Perspectives Matter... A McCuistion Program

Perspectives Matter #5005 - The Epidemic of Youth and Sports Gambling

In this episode of Perspectives Matter, “The Epidemic of Youth and Sports Gambling,” host Jim Falk sits down with Les Bernal of Stop Predatory Gambling and Saul Malik from the Texas Coalition on Problem Gambling to pull back the curtain on America’s growing sports betting crisis among young adults and children. With online gambling accessible 24/7 and sports betting legalized in 38 states, the ease and normalization of gambling are taking a dramatic toll—financially, emotionally, and socially.
Bernal reveals how aggressive marketing, university complicity, and government partnerships are fueling an epidemic of addiction, while Malik shares his personal journey from casual bettor to recovery advocate.
Listeners will discover alarming statistics, real-life stories, and practical advice for spotting signs of gambling harm, alongside urgent calls for public health action and reform.
This episode is essential listening for parents, educators, policymakers, and anyone concerned about the well-being of our youth.

Perspectives Matter | Dick Armey: His and Our American Future

Former House Majority Leader, Dick Armey, Ph.D., joins Dennis McCuistion in our third program based on his life and service in politics.
From telephone lineman, to Professor of Economics, to being elected to Congress in 1984, his story and his service to our country are exceptional.
Armey spent 10 years in Congress, and became House Majority leader in 1995.He says of his leaving that position: “It was time for me to move on, especially given the circumstances. We had a speaker who thought he was a speaker for his president, which is absolutely wrong!”
#DickArmey #dennismccuistion #perspectivesmatter #mccuistiontv
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If you want to catch up on any past McCuistion programs, you can watch them at your convenience by visiting https://perspectivesmatter.com/.
Please remember that Perspectives Matter... a McCuistion Program is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization that receives no KERA pledge dollars, PBS funds, or government grants. The funding that has kept us on the air for 30 years comes from grantors and viewers like you. So thank you, most especially in this critical time, for your continued support. We appreciate you.

Perspectives Matter | Dick Armey: House Majority Leader

Dick Armey joins Host Dennis McCuistion in part two of the three-part Dick Armey series.
He became House majority leader in 1995, the year he published The Freedom Revolution.
We will focus on how Republicans took over the majority in the House in 1994 and how they and Bill Clinton did something that has not been done since.
With few exceptions, every law that was passed in Congress for eight years required Majority Leader Dick Armey’s decision to put it on the floor of the U. S. House of Representatives.
We gain an inside view of how Congress works.
 
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If you want to catch up on any past McCuistion programs, you can watch them at your convenience by visiting https://perspectivesmatter.com/.
Please remember that Perspectives Matter... a McCuistion Program is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization that receives no KERA pledge dollars, PBS funds, or government grants. The funding that has kept us on the air for 30 years comes from grantors and viewers like you. So thank you, most especially in this critical time, for your continued support. We appreciate you.

Dick Armey: From Economist to Congressman

Joining Host Dennis McCuistion is Dick Armey, Ph.D., Former House Majority Leader, and Congressman, author of Leader, his autobiography.
Growing up in Cando, N. Dakota, one of his first jobs at age 18 or so was repairing phone lines. One morning, 30 feet up in on a telephone pole, at 3 a.m., in a sleet storm, 30 degrees below zero, he looked in the distance at the lights of town, where everyone was warm in their beds decided that was it.
He would not do this for the rest of his life. It was a life-changing decision. He was going to college. And he did, studying economics.
A book on Microeconomics by Richard Leski was another game changer. That set his course.
Another standout in his life was Adam Smith’s A Wealth of Nations. Smith, a creator of discipline in economics, said that the wealth of a nation is the productivity of its people.
The book talks about a concept- the Invisible Hand of the market.
On a prior program Dick Armey was on with us, Dennis asked him, “Can you run and win and keep your integrity?” Armey answered with a resounding yes.
Join us for the first glimpse into a man who changed the Republican party.

Perspectives Matter - The Challenges with DEI

2024 was not a good year for DEI. It’s become a controversial topic, with companies and educational institutions which once embraced Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Many are openly withdrawing their support.
Is DEI dead?
Major companies, Target, Walmart, Meta, McDonald's have rolled back their initiatives in the wake of a Republican-driven effort to eliminate such efforts.
Not so long ago, all but 14 Fortune 500 companies had a DEI statement, a DEI department, or mentioned it in their annual report. That’s no longer the case. When corporate leaders are asked to define DEI, they struggle.
DEI programs first began to surface during the implementation of affirmative action initiatives, which served to address the historical underrepresentation and mistreatment of certain groups.
According to the House of Representatives' Committee on Education & Workforce, the Department of Education spent $1 billion on DEI programs in schools during Biden's presidency.
Joining Host Jim Falk to  talk about this issue  are :
Dr. Erec Smith, a research fellow at the Cato Institute and President of Free Black Thought, an organization that celebrates viewpoint diversity among Black Americans and
Dr. Meagan Mobbs, a West Point graduate, and a former Army officer.  She is the director of the Center for American Safety and Security.
We asked  our experts to explain how DEI went from becoming an essential component of good corporate governance to now being
the subject of debate and intense scrutiny.
The Society for Human Resource Management recently removed the “E” (equity. Why did the term equity become the flashpoint, drawing the most criticism?
Join us to find out more about DEI initiatives and why they have become so polarized.

Tariffs: How They Affect the Economy and Trade

Joining Host Jim Falk are:
Donald Boudreaux, Ph.D., a professor of Economics at George Mason University and a senior fellow at George Mason’s Mercatus Center, a research center with a focus on economic markets, and
Jeff Ferry, chief economist emeritus at the Coalition for a Prosperous America, a nonprofit that represents exclusively domestic producers.
Tariffs, which President Trump describes as the most beautiful word in the dictionary is our focus. Unquestionably the administration’s position on tariffs is a key component of the administration’s overall economic and trade policy one which will likely affect our pocketbook.
While Tariffs have been around a while, they are today reaching a new level: either applied or threatened against not just our foes but our closest allies and major trading partners.
Economists are sharply divided on their effectiveness and ability to incentivize domestic manufacturing; reduce the trade deficit, or generate income that could be applied to reduce other taxes and protect our strategic national interests.
Others view them to be inflationary and potentially expose U.S. consumers and companies to retaliations from countries toward which they are directed on economic markets against tariffs.
Whether what is truly a tax will accomplish the desired outcome remains to be seen. Success or failure is also dependent on how other countries react/ retaliate as we have already seen.
Equally important is will U.S. companies make the investment to build manufacturing that had been lost during the peak of globalization.
And what about the consumer and his/ her pocketbook and purchasing power?
Join us for a spirited conversation with perspectives both for and against tariffs.
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Has Woke Won?

Joining Host Dennis McCuistion is Joanna Williams, author of How Woke Won: The Elite Movement That Threatens Democracy, Tolerance and Reason.
Ms. Williams claims that wokeness has conquered our institutions – from politics to corporations. And that wokeness has captured how our country thinks, acts, and functions on a daily basis.
She argues that anyone interested in building a truly free, egalitarian, and democratic society needs to confront wokeness whenever they see it – head-on.
Join us to learn more about what she says woke actually is and how it has infiltrated our society. And why she thinks we should confront it.
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Freedom in the U.S.: Can It Be Measured?

Freedom represents the foundation of the United States.
The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution identifies four essential freedoms: freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and to petition government and freedom of the press.
Can freedom be measured or categorized? Are some states more free than others?
The American Institute for Economic Research, thinks it can be measured and for almost two decades has issued a report ranking economic and personal freedoms for each of our 50 states.
Joining Host Jim Falk to talk about what freedom means today are:
Laura Prather, the head of the Media Practice Group at Haynes and Boone. She is a specialist in First Amendment law. Laura was recently named a Fulbright Scholar where she worked with Reporters Without Borders helping to educate on the pros and cons of freedom of expression laws in the U.S. and the EU advocating for greater protections globally, and
Jason Sorens, Ph.D., a Senior Research Fellow at the American Institute for Economic Research (AIER). His research has focused on housing policy and land-use regulation, fiscal federalism, and U.S. state politics.
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Hunger in the USA: Is It Fixable?

Here’s a surprising fact: Dallas, ranks as the 18th wealthiest city in the world but has the 3rd highest number of people in the nation –facing food insecurity, that’s 1.2 million people or 1 in 7 individuals lack access to sufficient food to live productive lives.
Texas now leads the country in hunger. How can 44 million people in the U.S. be unsure of where their next meal will come from, here in one of the richest countries in the world?
Joining Host Jim Falk to talk about this problem, the root causes of food insecurity, and discover who is affected and learn what steps are and can be taken to reduce, if not eliminate it from our society, are:
Trisha Cunningham, the President & CEO of the North Texas Food Bank. She joined the Food Bank in July 2017 coming from Texas Instruments where she served in several key senior positions in the company communications area.
Matt Dufrene, vice president at Texas Health Resources, where his responsibility is to improve the health of the people in the communities in the areas served by THR. He leads Fort Worth’s Blue Zones Project, an initiative we will be talking about.
And Crystal Fitzsimons, the interim president at FRAC, Food Research and Action Center, an organization that for more than a half-century has worked to end hunger through advocacy and innovative policy solutions. Ms. Fitzsimons has written and testified frequently on the importance SchoolMeals4All.
Join us to learn more about this issue.
 
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Perspectives Matter | The Presidential Office: It's Influence and Power Today

Running for elected office requires certain skills, governing requires others.
Beginning in the 20th century as methods of communication evolved from radio to television and now podcast, it seems the rules of governing have changed.
The demands of our highest office have also changed. Are we expecting too much of our elected leaders?
Joining host Jim Falk to talk about the evolving landscape and the power presidents hold are: Jeremi Suri, Ph.D., Historian, Professor Department of History, the University of Texas at Austin, author of The Impossible Presidency, and John Lawrence, Ph.D., visiting professor, University of California, Washington Center, author of The Arc of Power: Inside Nancy Pelosi’s Speakership - 2005- 2010.
#PresidentialOffice #power #Influence #jimfalk #jeremisuri #johnlawrence #perspectivesmatter #mccuistiontv
 
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If you want to catch up on any past McCuistion programs, you can watch them at your convenience by visiting https://perspectivesmatter.com/.
Please remember that Perspectives Matter... a McCuistion Program is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization that receives no KERA pledge dollars, PBS funds, or government grants. The funding that has kept us on the air for 30 years comes from grantors and viewers like you. So thank you, most especially in this critical time, for your continued support. We appreciate you.