User:Proconorg/subpage
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ProCon.org is a nonpartisan, nonprofit, 501(c)(3) public benefit corporation whose purpose is to inform the public about controversial issues using facts, news, and hundreds of diverse opinions in a pro-con format.
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[edit] Overview
ProCon.org is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit public benefit corporation that has no government affiliations of any kind.
ProCon.org's purpose is educational. The organization does not express opinions on research projects, but believes that most people care about their community, their state and their country, have common sense and good judgment and can better exercise their actions if the large volume of data and rhetoric on an issue is reduced to a fairly crafted ProCon presentation.
ProCon.org's goal is to publish the best pro and con responses to core questions on a variety of complex topics.
[edit] Mission
ProCon.org's Mission Statement is: Promoting informed citizenship by presenting controversial issues in a simple, nonpartisan pro-con format.True to the way they always have.
[edit] Introduction
In 1984, Steven C. Markoff, Chairman and CEO of A-Mark Financial, and Maury Weiner, former chief deputy to then Los Angeles mayor, Tom Bradley, were discussing how difficult and time consuming it was to understand important public issues.
Specifically, separating rhetoric and opinion from facts and informed views can take hundreds of hours of research and is, therefore, practically impossible for the average citizen. Although it is the job of the media (newspapers, periodicals, television, radio, cable news programs and the internet) to define issues and present all sides, these are "for profit" organizations with a need to push their own agenda, which often conflicts with comprehensive and fair reporting.
Additionally, many of those in the news production business don't have the time, resources or inclination to adequately explore all sides of an issue and hit an editorial deadline.
On October 11, 1985 Maury and Steven incorporated a 501(c)(3) organization called the Association of Media Accuracy (AMA). The Association worked hard to find and present the best pro and con arguments to complex topics of national and international importance.
Mr. Markoff and Mr. Weiner's AMA and staff researched and issued two reports, printed in booklet form, at a cost of about $75,000 each. The reports were entitled:
- "Should Chief Justice Rose Bird Be Re-Confirmed In The Upcoming November 4, 1986 California Election?," issued in September of 1986, [1] and
- "How Practical Is Nuclear Power Now and For Our Future?," issued in May of 1988.
True to the original objective, neither of these publications drew any conclusions, encouraging readers to make their own decisions based on the best pro and con statements presented.
The reception for both of these publications was enthusiastic, but because of the cost involved in research and distribution, the organization was discontinued and its publications ended.
On May 16, 1990 the AMA was officially renamed the Pro/Con Foundation.
In 1996 the controversy over the use of medical marijuana was brought to Mr. Markoff's attention. He began asking questions about facts and issues in the debate and found that although many people had strong, if not emotional, views on the subject of medical marijuana, few seemed to have sound information on which to base their views or feelings.
Mr. Markoff then began his own research on some medical marijuana issues and published four informational booklets between May 1997 and August 1998 entitled:
- "State-by-State Marijuana Laws"
- "Addictiveness of Marijuana vs. Five Commonly Used Drugs"
- "Some Of The Drugs America Takes"
- "Marijuana's Contribution To Preventable Deaths In The U.S. In 1990"
In April 2002 Mr. Markoff launched MarijuanaInfo.org -- a website that set out the pros and cons in the medical marijuana debate in order to help all interested parties make their own more informed decisions.
Later in 2002 Mr. Markoff added pro-con websites on additional topics, and on May 1, 2002 the websites were formally taken over by The A-Mark Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit private foundation formed and funded in 1997 by Mr. and Mrs. Markoff.
On August 1, 2004, the ProCon websites were taken over by a new 501(c)(3) public benefit corporation, ProCon.org.
[edit] Issues
ProCon.org researches issues that it feels are complicated and important and works to present them in a balanced, comprehensive and straight forward pro-con format.
Currently, ProCon has websites focusing on the issues of Medical Marijuana, the ACLU, the war in Iraq, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance, Electronic Voting Machines, and the nature vs. nurture argument aspects of homosexuality. Additionally, ProCon has two archived sites (on Nuclear Power and Calfironia Justice Rose Bird), and two sites in development (on Euthanasia and Felon Voting Rights).
