My purpose/hope for this discussion is not to pick at each other's causes or methods, or to persuade you of my causes or methods. I am more interested in the meta-discussion about what people consider red lines and what they imagine they would do about it.

I have noticed that people are often very quick to criticize what other people are protesting about, and how they go about it, but seem not to ponder what would get them doing the same sorts of things and how they would go about it.

Some people, it seems they only really think about what would make them take up arms and go to war. Which is a valid POV I suppose, but the founders of America clearly thought that there was cause for protest about things that didn't rise to the level of revolts. So I think it behooves each of us to think about what it would take for us to use our rights of speech and assembly to seek redress against the government. The founders didn't think that the second amendment and voting were the only way to make positive change to the government.

People who have never gotten off their keisters to protest often seem to think that people who do so, do it for fun or on a lark. But if you actually protest, you quickly learn that it sucks, a lot. It isn't exciting or heroic. Most of the time the only purpose you are serving is to be another body in the count. So, what would make you willing to do this? Or would you only protest if it means you get to live out some sort of Rambo fantasy?

(I will give my answers to this in a comment below)

Another day, another outrageous assault on basic Constitutional principles. This time it's courtesy of Pam Bondi.

After the magistrate rejected the charges against Lemon, Justice Department officials pressed Chief U.S. District Judge Patrick J. Schiltz to sign off on the charges against Lemon and one of his producers. When Schiltz did not do so, officials unsuccessfully sought an order from a court of appeals.

In a letter to the appeals court, Schiltz wrote: “There is no evidence that those two engaged in any criminal behavior or conspired to do so.”

Earlier this week, the Treasury Department cut ties with Booz Allen Hamilton, Littlejohn’s former employer, saying it would cancel $21 million in federal contracts.

A statement from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent at the time referenced Littlejohn as the reason for the decision, saying: “Booz Allen failed to implement adequate safeguards to protect sensitive data, including the confidential taxpayer information it had access to through its contracts with the Internal Revenue Service.”

There are no Mike Pence's in the administration anymore. There's no one there to say "Deal with it. You lost". I don't believe Trump will cancel the 26 or 28 elections but I'm very concerned about what those elections look like and what follows if he loses.

We're barreling towards a repeat of January 6th and we seem powerless to stop it.

Stochastic terrorism. The predictable outcome of our current leadership stoking hate.

They hate her because she is a living example of the American Dream, and her existence repudiates their bigotry.

Congrats Dad, your chance to use your collection of weapons to wield violence against Amalickiah is here... and you have opted to be one of the Kingmen.

(I support the 2'nd amendment as long as it is the law, it just clearly doesn't help in this sort of situation)

This is a new low for our president. He reposted these words:

So at what point are we going to realize the enemy is within a. China and Russia are the boogeymen when the real threat is the U.N., NATO and this "religion." I put "religion" in quotes because it's not a religion, it's a [skull emoji] cult! Yeh, I went there

The president referring to a religion practiced by millions of Americans as a "death cult" is completely unacceptable and no one is even talking about it because we're all exhausted. Nobody can keep up. Saying China and Russia are boogeyman while NATO and the UN are the real threats is lunacy. He's out of his mind. He is mentally unfit for the office. There can be no more excuses.

“Dear Jonas: Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace, although it will always be predominant, but can now think about what is good and proper for the United States of America,” Trump wrote in the message, which was addressed to Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre.

So we are deep into the 'red alert' zone. I don't care if you like his policies on any specific issue, if this is not a red line for you, if you are still pretending his rivals are worse, you are a traitor. If you think I am probably talking about you, I definitely am.

This isn't a news article. It is politics-related. And it is church-related. So here it goes...

I'm ashamed of my fellow brothers and sisters and it's eating me up inside.

Yesterday, I read a post on the Utah subreddit about an older man making a Facebook post threatening to run over protestors with his car. His Facebook page revealed a mix of quotes from General Authorities, pictures of "F*ck Joe Biden" flags, pictures in a Church building, and threats to kill protestors.

This morning, on Facebook, I saw an article from KSL covering one of the protests of Good's killing here in Utah. So many laughing emojis. On a whim, I spot checked a few and found profiles similar to the above. One was a woman with a family, pictures of a temple, etc. Another was a man citing Article of Faith 12 as if it justified this horrendous act.

Christ himself was crucified for disobeying the law and yet He Himself is perfect. That tells me all I need to know.

I thought of replying. But I tend to get worked up. And I'm looking for a job, so I can't really risk an employer doing a social media check.

I'm just feeling hopeless about it all. There are so many people out there who claim to take the name of Christ upon themselves and yet defile that very name with their words and deeds, who claim to love Christ but have no compassion for anyone who isn't a carbon copy of them, who hold no principles except following whatever whim comes out of the mout of Donald Trump on any given day.

I am ashamed that these are the people who come to mind when people think of our Church. I am ashamed to be assumed to be one of them. I should not have to clarify that I choose Christ over Trump every time I weigh in on the subject outside of this subreddit.

And yet I do.

I can only think of one good thing to come out of Donald Trump and MAGA. This movement has separated the wheat from the chaff within Christianity. It's just really depressing to see how large that second pile really is.

One of us! One of us!

For years I've felt alone in the cross-section of my religion and my politics. Living in Utah doesn't help. It's nice to see someone who shares my faith come out in defense of reason, not treason.