Holidaze Week: Our Little White Supremacist Domestic Terrorist Problem

Another terrorist attack on multiple power substations in the same county, this time in Washington State, and on Christmas no less.

 

Three power substation facilities were vandalized in Pierce County, Washington, on Christmas morning, knocking out power to more than 14,000 customers, authorities said.

Two of the break-ins were at Tacoma Public Utilities substations and the third was at a Puget Sound Energy station, according to the sheriff's office in Pierce County, which encompasses Tacoma.

No suspects are in custody, according to the sheriff's office.

"It is unknown if there are any motives or if this was a coordinated attack on the power systems," the sheriff's office said in a statement.

Tacoma Public Utilities said about 2,000 of its customers were initially without power and crews are working on restoration, later updating that all but approximately 900 customers had power restored.

"Unfortunately, the impacts to our system from today's deliberate damage are more severe in some places than initial testing indicated," the company said. "Some customers will be restored closer to 8 AM tomorrow. We appreciate your patience as we respond to this intentional vandalism to our system."

"We know this incident has impacted many people’s holiday celebrations, and our crews are working hard to get power safely restored to all customers as quickly as we can," it added.

The Department of Homeland Security issued a bulletin last month warning that U.S. critical infrastructure could be among the targets of possible attacks by "lone offenders and small groups motivated by a range of ideological beliefs and/or personal grievances."

Earlier this month, two electrical substations were shot up in North Carolina, causing tens of thousands of customers to lose power and prompting local officials to declare a state of emergency.

 

Pierce County is home to Tacoma, Puyallup, and Mt. Rainer National Park, but also to Joint Base Lewis-McChord, home of three battalions worth of Army Airborne Rangers, as well as the HQ of the Washington State National Guard. As with the Moore County NC substation attack, the right will tell you that this is being done as a test run to attack military bases by Antifa or something on Christmas because they Left hates Baby Jesus.

Me, I think it's a bunch of assholes who hate SeaTac's multiple drag shows in December, but I'm just a guy who observes the right-wing attacks on LGBTQ+ folks across the country.

Still, terrorists are terrorists, and these are terrorists.

Holidaze Week: Water's The Matter With Jackson?

The months-long, if not years-long, municipal water crisis in Jackson, Mississippi continues as the mostly Black residents suffer from neglect this holiday season, thanks to the state's Republican government.

 

City officials in Jackson, Mississippi, on Christmas Day announced that residents must now boil their drinking water due to water lines bursting in the frigid temperatures.

“Please check your businesses and churches for leaks and broken pipes, as these add up tremendously and only worsen the problem,” the city said in a statement, adding: “We understand the timing is terrible.”

The problems come months after the water system in Jackson — the state capital with about 150,000 residents — partially collapsed. Most of Jackson lost running water for several days in late August after flooding exacerbated longstanding problems in one of two water treatment plants. Residents had to wait in lines for water to drink, cook, bathe and flush toilets.

Along with the order to boil drinking water, city officials said some residents also have reported low water pressure or no water pressure. The city’s water system saw “fluctuating” pressure beginning on Saturday amid frigid temperatures.

The Christmas Day announcement said crews were working to make repairs, but it did not give an estimate on how long the disruption might last.

 

GOP Governor Tate Reeves certainly doesn't care. He'd rather scream at Jackson residents for not fixing the water supply and blame the city's Black Democratic mayor and the city council, while the state's Black residents are dealing with a state legislature that gerrymanders Republican wins to disenfranchise the state's 38% Black population.

 

And let's not forget that every House Republican in the state voted against the omnibus spending bill, which included $600 million in federal money to fix Jackson's water crisis.

The problems in Jackson are yet another example of systemic environmental racism in America. White Republicans would rather let Black residents rot than fix the goddamn water.