment Westminster, CO September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-22 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojN000744.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. 2001-12-22