Welcome! The A-Mark Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

Our mission is to present unbiased research on political and social topics in the following categories:

U.S. Presidents | Science & Health | Politics & Public Policy | Voting & Elections | Military | Discrimination | Housing | Sports | Environment

U.S. Presidents

1. AboutTrump.org (and Biden)  Partially Archived

A free, searchable database containing over 42,000 sourced quotes by and about Donald Trump and Joe Biden.

2. Barack Obama Facts and Stats  Archived

Information and facts covering Barack Obama’s birth, school, early years, and presidency.

3. George W. Bush Facts and Stats  Archived

Information and facts covering George W. Bush’s birth, school, early years, and presidency.

4. UPDATED: Special Investigations: U.S. Presidents

A report on special investigations of Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, H.W. Bush, Clinton, W. Bush, and Trump, by total cost, cost per day, investigation length, and related data.

5. Presidential Impeachments

An overview of the process for both impeachments of President Donald Trump, as compared to the impeachment processes for Presidents Andrew Johnson, Richard Nixon, and Bill Clinton.

6. U.S. Presidents and the Federal Deficit

A report examining the federal deficit (or surplus) by fiscal year rather than calendar year for each presidential term from 1981 to 2020.

Take the federal deficit quiz to test your knowledge.

Science & Health

7. Brains of Conservatives vs. Liberals

36 peer-reviewed neuroscience studies show that liberals and conservatives process the same data differently.

Take the brain quiz to test your knowledge.

8. OceanInfo.org  Archived

Links to third-party sites covering global and regional scientific information on our oceans. Last updated June 30, 2019.

9. Plastics, Pollution and Solutions

Plastic pollution is a problem that affects the entire world, polluting both land and water. See information on recycling issues as well as organizations and technologies dedicated to solving pollution.

10. Vaccine Mandates and Exemptions

A brief history of some of the vaccine mandates and exemptions in U.S. states, public schools, and the military since the founding of the nation.

Politics & Public Policy

11. NEW: Assessing the Impact of Urban Farming Initiatives in Los Angeles

In partnership with Pepperdine University, this report assesses the impact of ALMA Backyard Farms as an urban farming model to provide affordable produce to the community and job training to formerly incarcerated individuals.

12. Benghazi Attack Investigations  Archived

A cover up by the Left, the Right’s red herring, or…? Government investigations led to ten reports, and responding to the investigations reportedly cost the State Department $14 million.

13. How Much Influence Do Supreme Court Law Clerks Wield?

Supreme Court justices hand select law clerks to help with the Court’s work. The degree to which clerks impact the laws of the nation is up for debate.

Take the Supreme Court quiz to test your knowledge

14. How the ACA (Obamacare) Was Negotiated  Archived

Facts about the 427-day process of passing the Affordable Care Act, final vote tallies, “if you like your doctor” statements, and 19 taxes, revenue enhancements, penalties, and fees.

15. Mitch McConnell and the Federal Judiciary 

In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, this report examines how Sen. McConnell reshaped our judiciary into a conservative majority.

Take the quiz to find out if you can get an A-Mark.

16. U.S. Embargo on Cuba  Archived

A searchable database, in timeline format, containing over 600 sourced quotes about Cuba and the U.S. embargo of Cuba from government officials, journalists, authors and others.

17. NEW: When Prostitution Is Legalized, What Happens to Crime Rates?

Studies into the impact of legal prostitution (sex work) on crime show varying results in terms of sex worker safety, human trafficking, violent crimes, and drugs and homicides.

Take the prostitution and crime quiz to test your knowledge.

18. NEW: Why Can’t the U.S. and Mexico Halt the Drugs-to-Guns Pipeline?

Criminals in Mexico use money from drug sales to buy more guns to defend their operations, creating a cycle known as a drugs-to-guns pipeline. Why is it so hard to stop the flow of drugs and guns over the border?

Take the drugs-to-guns quiz to test your knowledge.

19. UPDATED: Who Funds the NRA?

Amidst allegations of financial mismanagement, bankruptcy filings and litigation, this report looks at who funds The National Rifle Association (NRA).

Take the quiz to test your knowledge about the NRA.

Voting & Elections

20. 2020Election.org 

A website looking at the question of whether the 2020 general election was free and fair by examining several foundations based in facts and data.

Take the election integrity quiz to find out if you can get an A-Mark.

21. Electoral College History: Five Losers That Won the Presidency

Explaining how the Electoral College functions, five times a candidate won despite losing the popular vote, and alternative methods for choosing the president.

Take the Electoral College quiz to find out if you can get an A-Mark.

22. Nader, Florida, and the 2000 Election  Archived

This report based primarily on math investigates whether third party candidate Ralph Nader or a confusing ballot design in Florida led to George W. Bush winning the 2000 presidential election.

Military

23. Afghanistan War: U.S. Deaths and Costs

The Afghanistan War led to the deaths of 2,456 U.S. military members and 3,923 U.S. Department of Defense contractors and civilians from 2001 to 2021, and cost an estimated $2.261 trillion.

24. NEW: Is Obesity a Threat to National Security?

Rising obesity rates in the U.S. are not just cause for concern about the overall health of the general public. Experts say that obesity will constitute a national security crisis if the military is unable to reach the staffing levels necessary to operate properly. 

25. September 11 and related events (9/11)

A searchable database of over 7,800 sourced quotes related to the 9/11 attacks: oil, George W. Bush, Saddam Hussein, al Qaeda, invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, torture, and much more.

Discrimination

26. Official Anti-Jewish Acts

A searchable database of over 2,500 Official Anti-Jewish Acts from 10/18/315 to 10/31/1969, including more than 2,000 non-Nazi Acts and hundreds of Nazi-era Acts from 1933 to 1945.

27. Racism, the National Anthem, and the NFL

Protests by athletes in the NFL and other sports raised the question: Is the National Anthem a proper symbol of America or a symbol of its racist past?

Sports

28. Racism, the National Anthem, and the NFL

Protests by athletes in the NFL and other sports raised the question: Is the National Anthem a proper symbol of America or a symbol of its racist past?

Housing

29. How Can Skid Row Toilets Be Kept Clean?

In partnership with the Los Angeles Mayor’s Office, the A-Mark Foundation funded a pilot program to collect data on the effectiveness of monitoring portable toilets installed on Skid Row in response to COVID-19.

30. NEW: How Useful Are Food Box Deliveries for Veterans Living in Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing?

We surveyed veterans in permanent supportive housing about the food box deliveries they receive from Village for Vets; 98.9% said their nutritional health has improved to some extent.

31. Survey of 100 People Experiencing Homelessness

When we asked 100 men and women experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles’s Skid Row what they would do about homelessness if they were mayor of Los Angeles, 62% of participants named housing as the top priority.

Take our Homelessness in California quiz to test your knowledge.

32. Tiny Home Villages to Combat Homelessness

A report on the construction and operating costs of tiny home villages built to decrease homelessness in Los Angeles. See how the average cost of $42,344 per bed compares to alternative solutions.

33. NEW: What Is the Impact of Low-Income Housing on Property Values?

Research into how low-income or affordable housing affects neighborhood property values generally finds either no impact, or a positive impact. Some studies have found a negative impact under specific conditions.

Take our housing quiz to test your knowledge.

Environment

34. OceanInfo.org  Archived

Links to third-party sites covering global and regional scientific information on our oceans.

35. Plastics, Pollution and Solutions  Archived

Plastic pollution is a problem that affects the entire world, polluting both land and water. See information on recycling issues as well as organizations and technologies dedicated to solving pollution.

AboutTrump.org (and Biden) was partially archived on 1/20/2021.

On Jan. 20, 2021, Donald Trump’s presidency ended and Joe Biden became president. As of that date, this site contained over 42,000 sourced comments and quotes, with an estimated 92.4% by or about Trump, compared to 7.6% by or about Biden. “Partially archived” means that the site is no longer being updated daily, but we may occasionally add quotes relating to Trump or Biden that seem relevant to the context of the Trump presidency.

Archived: A research project or website is marked as archived when we consider the work to be good enough and have stopped updating it (except for minor updates from time to time), if we believe that: (1) the project or website material is no longer current enough; or (2) there is better information on the issue easily available on the internet.

ObamaInfo.org was archived on 1/19/2017.

Barack Obama’s last full day as president was January 19, 2017, and Donald Trump was inaugurated on January 20, 2017. The topic was archived at that time because there was no longer new information about Obama’s presidency to add to the site.

Archived: A research project or website is marked as archived when we consider the work to be good enough and have stopped updating it (except for minor updates from time to time), if we believe that: (1) the project or website material is no longer current enough; or (2) there is better information on the issue easily available on the internet.

BushInfo.org was archived on 1/7/2016.

This site offers information and facts about George W. Bush’s birth, education, early political career, and presidency. As of January 7, 2016, we considered the research on this topic to be complete.

Archived: A research project or website is marked as archived when we consider the work to be good enough and have stopped updating it (except for minor updates from time to time), if we believe that: (1) the project or website material is no longer current enough; or (2) there is better information on the issue easily available on the internet.

OceanInfo.org was archived on 6/30/2019.

The goal of this site was to pull together (aggregate) seemingly reliable information on the conditions of our oceans and their vital parts. As of June 30, 2019, we considered our research on this topic to be complete.

Archived: A research project or website is marked as archived when we consider the work to be good enough and have stopped updating it (except for minor updates from time to time), if we believe that: (1) the project or website material is no longer current enough; or (2) there is better information on the issue easily available on the internet.

Benghazi Attack Investigations was archived on 3/1/2017.

This topic covered government reports about the attacks on the US diplomatic and CIA compounds in Benghazi, Libya, on September 11-12, 2012. Results of the government investigations were released from 2012 through 2016. Our report was originally dated March 1, 2017, and was updated on January 13, 2022. There are no plans for further updates.

Archived: A research project or website is marked as archived when we consider the work to be good enough and have stopped updating it (except for minor updates from time to time), if we believe that: (1) the project or website material is no longer current enough; or (2) there is better information on the issue easily available on the internet.

Was the ACA (Obamacare) Negotiated by the Democrats in Secret, and Did They Keep Republicans Out of That Negotiations Process on Purpose? was archived on 7/30/2017.

This report explored facts of the 427-day process of the ACA (Obamacare) becoming law, including the final vote tallies, the “if you like your doctor” statements, the compromises, and the 19 taxes, penalties, fees, revenue enhancements, and deduction eliminations. Our report is dated July 30, 2017, at which point we considered the research to be complete.

Archived: A research project or website is marked as archived when we consider the work to be good enough and have stopped updating it (except for minor updates from time to time), if we believe that: (1) the project or website material is no longer current enough; or (2) there is better information on the issue easily available on the internet.

CubanEmbargo.org was archived as of 11/8/2017.

The goal of this website was to make it a bit easier to understand a bit of Cuban history and to add sunlight to the U.S. embargo of Cuba and related events and actions. As of November 8, 2017, we considered our research on this topic to be complete.

Archived: A research project or website is marked as archived when we consider the work to be good enough and have stopped updating it (except for minor updates from time to time), if we believe that: (1) the project or website material is no longer current enough; or (2) there is better information on the issue easily available on the internet.

2000 U.S. Presidential Election: Analysis of the Impact of Ralph Nader and One Florida County’s Confusing Ballot Design was archived on 11/9/2020.

The initial research was conducted in 2014, and the paper was revised in November 2020. We have archived this topic because we consider the research to be complete.

Archived: A research project or website is marked as archived when we consider the work to be good enough and have stopped updating it (except for minor updates from time to time), if we believe that: (1) the project or website material is no longer current enough; or (2) there is better information on the issue easily available on the internet.

Plastics, Pollution & Solutions: Recycling Programs and Solutions was archived as of 6/29/2019, with a slight revision on 2/9/2022, 3/16/2022, and 11/3/2022.

Our last research update was done on June 29, 2019, at which point we considered our research on this topic to be complete. Slight revisions were made during the process of transferring the report to a webpage on February 9, 2022, and partial updates to the data were added on March 16, 2022 and November 3, 2022.

Archived: A research project or website is marked as archived when we consider the work to be good enough and have stopped updating it (except for minor updates from time to time), if we believe that: (1) the project or website material is no longer current enough; or (2) there is better information on the issue easily available on the internet.