Hanson offers a spot on analysis of what is happening in Portland, OR. Yet the problem runs much deeper than even his excellent analysis posits; it is not just a “Democrat or Left problem,” perverse and bizarre as the party has become; rather, it is a problem of the human condition that we all share. At it’s core, it is the spirit of lawlessness and chaos unleashed that have gripped this country and that stem from rebellious and sinful hearts that we inherited in and through the Fall (Genesis 1-3), and barring God’s merciful and gracious intervention on our behalf, our country his headed for (self-) destruction. This is one of the ways God’s terrible judgment plays out on nations that forsake his laws (see, e.g., Romans 1.18-32; 2 Thessalonians 2.9-12) and it is a fearsome and terrible thing to behold, especially for those involved. Pray to Christ that this does not ultimately happen to us to destroy the high ideals that made this nation great in the first place. Secularism isn’t the answer. Neither is rejection of our Judeo-Christian heritage—these two factors helped get us where we are! No, only repentance and spiritual renewal after the manner of Christ can save us, and then only through the sheer mercy and grace of God the Father. Other nations have been down this path before and it rarely if ever is pretty. Let all who love this country humble themselves and commit to regular prayer and fasting, that the Lord might be merciful to us and spare us. Lord have mercy on us. Christ have mercy on us. Lord have mercy on us. For those with ears to hear, listen and understand.

In blue cities across America — Portland, Oregon, especially — often violent protesters now seek to surround ICE facilities to stop federal officers from fulfilling their assigned and legal duties of arresting illegal aliens.

Some 10 million or more illegal aliens were allowed to enter the U.S. during the Joe Biden years — illegally and thus without criminal or health checks.

Neither Antifa nor liberal urban America objected to such a flagrant disregard for the law. But both are now as intent on obstructing the legal enforcement of the law as they were earlier in favor of its illegal non-enforcement.

Much less did they care about the consequences of sending millions of foreign nationals into cities and counties where they swamped social services, spiked crime, and flooded emergency rooms and schools.

ICE has repeatedly presented data that show in its first rounds of deportations, it is concentrating on removing either criminal illegal aliens or those who have already been processed with deportation orders, somewhere between 70 and 90% of all current apprehensions.

No matter.

Left-wing protesters are swarming ICE headquarters in Portland to violently oppose all deportations, even those of known criminals and those who have already exhausted efforts to remain here illegally.

…The reigning moralistic assumption is that ceding territory to terrorists, not enforcing local and state laws, and nullifying federal statutes are all small prices to pay for the larger projection of chaos and violence that can be blamed on Trump.

Such thinking entails utter indifference to any Portlanders who live near the siege and are nightly subjected to constant disruptions, harassment, and occasional violence. Do these law-abiding residents have fewer civil rights than the lawbreaking armies of the night?

In contrast, the use of federal troops to stop the siege of ICE facilities will remind the violent protesters of the left that their neo-Confederate tactics will not work, but instead subject them to arrest and federal indictments.

Bringing in federal forces to uphold the law will also protect the rights of ICE personnel and neighborhood residents to live in peace and security and have their constitutional protections secured. Not all American citizens are Portlanders, but all Portland citizens are Americans.

In other words, both Antifa and the appeasing Oregon officials are our new neo-Confederate secessionists. They feel that their states are now autonomous entities that are still entitled to federal money but not obligated to follow federal laws.

Read and reflect on it all.