Cinco de Mayo Abra la Discusión
Hola! Today isn’t a holiday in the United States, but it ought to be. And it ought to be a reason for us to embrace our neighbors to the south, instead of trying to demonize them.
In 1858, Benito Juárez (a full-blooded Zapotec, and member of the Liberal Party) was elected President of Mexico. Thanks to their Civil War (oh, and that little Mexican-American War thing), Mexico was financially devastated, and Juárez was forced to suspend all foreign debt payments, which England, Spain and France weren’t really happy about. Being imperialist Europeans, they did what imperalists do – they invaded. England and Spain cut deals and split pretty quickly, but not those pesky French (under Napoleon III – who was not dissimilar to dubya, in many respects).
Napolean wasn’t all that crazy about the United States (we were in the midst of our own little difficulties at the time, you may recall) , and he was hoping to toss out the Mexican Constitutional Government and set up something a little more favorable to France (to that end, he installed Maximilian I as Emperor). In fact, he had plans to institute a monarchy over Central and South America so France could exploit the region’s raw materials (plus supply the Confederacy in its fight against the Union). The French were in cahoots with the plutocratic Mexican land owners, who weren’t real crazy about this Juárez guy.
Anyhow, in April of 1862, a French force of seven thousand set out for Mexico City, having somehow gotten the impression that the Mexican people would welcome them (I believe they were told they’d be greeted as liberators, and showered with flowers and candy). Juárez ordered General Ignacio Zaragoza (who had 2,000 soldiers entrenched in the fortified hills of Loreto and Guadalupe by the city of Puebla) to set the French straight.
On cinco de mayo, 1862, the very well-equipped French attacked the two forts (defended mostly by Mexican Indians armed only with machetes) with cannon and rifles. Zaragosa ordered his cavalry (commanded by Colonel Porfirio Diaz) to attack the French flanks (which I understand are excellent with a nice Burgundy), and the French, in turn, sent their cavalry off to chase Diaz, who pretty much butchered them. What was left of the French infantry charged the Mexicans – or at least they tried to – through a stampeding herd of cattle that the Mexicans stirred up.
By the end of the day, one fort was in ruins, but more than a thousand French soldiers were dead.
So, the French didn’t get to run guns and supplies to the Confederacy, Union forces were eventually sent to the Tex/Mex border under the command of General Sheridan, who made sure that the Mexicans got whatever weapons and ammo they needed. Poor old Maximillian was eventually executed by firing squad, and Napoleon III was deposed as Emperor of France in 1870, and dead by 1873.
So, anyhow, that’s how the Mexicans saved the Union, and why cinco de mayo ought to be a holiday in the US, filled with piñatas, Sangria, and much singing of La Bandera de Estrellas.
That, and it’s a long way between New Year’s and Memorial Day.
Happy Cinco de Mayo, everybody!:banana:
:rofl2:
you make me smile & laugh.. 
:evil::barf:
he he i feel so evil right now!
:???::neutral: marc is picking on dane 
kevins a jerk!:growl:
And here’s a little something for the conspiracy theorists who are wondering why Porter Goss stepped down so suddenly. Apparently he has ties to the Duke Cunningham prostitution mess.
, Sean and the 
