Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) said that America does not want to lose the artificial intelligence race to communist China (Photo Credit: @JonGuevara/@OurVoces).
Great movie franchises often get the trilogy treatment, not just a simple sequel.
Therefore, the Texas Tribune Festival (TribFest) would not satisfy many if it only had two installments.
It needed a third installment, aka a third day, and that is just what it gets annually.
However, the second day, Sept. 24, provided so much intrigue, that one article would not suffice.
Many people often wondered how different America would have looked at Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. would have entered politics.
King used his pulpit at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta and the streets of racist cities in America to talk about love, unity and humanity.
While King did not use his position as pastor at Ebenezer to pursue a career in politics, Sen. Raphael Warnock has.
And despite politics often being anything but godly, Sen. Warnock has managed to shift some of the conversations in Washington, D.C. without letting the nation’s capital shift his morals and values.
Like many Black pastors throughout the South, and probably beyond, Warnock emphasizes that God is not the providence of the political right.
Over several decades, Republican politicians have done an effective job of casting themselves as godly, while casting their Democratic colleagues as godly.
Many Republicans have used issues like abortion, same sex marriage and gender identity as proof of their alignment with God, and the Democrats’ alignment with sin and evil.
But politicians like Warnock and Texas state Rep. James Talarico have recently thrown a monkey wrench at those talking points with their experience in the pulpit and seminary.
While no political party has a monopoly on Biblical principles, many of the Democratic platform issues like protecting the planet, helping the poor and welcoming the immigrant align with Christ’s teachings as much as the culture war issues preached by the political right.
The fact that many in both parties are attempting to do God’s will may be one of the reasons why Warnock wrote a book entitled The Crooked Places Made Straight: Reflections on the Moral Meaning of America, which began as a sermon from the book of Isaiah, to bring people together despite ideological differences.
At the 2026 Tribune Festival, Warnock said that we are all family.
Unfortunately, families often have complicated stories.
While many people may look at certain politicians and media companies as the culprit behind the division in America, Warnock sees the Citizens United legal case as public enemy number one.
In 2010, the United States Supreme Court ruled that it violated the First Amendment to prohibit independent expenditures by companies or unions in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission.
As a result, elections and politicians have been influenced by an exorbitant amount of money coming from the wealthiest people.
Meanwhile, much of the legislation that is passed benefits the wealthiest Americans, while adversely affecting everyday working Americans.
But despite the dark days that America has experienced politically recently, Warnock believes that rainbows come after storms.
Therefore, he envisions brighter days ahead for America.
When asked what future days hold for him politically, such as the possibly the presidency, Warnock jokingly responded that the Homeowners Association (HOA) needs a good president.
As the preacher, and other speakers, concluded their sermon on the second day, the TribFest resurrected on the third day to hear from more of America’s most influential figures.
The third day of the Trib Fest, Sept. 25, began with a discussion on “How Should We Regulate AI?”
The panel included Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-Texas), Sherri Greenberg, assistant dean and professor at the LBJ School of Public Affairs and Chris Hyams, former CEO of Indeed and Guardrails Alliance Founding Board member.
Rep. Arrington said that America wants to win the artificial intelligence race.
Furthermore, the country does not want to lose the A.I. race to communist China, according to the congressperson from Lubbock, Texas.
While many people do not believe that A.I. should be regulated, Hyams thinks that it is ludicrous that people are even debating whether the technology should be regulated.
Another topic of discussion on the third day of the 2026 TribFest was “Who Decides What Texas Universities Teach?
Lisa Limeri, a former science professor at Texas Tech University said the politics concerning “woke” has thrown a wrench into her career.
Ivan Chaar Lopez, assistant professor of American Studies at University of Texas at Austin called the current climate surrounding academia as political interference.
Limeri said that academic freedom is protected by the First Amendment.
She said that political interference has made it difficult to teach scientific accurate information.
Limeri said political interference has made it hard to even research important scientific questions.
She asked the crowd gathered at St. David’s Episcopal Church, why should politicians know more about science than her, an actual science professor and expert in the field.
RegalMag.com concluded its coverage of TribFest 2026 by listening to Karl Rove discuss the future of the Republican Party.
Walking up to First Baptist Church, some attendees outwardly labeled Rove a RINO, a term that President Donald Trump often uses for his GOP critics, which means a Republican in name only.
To those accusations, Rove asked where were his critics when he was working to build the Republican Party?
Rove said that the modern Republican Party has been infiltrated by bigots like Nick Fuentes and Bo French.
The latter made racist comments about University of Texas students, who happened to be South Asian.
Because of French’s racist social media post, Rove has decided to vote for his Democratic challenger, Jon Rosenthal for Texas Railroad Commission
Thus concluded the 2026 Texas Tribune Festival.
Fireworks erupted as organizers arguably saved the best for last.
As people often say, the third time is the charm.
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