1050 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. January 18,2002 By FAX and Regular Mail Mr. Kenneth L. Zwick, Director Office of Management Programs Civil Division U.S. Department of Justice Main Building, Room 3140 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20530 Dear Mr. Zwick: As you know, the Interim Final Rule implementing Public Law 107-42 (the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001) has been published for comment at the U.S. Department of Justice website. By this letter, I submit to you my comments on certain aspects of the Interim Final Rule. My concern focuses on a potentially serious ancillary result which may adversely affect a number of claimants who file claims against the Fund. Specifically, the wording of the Interim Final Rules appears to be at odds with the wording of the Eligibility Form (DOJ Form SM-001). In the Interim Final Rule, "Subpart F - Limitations" and Section 104.61 of such Subpart state that"...upon the submission of a claim under the Fund, the claimant waives the rightto file a civil action (or to be a party to an action) in any terrorist-related aircraft crashes of September 11, 2001..." [emphasis supplied] However, item 2 of "Section IV - Advance Benefits' of the Eligibility Form, in which the claimant acknowledges waiving the right to file a civil action, also states "Please note that this Waiver of Rights could apply to therights of individuals other than the claimant." [emphasis supplied] Thus, unlike the Eligibility Form, the Interim Final Rule makes no reference to potential rights of individuals other than the claimant, or to the waiver of such rights. I believe that this difference of language is critical, and must be harmonized either by modifying the Eligibility Form, expanding the language of the Interim Rule, or making both of these changes. Permit me to illustrate my concern by using a hypothetical example. Suppose a World Trade Center decedent is survived by a wife, no children, and the decedent's parents. Further suppose that the wife has been judicially appointed as the sole legal representative of the decedent's estate. As I understand New York law, the provisions of EPTL 5-4.4(a) would entitle the parents as deemed distributees to share in damages obtained in a wrongful death action brought by the wife as fiduciary. This result would occur even though, for purposes of intestacy, the widow would be the sole distributee. Therefore, once the wife makes a claim against the Fund, she presumably forecloses any possibility that the parents would have had to either commence a wrongful death action or to share in damages obtained in such action. The Eligibility Form is seemingly innocuous in its statement that the waiver of rights could apply to the rights of individuals other than the claimant. I submit that if the claimant wife is a lay person and has no legal counsel (or even for that matter if she has such counsel), the wife and/or her counsel could readily gloss over any implications of the Eligibility Form's statement upon reading it. Would it not be preferable to give the wife and/or her counsel actual notice in the Eligibility Form that those "individuals other than the claimant" could include the decedent's parent or parents? Otherwise, unless she received a written release from the decedent's parent(s), the claimant wife could end up defending a subsequent lawsuit brought against her by such parent or parents, asserting that she had no legal authority to waive the rights of the parent(s) or to preclude them from bringing a wrongful death action on their own. Of course, this hypothetical example assumes that the claimant wife can legally waive the rights of any third person who is not a signatory to the Eligibility Form. I suspect that this issue will ultimately be determined by a Federal court. The wife is arguably not the agent (actual or under apparent authority) of the decedent's parent(s). It is true that the wife as sole fiduciary in my hypothetical would have the exclusive legal ability to bring a wrongful death action, for the benefit of the decedent's distributees (see EPTL 5-4.4), and may thereby be able to derivatively bind the parents to a waiver by claiming under the Fund. However, it is theoretically possible for the parents rather than the wife to become legal representatives of the estate and thus bring a wrongful death action on their own. Based upon the foregoing, I propose the following: 1. Section 104.61 of "Subpart F - Limitations" of the Interim Final Rule should be modified to add this language in bold type at the end: "This waiver of rights could apply to the rights of individuals other than the claimant, such as a parent or parents of the deceased, who may be able to share in wrongful death damages pursuant to applicable state law. Claimants should consult with counsel prior to submitting a claim under the Fund." 2. Item 2 of "Section IV - Advance Benefits" of the Eligibility Form should be modified to expand the existing language to read as follows, all in bold type:"Please not that this Waiver of Rights could apply to the rights of individuals other than the claimant, such as a parent or parents of the deceased, who may be able to share in wrongful death damages pursuant to applicable state law. Claimants should consult with counsel prior to submitting a claim under the Fund." Thank you for providing the opportunity to make this submission. Respectfully yours, Individual Comment 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 dojN002660.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. Tuesday, January 22, 2002 1:19 PM Just Say "NO" to illegal alien compensation! I am appalled that our government is actually planning on compensating illegal aliens for the WTC attack -- the irony is almost overwhelming considering causation. These are N-O-T immigrants but criminals, according to federal law, who have violated our national sovereignty! The funds should go instead to legal immigrants and citizens who had the right to be in that building in the first place. Every time we reward illegality it just encourages more of the same. There are almost 11 million illegal aliens in this country already who consume dwindling resources and create additional expensive infrastructure which we can ill-afford in a recession with rapidly rising poverty. Another few years of this and we can just change our motto from "America the Beautiful" to "America the Third World Dumping Ground". Individual Comment Fiddletown, CA September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-01-22 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 dojN002042.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. 2002-01-22 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Tuesday, January 08, 2002 12:25 AM Comments on compensation Fund Hi, I am am the daughter of one of the older and lower income victims of the wtc incident. I am attched a letter I put together in response to the current fund propsal. please consider my arguments. I can be reached at &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp or &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp. I shall await a response regarding these concerns. If you wish to email me, do so at &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp Individual Comment REGARDING PROPOSED COMPENSATION FUND &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp- WTC Victims Daughter Bronx, NY To: Kenneth Zweck HI, my name is &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp (age: 23) and I am a family member of one of the victims of the World Trade Center Tragedy. My father, &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp , was a &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp for &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp on the &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp floor of the first hit tower. He leaves behind four children and a spouse. My purpose in writing this letter is to strongly state my frustration and anger regarding the proposed Compensation Fund proposed by Kenneth Feinberg and to seek representation for families in our situation. Since the events of Sept. 11th, it has been my familys unfortunate circumstance to be at a disadvantage when decisions are made regarding how much financial assistance our family should receive. The problem at hand is as follows: My fathers age (56) and low income status. While this may seem like it is not a problem, it has been turned into one. You see, because my father is older and makes less than the average individual that passed away, we have been placed into a formula that shows that we should receive 1/3rd of what, on average, other families receive. This situation has been a constant obstacle since the events of September 11th. It began with the Red Cross and continued through to Feinbergs proposed compensation fund. In proposing the fund, Feinberg states that he will not play Solomon in deciding the amounts that families should receive in regards to pain and suffering. What he fails to recognize is that that is exactly what he has done; however, in a different context. He does so in a context that poses advantage to the wealthier and younger individuals and neglects the fact that the older lower income employees died the same way. He gives consistent reference to his attempts to decrease the disparity of the fund when it comes to the income of the employee, but lower and older income families (again, both characteristic of my father) see NOTHING BUT DISPARITY. Everyone keeps talking about United We Stand and equality since Sept. 11th , but situations like this make me feel that there is none of that. If that in fact did exist, this problem wouldnt exist. As an article once read, If a kid is thirsty, you give him a glass of water… you do not ask if he is a rich kid or a poor kid! This fund places families at the lower end of the spectrum in a situation where they feel compelled to accept whatever is given through the fund. What I mean by this is, take my mom for example, she is 47 years old and basically with no option but to accept the fund because a lawsuit would take 10- 15 years to come to a conclusion, if not more. Assuming she did win a lawsuit, what is any financial compensation to her when she is in her 60s.? Money means nothing to her at that age. At the same time a lawsuit would mean many years of financial struggle because we are of lower income. I feel that when this fund was being thought out, these stipulations were known and taken advantage of and so the result of it was offering less to families who would have almost no choice but to accept the fund. I fail to mention that it is almost ridiculous that IF my mom choices to accept this fund, she signs away her rights to sue with an estimated assumption of the total she will get from it. So , she wont even know exactly how much she is getting. Sadly enough, I am sure that there are lower income families who have seen this $1.6 million average publicized and have signed away to this fund under the sad assumption that that is what they will receive only to find out later that it is not . Later…. and too late when they cannot change there minds or sue! Since Sept. 11th occurred and different funds were set up, lower income families have had no real direct voice or representation on their behalf. Many do not have the education or knowledge to know where to go, many do not speak English. Navigating the system is difficult! I myself have sent letters only to receive no response! We have no means to determining a good lawyer from a bad one and no direction as to where to go and vent our frustration. This is a problem. As I write this, I have been told that revisions are being made to the proposed fund. However again, the voices of those being heard when these revisions are being taken into consideration are the voices of the higher income families. It is those voices, of the families that possibly received between $150,000 - $350,000 of life insurance, that are listened to because those families do not want their life insurances deducted from the fund (another item of the fund which I disagree with). However, the cries of those who received little or no life insurance go unheard. This can be because they are unspoken, again, as many families do not know where to go and state their frustration in these scenarios. My father had a life and a horrific tragic unimaginable death in the face of those terrorist attacks. He worked 1 floor above the &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp employees that made possibly 3 times the amount that he did. Should that even matter? Either way you look at it, while we all have differences in our lifestyles, we are all one in life and death. Why should my mother receive 1/3rd of the average. It is a ridiculous and insulting concept to even set forth when considering what happened to each one of those individuals that passed away. This fund has been handled as if it were a lawsuit, taking lost wages and potential earning power into consideration. This is not a lawsuit nor is it a normal lawsuit scenario so my mind goes blank in wondering why it continues to be handled as one. To the best of my knowledge, the main purpose of the fund, contrary to what feinberg states is to attract the families so that the issues of security negligence (to name one) are not taken to court and jeopardizing the airline industry. Instead it does the opposite, angers and insults the families making them want to sign lawsuit papers even faster. I also find it insulting that it mentions the deduction of pensions, life insurance, and workmans death benefits from the fund. My father worked 30 years of his hard life in the &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp restaurant in order to receive petty $107 monthly estimate that will go to my mom. Again, 30 YEARS!!! Why should the concept of having what he worked hard for be taken from our potential benefit through this fund , despite how minimal or great the amount may be. Overall, I would like you to consider this; The higher income, more prestigious wealthier families affected by 9/11 are upset at what the fund offers them in light of the family member they lost. If they are complaining, just imagine how we feel being in this situation of constant neglect from organizations such as Red Cross and by this fund. In writing this, again, I hope to reach out and find representation for families in this situation such as ours. My anger is strong but yet I fell defenseless and at a dead end when it comes to seeking assistance in stating my views and concerns and making them known. Any assistance or advice you can offer me would be greatly appreciated. I will desperately await a response from you in regards to this crucial matter. I can be reached at the above address or at &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp. Your time is greatly appreciated but more importantly, your help is greatly needed. Thank You and Regards, Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-01-08 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 dojN001428.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. 2002-01-08 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 18, 2001 10:38 PM Victims Relief Fund 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 Grand Rapids, MI 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 dojA002417.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. Saturday, December 22, 2001 9:20 AM to Kenneth L. Zwick, Director Kenneth L. Zwick, Director Office of Management Programs U.S. Department of Justice Fax (301) 519-5956 E-mail victimcomp.comments@usdoj.gov Dear Mr. Zwick, I am a member of Amnesty International, a worldwide human rights movement committed to ensuring that the basic human rights of people are respected without discrimination. International human rights standards including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights prohibit arbitrary discrimination and the US government is obligated to respect these rights. We therefore request that the Justice Department, consistent with such international human rights standards, and the general principle of equality, include among relatives eligible for compensation those who lost their life partners as well as de facto parents or children, without regard to sexual orientation or marital status. We ask the Justice Department to follow the positive example of New York state in granting compensation benefits "on a showing of mutual interdependence with the victim, in recognition that anyone who shared with the victim living expenses, day to day activities and the emotional bonds of family deserves help in this time of need." We remind Justice Department officials that real justice is only served when all families - and all types of families - impacted by the human rights tragedy of September 11 are treated with dignity and equality. We thank you very much for the attention. Regards, Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-22 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 dojN000619.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 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 San Diego, 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 dojA001925.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-12-13 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. December 13, 2001 Special Master Kenneth R. Feinberg September 11th Victim Compensation Fund U.S. Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20530 To Mr. Feinberg: I am writing to urge you to ensure fair treatment for all surviving families of the tragedy on September 11th, including the children and families of low-wage workers and gay and lesbian families. Under traditional rules based on lost wages, the survivors of a bond trader earning millions of dollars per year might receive thousands of times as much compensation as the survivors of a dishwasher in one of the restaurants destroyed. Justice requires looking far beyond the last paycheck to the inherent worth of all those killed, so that a high minimum compensation level is set to lessen the disparities. It would be a double blow to the survivors to first lose their loved one and then watch as most of the taxpayer money went to those who were already well off in the first place. The second major issue has to do with recognizing the legitimacy of gay and lesbian relationships and families. Gay and lesbian families are especially vulnerable when one partner is killed. Because the option of marriage is unavailable, these families may find themselves in the traumatic predicament of having to prove that their union is legitimate. Fortunately, both the Red Cross and the State of New York have already announced that they will not discriminate against gay and lesbian families. The Department of Justice should do the same. Thank you for considering my comments. I look forward to hearing how you will act on these very important issues. Sincerely, Individual Comment Albany, 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 dojA004148.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-12-13 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Thursday, December 20, 2001 7:39 PM Federal Victims Compensation Fund Comments Dear Mr.Zwick: I am writing to express my disappointment with the rules outlined for the Federal Victims Compensation Fund. I was told that the purpose of this fund was to provide victims with an alternative to the long and costly litigation process. After reviewing the rules outlined by Mr. Feinberg, I determined that they clearly do not provide ANY financial assistance to my family. I do not have any problem with the calculation chart, but I do have a problem with the deduction of "collateral" resources. By deducting collateral resources from the calculated award, my family ends up with a negative balance which means we will not receive anything from the fund. The rules are also very confusing and misleading. What does this statement mean: "For victims who were married or had children, that minimum will be $500,000 -- meaning that that they will receive a combined total of at least $500,000 from our program, other state and federal programs, life insurance and other compensation (excluding gifts from charities)." I don't understand if the above statement means that my family will receive at least $500,000 (regardless of any collateral resources) or if we will receive nothing because the collateral resources are greater than the calculated award. I truly believe that if the fund rules are not adjusted to give an adequate payout to each family, then you will not have many people filing claims against your fund. This will lead to many people taking their chance in court with a lawsuit. Isn't this what you were trying to avoid in the first place? If so, you should attempt to fix the rules that govern this fund. You can start by taking out the "collateral resources" deduction. Thank You, Individual Comment Yonkers, NY 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 dojN000095.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. Sunday, March 17, 2002 8:09 AM 911 Fund As a supporter of the gay & lesbian community, I refuse to accept the discrimination demonstrated by Congress on the issue of unfair distribution of compensation from the 911 Fund. I will work along side other supporters to effect a change in this policy. I am enraged that this inequality continues to manifest so blatantly in our society. It is my opinion that our lawmakers are hypocritical when they resist necessary changes in discrimination policies and on the other hand are fighting so hard to make our country safe from terrorism. Is it not terrorism to refuse equal rights to all U.S. citizens. I see terrorism as a crime of hatred. Under this definition, we may be witness to mass hate crimes committed every day because our government refuses to recognize the equality of all people. Our politicians are cowardly when they bend under the pressure of others despite what is right and just. It is my opinion that those that are not part of the solution are indeed part of the problem. 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 dojR001350.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-03-17 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Wednesday, December 19, 2001 12:07 AM urgent! 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 Morristown, NJ 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 dojA002573.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, December 13, 2001 9:08 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 &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp , 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 &nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp 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 Palm Bay, FL 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 dojA001649.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. Monday, December 17, 2001 11:19 AM (no subject) 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 Charlottesville, VA September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-17 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 dojA002108.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. 2001-12-17 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. 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 El Cerrito, 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 dojA004869.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-12-13 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. JANUARY 15, 2002 Kenneth L. Zwick, Directory Office of Management Programs, Civil Division U.S. Department of Justice Main Building, Room 3140 950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20530 Re: The September 11th Victims Compensation Fund of 2001/ . Dear Mr. Zwick: My brother-in-law, , ., was lost in the World Trade Center atrocity on September11. He is survived by his wife (my sister), , and their four children , and was a resident of New Canaan, Connecticut, and worked for Floor of One World Trade Center. I have been appointed as the executory of estate. With the hope of realizing a measure of financial security for the family, I have been paying close attention to developments concerning the "September 11 Victims Compensation Fund" (Title IV of Public Law 107-42). I have reviewed the regulations for the Fund (28 CFR Part 104) published in the Federal Register on December 21, 2001, as an Interim Final Rule (CIV 104P; AG Order No. 2541-2001; RIN 1105- AA79). We are considering filing a claim under the Fund but, in light of the Interim Final Rule, we hold considerable reservation. I understand that the Department of Justice is seeking further comment on the regulations and I would accordingly like point out certain aspects of the Rule that are inconsistent with intent U.S. Department of Justice January 15, 2002 Page 2 of the legislation and that are otherwise inequitable to victim's families. The Statute and the Interim Final Rule clearly provide that as a condition to filing a claim under the Fund, a victim's estate and family must waive all rights to sue any parties except the terrorists. Paraphrasing the Interim Final Rule, the Fund is intended to be an alternative to litigation. At the same time (further paraphrasing the Interim Final Rule), the purpose of the Fund is to provide compensation to a victim's spouse and children that is just and appropriate in light of the victims' individual circumstances. If that is true, if the Fund is truly intended to provide just and appropriate compensation in lieu of litigation, it is incumbent upon Special Master Kenneth Feinberg to develop a methodology within the parameters of the Statute that establishes awards under the Fund that are roughly equal to awards that would otherwise be available to victims by way of the litigation process. In order to ensure that any award from the Fund is in fact an equitable alternative to litigation, none of the recoveries to which a victim's estate and family would normally be entitled should be reduced through a restrictive interpretation of the wording or intent of the legislation. To that end, a number of critical issues still need to be resolved and/or clarified in favor of WTC victims in order to convince family members that the September 11 Victims Compensation Fund is indeed an equitable alternative to bringing suit against American or United Airlines, the Port Authority of NY/NJ, the City of New York, Silverstein Properties (the WTC landlord) and/or the other parties protected under Public Law 107-42. One such issue is the "collateral source" deduction set forth in the Interim Final Rule. Traditional tort recoveries to victims are typically "free" from federal income tax. In an attempt to follow suit, the Interim Final Rule seems to indicate that awards issued under the Fund will be "tax-free". That, however, will not necessarily be the current Interim Final Rule requirement that certain collateral sources be deducted from all such awards is applied. For example, the Interim Final provides that the Special Master shall reduce the amount of an award under the Fund by any "pension" that a victim "has received or is entitled to receive". The term "pension" is not clearly defined in either Public Law 107-42 or the Interim Final Rule. All the same, it would appear under Section 104.47 thereof that the Interim Final Rule adopts an all inclusive interpretation of term "pension". Even traditional individual retirement accounts (IRA) would arguably constitute collateral source compensation to be deducted from awards. Unlike Traditional tort recoveries, IRA distributions will not be "tax-free" to a victim's family. the new law exempting most victims form federal income and estate taxes does not change that fact. Under that law, individual retirement accounts remain taxable for purposes of federal income taxation (see the Technical Explanation). As a result, for the families of many victims, it cannot be said that an award under the Fund will be equal to a like award under the traditional tort process. An IRA is not a "pension" and should not be considered a "collateral source" under Public Law 107-42. In addition to individual retirement accounts, the collateral source provisions of the Fund should not include any insurance that was paid to a trust that does not grant a power of appointment to any family member, permit a victim's family to independently invade any principal of the trust or otherwise permit a family member to independently direct the disposition of any trust principal or income. Moreover, collateral sources (however defined) should be deducted against economic losses only, not the entire award. As a whole, the Interim Final Rule succeeds in certain respects but substantially fails in others. In the final analysis, unless the above changes are made to the Interim Final Rule, as well as other changes needed to ensure that claims for losses will be handled in an equitable way, victim's families will be unwilling to give up what is, for all intents and purposes, their most important right (i.e., the right to sue any responsible party). We sincerely appreciate the extraordinary and difficult work undertaken by the Department of Justice and Special Master Feinberg on behalf of WTC Victims. If I can be of any further assistance with respect to the September 11 Victims Compensation Fund, I will be honored to help and can be reached day or night. My telephone numbers are: , cell , and home . My fax number is and my e-mail address is or . Thank you in advance for your attention and courtesy. Very truly yours, Individual Comment Syracuse, 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 dojN002608.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. Monday, December 03, 2001 10:22 AM Victims Compensation Fund I am writing on my behalf and that of my retarded daughter, . , father was murdered aboard . , although my former husband was a constant source of financial and emotional strength to me and our daughter. It was his wish that we would receive at least a 200,000 amount upon his death from his estate (we have legal documents regarding this signed by a judge in ). saw at least once a week and is horribly missed. He was my friend and the father of our child. does not have any brothers or sisters and neither do I so it is just the two of us. I am feeling overwhelmed with sadness. I do not know how to file for this claim. Can you be of assistence? Thank you. Thank you. Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2001-12-03 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 dojA000271.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. 2001-12-03 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Saturday, March 16, 2002 5:34 PM To The September 11 Victim Compensation Fund I am outraged that gay and lesbian partners of those who died on September 11 are not automatically going to receive the same benefits as heterosexual spouses. This discrimination is un-American. And bigotry. You are making sure that fetuses and illegal aliens will be receiving benefits, you even promised to overlook federal law and not arrest and/or kick out the families of illegal aliens, nor will you punish American companies that hired illegals in violation of federal labor laws. It is time to recognize that ALL people, no matter their color, religion, ethnic back ground or sexual preference, are equal and should be treated with love and respect. The same Higher Power, by any name you call it, created all of us. Please reconsider your erroneous decision. Individual Comment Palm Springs, CA September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-16 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojR001137.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-03-16 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Monday, March 11, 2002 12:33 PM Horrible Undocumented illegal aliens get benefits but not survivors who are gay? Shame on all of you at the Department of Justice. The horrible bigotry actively practiced by you people is shameful and will be looked on by history as an injustice as large as Jim Crow. Fairness is required regardless of the state a person is from. Anything less is pure bigotry, and so, intolerable. Individual Comment Tukwila, WA 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 dojR000029.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. December 18, 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 Grass Valley, CA 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 dojA005439.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. 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 Berkeley, 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 dojA004018.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-12-13 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Department of Justice Emails Description An account of the resource The Department of Justice received more than 11,000 e-mails in response to the agency's public solicitation for comments upon its plans to distribute the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 established by Congress to benefit the victims of September 11 and their families. These e-mails have been organized here by date. September 11 Email September 11 Email: Body The basic content, as unstructured text; sometimes containing a signature block at the end. Saturday, March 16, 2002 4:52 PM (no subject) I am outraged that gay and lesbian partners of those who died on September 11 are not automatically going to receive the same benefits as heterosexual spouses. This is patent discrimination against individuals who suffered, who were courageous, and whose loved ones deserve compensation. Individual Comment September 11 Email: Date The local time and date when the message was written. 2002-03-16 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource dojR001103.xml 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. full Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. email Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-03-16