Replying to your points about the Unioners, the reasons for the ZoI extension could be the following:
There might be an embargo, but navy transports are still moving useful toys into New Hampshire. Liberating a few of those, maybe even wandering into Yukon or whichever system connects Quebec and Texas for the exact reason to pirate the tools could be beneficial.
Disrupting the supplies of the Liberty Navy could also be advantageous because with a Navy victory, the Unioners in Bering would be regulated more heavily. I recall reading a rumor or news article regarding this subject, indicating that one of reasons of the Liberty Navy assault to the independent systems is because the Rheinland Military never gave a damn about Hudson and Bering's security.
That's the way I see it. The Navy want to come down hard on you, you hit back. Pirating stuff in Texas (such as supply vessels) could mean a worthy retaliation. You get raged and yelled at? Then don't do it spontaneously, make sure RP background precedes the increasing amount of Liberty incursions. It's not like they can do anything but banning the diamond trade or shooting back, both of which the Navy already did.
On the final note, constructing an LWB outpost into the Omegas and a Unioner base in Texas could be a right choice.
