Poor Anthony Mantova

At OYE we've chronicled the cowardice of Anthony Mantova over the years and even wished him well after he stepped away from politics and opened a business in California. But unfortunately for Anthony someone alerted the local residents about his past.

From Craig's List:

ANTHONY MANTOVA THE YELLOW ELEPHANT (EUREKA)

Read all about this young republican douchebag wannabe... http://operationyellowelephant.blogspot.com/2006/08/leadership-institutes-anthony-mantova.html

I DEFINITELY speak with my money and will NOT patronize this freak's store and will tell EVERYONE we know. And trust me, as parents of youths involved in the music scene, we spend a LOT of money. It just won't be supporting this gasbag.

He can have as many friends as he wants post messages on R&R, trying to make it sound like everyone supports him, but it's only a couple of his cronies & himself, posting OVER AND OVER......I noticed he's blocked his facebook page too, so we can't add him as a friend and tell him what we REALLY think of him. He's also removed all references to himself and his contact info off his store's website. Coward....or should I say TYPICAL CONSERVATIVE REPUBLICAN...big mouth until someone calls you on it, then have a panic attack and run and hide like a paranoid freak. Textbook!

Anthony you're no intellectual genius...you're an idiot. An idiot that has just sunk his business.

Location: EUREKA it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests

PostingID: 1817983888

Jeez, we hate to think we may have somehow effected the professional life of a gutless war-cheerleader.

Anthony Mantova Finds a Calling

Conservative activist and Yellow Elephant Anthony Mantova, a longtime subject of our attention [just search this blog on Mantova], has never found it within himself to Be A Man! Enlist!, but at least he has returned home to northern California [Eureka], where he and his brothers have taken over and updated a business.

Mantovas selling instruments and more

The three Mantova brothers have big plans for their new enterprise, Mantova's Two Street Music.

The Carlotta [CA] natives took over ownership of the longtime Old Town business earlier this fall, and are in the process of refurbishing the space and expanding the offerings. All three -- Anthony, 26; Nick, 23; and Matt, 19 -- are accomplished musicians in their own right. Anthony plays saxophone, Nick plays trumpet and Matt plays both accordion and trumpet.
And each has strengths that benefit the enterprise: Matt is detail-oriented, Nick is good with technology and repairs, while Anthony works the public relations/ advertising angle.

”We get along fine,” said the eldest brother, Anthony.

The trio have several plans for renovating the business. [ . . . ]

Going into the music store business marks the first business ownership for the brothers. Matt is currently enrolled at the College of the Redwoods, Nick works at Safeway in Fortuna and Anthony returned to the North Coast in June 2008 after working in event coordination for Bellevue University, which was based in Nebraska but had an operational center in Virginia. At present, he's working for Bear River Casino. [ . . . ]

The thought of opening a business in the middle of one of the country's deepest economic downturns didn't give the brothers pause. Research has shown, Anthony said, that music stores do well in economic downturns.

”If we survive the recession,” he said, “we'll do fine in the recovery.”

But the brothers plan to do much more than that.

”We want to be the central hub for music in Northern California and Southern Oregon,” he said. [ . . . ]

OYE Comment:

We wish Anthony Mantova and his brothers well in their new venture and hope that they will continue to remain active in their community.

Entrepreneurs of locally-owned businesses play an important role in our nation's economy; we salute them for their confidence in the future of our country.

No "Dear John" Letter for this guy

Even a cardboard cutout is more man than Ethan Hastert or Anthony Mantova.

Staff Sgt. Patrick Thomas' girlfriend is cheating on him, well, with him.

A cardboard version of the war vet stationed in Iraq, that is.

Anne Schollard, who lives in Jacksonville, carries her new cardboard man everywhere she goes - the beach, movies or on a plane. As you can expect, she gets all kinds of crazy looks from people who think she has truly lost it.

OYE Comment: Staff Sgt. Thomas is a VERY lucky dude.

Uncommon Honesty

Interesting personal diary on Daily Kos. After visiting an Army recruiter this dude decides he doesn't have it in him to enlist.

My fellow Americans were dying in a far off land and I was sitting in my nice house doing nothing.

That I heard a guy/gal was going back for their second, third, and now even fourth tour just didn't seem right. Maybe I ought to do something.

But when the time came to get serious I was gutless. I couldn't do it.
I found it was easier to talk about projecting force, then actually picking up a gun and doing it myself. This realization made me feel really, really small.

It is something I have only mentioned to one person. Not something I am proud of. But something I won't ever forget about myself.

OYE Comment: There's something strangely admirable in this. Sure, he didn't 'man-up' and enlist, but his honesty with himself in realizing he doesn't have it in him to serve is certainly more brave than anything Peter Beinart or Anthony Mantova are capable of.

Anthony Mantova Update: A candidate for the Army Fat Farm?

Yellow Elephant Anthony Mantova has returned home to Humboldt County, California, trying to make some money by selling then-Sen. Barack Obama [D-IL]'s business card on Craigslist. He's asking $600/or best offer.

To find out more about Mantova, just Search This Blog on his surname. It's a hoot!

We think it's time for the good people of Humboldt County to encourage Mantova to shape up, exercise and Be A Man! Enlist! Nothing short of putting his fat a-- on the line will give him a shot at the leadership credibility he clearly seeks, and at which he, so conspicuously, falls short.

Military Recruiting Opportunity: The Leadership Institute

Meet George Hawley, the "Grassroots Administrative Assistant" at Anthony Mantova's Leadership Institute. He appears to be a healthy heterosexual well under 41 and therefore most welcome to enlist in our armed forces.

We've already urged him to do so. Why don't you? Click here. Scroll down to Grassroots and his name. Then fill in the form.

While you're at it, why don't you encourage others at the Leadership Institute, including Anthony Mantova, to do the same. After all, their most famous graduate, James Guckert AKA Jeff Gannon, says he served in the military.

Has Anthony Mantova Ever Even Shared a Shower?

Operation Yellow Elephant salutes Soulforce's Right to Serve campaign, another nonpartisan grass roots citizens initiative to Support Our President to WIN the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT) by encouraging well qualified and motivated Real Americans to volunteer for military service. Thanks to the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, a legacy from the previous Administration that President Bush and our governing party strongly support, however, military recruiters are actually turning away all non-heterosexuals who volunteer for military service.

If the College and Young Republicans, and Anthony Mantova, still refuse even to consider volunteering for military service, the least they could do is support Real Americans' efforts to encourage our Congress, which our governing party (their party) controls, to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." Resolutions at next year's Young Republicans National Convention and the College Republicans National Convention (can someone find out when/where? Click here) would be a worthwhile first step.

Here's an awesome quote from Detroit News columnist Deb Price:

Take, for example, Rachel Powell, age 20, who is juggling college classes in Louisiana and working at a medical clinic: She has been out since 17 and recently celebrated her first anniversary with partner Emily.

But while Marine recruiters said they couldn't take her, the vast majority of her peers support her right to serve: 18- to 29-year-olds -- recruitment-age youth who actually would be in the showers and foxholes -- favor allowing gays to serve openly by 72-23 percent, according to a Pew Research Center poll released in March.

Let's face it: We know that Anthony Mantova has never shared a foxhole. Has he ever even shared a shower?

Do the Yellow Elephants want President Bush to lose the GWOT?

Operation Yellow Elephant thanks Patrick Bell of Seattle for encouraging further discussion of Anthony Mantova. Check out this blog.

Operation Yellow Elephant has a very narrow focus, outlined in OYE 101 and OYE 102. We focus exclusively on encouraging those eligible to serve who support the war to consider volunteering for military service, and those not personally eligible to serve who support the war to encourage their eligible relatives and friends, their circles of influence, to consider serving. Results of those deliberations are relevant to public discussions of their opinions on the war. If everyone eligible to serve who supports the war contacted military recruiters, our current military recruiting problems would be solved.

Anyone is free to start another blog encouraging those urging international (i.e., U.S. military) intervention in Darfur, Sudan, etc., also to consider volunteering for military service, etc. [We did warn Darfur intervention supporters that they may legitimately be called upon for this.] However, this is off-topic for this blog. So is law enforcement in the U.S.

As our governing party always reminds us when the President makes judicial nominations, over the past several years, our great nation has held elections, and the American people have thus chosen our governing party to run our country, giving it control of both Houses of Congress as well as the White House. President Bush has vetoed one bill (not on our topic). It is our governing party, not the loyal opposition, that sought, and received from the American people, the national leadership responsibility to set a good example for the rest of us. We think that the American people should give our governing party full credit for all of its accomplishments.

While we welcome our critical commenters, at least some of their motivation must be tacit recognition that we are right and that the future leaders of our governing party are not Supporting President Bush and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and, indeed, America, to Win the GWOT. They are ashamed of this fact. Rather than joining us in encouraging the likes of Anthony Mantova to Be A Man! Enlist!, they either attack our patriotism or try to spin the discussion away from Winning the GWOT.

If we really wanted President Bush and Secretary Rumsfeld and, indeed, America, to fail, we would shut up and let them.

If you want us to shut up, does that mean you want them to fail?

Eureka [CA] Yellow Elephant prompts Robust, Uninhibited Debate

Wow. 'Talk about ignoring free publicity. Here's the latest from the Eureka Reporter:

At one time, kings led their armies into battle, fought and died alongside their warriors. Maybe it’s time to bring back an updated version of this policy. For example, any member of the administration or Congress who subscribes to a preemptive war should be prepared to fight on the front lines of that war. If they are too old for military service, then they have to designate a close relative, such as a son or a daughter, in their place. [OYE comment: Or that of a major campaign contributor.] One has to wonder how readily Bush would have declared war on Iraq if he knew that one of his daughters or nephews had to serve on the front line.

Rae Hepburn
Eureka.

Is Anthony Mantova a Yellow Elephant even in the War of Ideas? Stay tuned.

Hat tip to the Eureka Reporter's letters page.

Yellow Elephant Fears Water-Balloons [Seriously!]

This is not a snark. According to the Hillsdale campus newspaper, Anthony Mantova of the 'Leadership' Institute actually called police when he was water-ballooned. Seriously.

Key details:

Outside Simpson Hall on Tuesday night, September 12, 2002, Anthony Mantova looked up from his drenched shorts to see a car speeding away down the road. He had been waterballooned.

“I looked up, and they hit the gas,” Mantova said. “It was a real shock.”

Mantova and Dan Himebaugh were walking to the side doors of their dorm when three or four teenage boys pulled up to the sidewalk in a small gray car and threw a waterballon at Mantova, he said. The balloon struck him on the hip, drenching his shorts.Mantova said he was surprised but not angry. “Their laughter was very clear,” Mantova said. “I wasn’t mad, though. At least it wasn’t a rock.”

He said he was afraid the balloon was filled with beer or bleach. He hurried to his room for a shower, though the substance turned out to be only water. Mantova and Himebaugh then reported the incident to house director Sharon Wiley, but there was no investigation because they could not identify either the young men or the car.

Concerned the balloon might be connected with the earlier, more violent incident where students were accosted and assaulted by young men in a car, Mantova and Himebaugh said they expressed concern the young men would attack again. While there proved to be no connection to the earlier events, two nights later another waterballoon attack occurred. Six young males were seen by Hillsdale campus security in a van in front of Mauck Hall throwing water balloons at students passing in front of the dorm. The balloons missed the students.

Security followed the van to the Jonesville Wal-Mart where they detained the teenagers until the Jonesville Police arrived. “We got their license plate number, and we had them blocked in,” said Gary Hite, assistant director of security. “They knew they’d been had, and they were scared—big time.” Not as scared as Anthony Mantova, apparently.

The Jonesville Police responded to phone calls from Hillsdale College security and took over the situation. “I confronted the van load of kids, and they admitted to throwing the balloons,” Jonesville Police Officer Chris Rosser said. “I gave them a stern warning about this kind of activity and made them get rid of the rest of the balloons.” No charges were pressed and the juveniles were released into the custody their parents.

Hillsdale College

This conservative Christian school is well known among real Americans for its integrity - NOT! In 2000, its President, George Roche III, shocked [but did not surprise] the school by divorcing his wife of 44 years, who had cancer, and remarrying five months later. He also had a long-term affair with his daughter-in-law, Lissa Roche, who committed suicide. You can read all the sordid details here. At least President Roche had the decency to resign and deserves credit for that decision. In his resignation letter, he acknowledged, "We have proved that integrity, values and courage can still triumph in a corrupt world. Hillsdale College is a monument to those beliefs."

I guess that Anthony Mantova learned Hillsdale's lessons about "integrity, values, courage" and personal responsibility a little too well. But I haven't given up on him yet. I still think that military service might help him to find his strength. Starting with a fear of water balloons, he can only go up.

Anthony Mantova Embarrasses President Bush

Paul Beard of Seattle got the top spot in the Eureka Reporter's Letters to the Editor today:

Dear Editor,

Patrick Bell complains that a recent column, written by a former paratrooper, was “unhinged” in its criticism of a young war supporter who refuses to serve in a war he supports. Bell suggests Mr. Ash “should put his life on the line to support his view — and volunteer to be a human shield in Iraq, Iran or North Korea.” What Bell fails to realize is that Mr. Ash has been a human shield — for all of us here at home. He has been in harm’s way and understandably hopes that others who value a strong America would follow his example.

It’s easy to cheer for a war that someone else will fight: for someone who works for something called the Leadership Institute to refuse to lead by example tells me what kind of leader or soldier they would make. Perhaps that’s why Anthony Mantova and his fellow cheerleaders are steering clear of the recruiter’s office; they realize they don’t have what it takes. But I think they should give it a try, basic training might be the making of them.

Well done, Paul. Click here for Operation Yellow Elephant's letter, published August 30. "Give it a try" is an excellent suggestion. We know that the military is not for everyone, but isn't it better to see if they want you, before giving up? If they don't, you're off the hook with Operation Yellow Elephant, because you're not yellow.

We're still waiting for the Humboldt County [or Northern California] Republicans, or the Leadership Institute, or - gasp! - Anthony Mantova himself to attempt to restore credibility to our governing party in its national leadership responsibility to set a good example for the rest of us.

Dialogue re Anthony Mantova

Former U.S. Army paratrooper Rob Ash's guest column in the Eureka [CA] Reporter outing the Leadership Institute's National Field Director, Anthony Mantova, as a Yellow Elephant is part of the great American tradition of the free exchange of ideas.

Seattle [WA] resident Patrick Bell's letter to the editor criticizes Mr. Ash for focusing not "on the war and top decision-makers," but "on an easier target, someone who supports a strong America and is working to ensure the next generation succeeds."

From OYE: Mr. Bell apparently doesn't think that Mantova would make a good soldier. What does that say about Mantova's leadership qualities? Not much. How can Mantova supposedly support a "strong America" if he is himself such a poor example for the next generation?

Mr. Bell assumes that Mr. Ash is "ardently against war," and suggests that he "put his life on the line to support his view - and volunteer to be a human shield in Iraq [Huh?], Iran or North Korea" before calling Ash's column "an arrogant display of the worst kind of character assassination aimed at making a political point."

From OYE: Wow. Rob Ash already put his life on the line for our country as a U.S. Army paratrooper. It's not surprising that his column expresses concern about war with Iran. Now, Mr. Bell thinks that what military recruiters do, encouraging healthy heterosexual men (and some women) to consider serving their country, is "character assassination." If Bell has a young adult son (or daughter), he definitely doesn't want him serving with the likes of Anthony Mantova. Will this kind of leadership win a war with Iran? How?

UPDATE: Further discussion on Patrick Bell's blog.

Eureka [CA] resident Andy Stunich, in his letter to the editor, focused on possible war with Iran, which Mantova has supported, twice, and completely missed the point: In a democracy, leaders must set a good example; Mantova refuses even to consider doing so. Stunich apparently doesn't think Mantova would make a good soldier, either.

The key issue for Operation Yellow Elephant is the credibility of our national leadership. We're trying to Support President Bush by encouraging healthy heterosexual young men like Anthony Mantova to Be A Man! Enlist!

Is this the best President Bush's supporters can do? Check the Eureka Reporter's letters page.

Yellow Elephant Anthony Mantova: It's hillbilly, intellectually vacant and morally repugnant that those who call for war must serve

Yellow Elephant Anthony Mantova, National Field Director of the Leadership Institute, says that it's "hillbilly, intellectually vacant and morally repugnant that those who call for war must serve."

His hometown paper, the Eureka [CA] Reporter, published his columns supporting the Global War on Terrorism, and invading Iran, as recently as last year.

To its credit, the Eureka Reporter just published real American (and former U.S. Army paratrooper) Rob Ash's column Asking The Question: Is Mantova willing to serve in the wars he supports? Money quotes:

Why doesn’t he sign up?

Mantova gave me unconvincing answers. He speculated how his enlistment might undermine civilian control of the military.

He compared himself favorably to the ancient Roman politician Cato the Elder, Winston Churchill and Socrates. Clearly, Mantova has a very high opinion of his intellectual abilities.

Finally, Mantova demeaned all service members and veterans with his “hillbilly, intellectually vacant and morally-repugnant” comments and dismissed the very notion of military service. He treated a deadly serious question as if it were a joke.

You can bet Mantova will continue to “stay the course” — the one farthest away from the recruitment office.

He’s much safer cheering on the war from his cushy job at the nonprofit foundation and polishing his resume than he would be fighting those nasty terrorists.

It's time for all real Americans to encourage Anthony Mantova to Be A Man! Enlist! Click here. Don't just comment, click here, too. Thanks!

Thanks also to Steve Gilliard. And Daily Kos. And Conservative Underground. And Respectfully Republican. And All Too Common Dissent.

The 'Leadership' Institute's Anthony Mantova: Yellow Elephant Extraordinaire!

Attention Military Recruiters:

Assuming he's heterosexual, 24-year-old Anthony Mantova, the National Field Director of the Leadership Institute seems like a great recruiting prospect; he's already committed our country to winning the Global War on Terrorism. That includes invading Iran, as late as last year.

He told one of our supporters at the same time, "I have no desire to serve." He continued, "Show me the need" [for me to enlist.]

'Sounds as if he needs just a little nudge towards the recruiting office, maybe to help our Army get an early start on its recruiting quota for FY-2007.