Allah Skywalker, also known as Allah Gold, was sent by the Presbyterian Church to seduce Speaker D so he can find compromising information about him. This backfired, since Gold, resentful of his lack of respect among members of the Church, joined forces with Speaker D in his plan to form the Empire of the First Choice "to ensure the future safety with prospers". This was all part of D's long scheme to further his own power by legalizing religion.

Here is the beginning of an explanation for what I just said:
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/WebOriginal/TheStarWarGatherings

He cut his hand off in defence of Palpatine (who had ostensibly surrendered), and Palpatine murdered him by throwing him off a building.

After that, I guess Anakin's guilt for his role in Windu's death and his mistrust of the Jedi - and presumably he expected that he wouldn't exactly be welcomed back into the Order after defending a Sith Lord against a Jedi Master - led to him deciding "what the hell" and jumping off the slippery slope.

Actually, a comparison comes to mind - Redcloak, from The Order of the Stick. Like Anakin, Redcloak has a goal, and an exquisitely monstrous person offering him a path to that goal. And they both end up doing terrible things for that person in order to achieve their goal - Redcloak kills his own little brother; Anakin in complicit in the death of Mace Windu. That then leaves them with no excuse for their behaviour, so they cling to achieving their goals instead, in the service of the evil creature who they pretend to themselves can help them achieve it.

So that's it - Anakin defends a Sith from a Jedi in the heat of the moment, then continues to serve Palpatine because that gives him an excuse for his inexcusable behaviour - "it's to save my wife".

Of course, it's a selfish goal, because Anakin is ultimately pretty selfish.

And another thought, about the younglings - Anakin's super arrogant, and arrogance hates being judged. Wiping out the Jedi order was possibly, on Anakin's part, a desperate attempt to avoid being judged for his actions. In that light, the apprentices weren't children - they were part of the group which would seek to judge Anakin for his actions, and thus targets.

Of course, this was all ultimately precipitated by Palpatine's (and Jar Jar's) careful stroking of his ego and infatuation with Padmé. There was probably some subtle Force Suggestion involved, too.

In summary: Annie's an arrogant, selfish person who accidentally touched the slippery slope and then went "what the hell" because he didn't want his feelings hurt.

First, his upbringing. Anakin is an exceptional Jedi, immensely talented and extremely powerful. It teaches him a kind of arrogance, a belief that he really can do anything. And after all, why not? He's the Chosen One. Obi-Wan recognizes this, but his attempts to keep him humble only lead to Anakin feeling starved for recognition, which he receives not from his Master or from the Jedi, but from the Chancellor.

Which leads nicely into point two, the Clone Wars. Anakin's fatal flaw throughout the Prequel trilogy has always been his fear of loss. During the Clone Wars, Anakin loses friend after friend after friend, whther they be Clone Troopers or Jedi. In addition, his accomplishments as a general are still not recognized by the Jedi. Enter, Palpatine, who is there to encourage and manipulate him every single time the Jedi disappoint him. Over the course of the war his faith in the Council is shaken, his fear of loss is intensified, and his trust of Palpatine grows.

Finally, we come to the revelation that Palpatine is a Sith. Despite his trust in the Chancellor, despite his fear of losong Padmé, Anakin still does the right thing. He goes to Mace Windu and informs him of Palpatine's true nature. He sacrifices what he believes may be his only chance to save his wife, and Windu benches him. Anakin is one of the Order's best warriors, he knows Palpatine better than any other Jedi, he is without doubt their best chance at successfully taking Palpatine into custody, and Windu tells him to stay put.

So, when the final confrontation comes, Anakin walks in to find that not only was he right, the Masters who went to arrest the Chancellor did need his help, but the only survivor of the attempt is about to murder the Head of State of the Galactic Republic in cold blood, in violation of the Jedi Code. The same Code that has tormented Anakin ever since he began his relationship with Padmé, seems to be worth nothing even to a member of the Jedi Council.
At this point, Anakin has lost what little faith he has left in the Jedi, and once Windu is dead, he has, in his mind, already gone too far to go back on serving Palpatine. The rest, as they say, is history.

There's a quote from Knights of the Old Republic that I think could pretty well serve as the thesis statement for all of Star Wars, "Love doesn't lead to the dark side. Passion can lead to rage and fear, and can be controlled... but passion is not the same thing as love. Controlling your passions while being in love... that's what they should teach you to beware. But love itself will save you... not condemn you."
―Jolee Bindo

Fits pretty well, I think. Anakin fears losing Padmé, and his attempts to save her are what kill her. the Jedi fear that strong emotions will lead their members to the Dark Side, but their detachment only turns their members against them. Obi-Wan fears failing to teach Anakin, and his attempts to avoid that are what drive Anakin to Palpatine. The final act of the Original Trilogy is Luke overcoming his fear and anger to become a Jedi, and it's his father's love for him that saves him, and by extension, the galaxy.

Apologies if this a bit rambly and/or typo ridden, in a bit of rush at the moment, but I just couldn't help but chime in. What can I say, I'm a Prequel fan at heart.

Or at least, betrayed first.

I don't doubt for a second that the love between Anakin and Padmé was real. I think Anakin knew, in his heart, that their relationship was good for both of them . . .

. . . And yet, his fellow Jedi are always talking about how love is bad, feelings are bad, getting attached to people is bad . . .

And when Padmé's life was threatened, at least in Anakin's dream-visions, and he feared for her safety, what help did he get from his Jedi teammates? None. Let that person go. Focus on upholding social and political order. The system that Anakin had lived within since the age of ten gave him no help, no way to protect the one person he cared for the most.

It's not that Palpatine was so very charming or persuasive to Anakin. It's that Palpatine was throwing Anakin literally the only rope, the only possible way out. The Jedi betrayed Anakin first.

(At least in his mind.)

As for attacking the younglings, and later Padmé herself? I'll admit, neither of those really follow from my reading. It may be that the intense guilt Anakin felt from helping to kill Mace allowed Palpatine to further influence his mind in a way he hadn't been able to before. Or maybe, even more darkly, finally throwing off the rigid tenets of the Jedi code from his moral being led Anakin to finally succumb to the desire for power he had already been entertaining before that point (and a desire that was already tied to his love for Padmé, wanting to be strong enough to protect her). But due to the nature of the Force in that universe, the obsession with power finally corrupted his heart to the point that it eclipsed even the love that had originally fueled it.

—doctorlit, rather fond of the prequels

I believe the real message is the danger of trying to defy destiny. He ended up killing her himself and fulfilling his nightmares of her dying. The novelization (which is excellent) implies that he thought she was in an affair with Obi-wan. And also that he was so wrapped up in thinjing about himself that he didn't stop to think about her. Which, quoth the epilogue, is the real revenge of the Sith, for now himself is all he will ever have as he wakes up as Darth Vader.