Welcome to GardnerMountain.US web site. This site was created for the Gardner Family to share, callaborate and publish news. None of that is happening in any significant way, so, move on.
mike
jjtcm23@protonmail.com, rendrag007@gmail.com, johnrgardner@gmail.com, MaryKGardner@protonmail.com, HoosierGardner@Gmail.com, gardnermtn@gmail.com
Well, here we are deep in the shit trump is already pushing out. A pedophile for the head of DOJ? A Putin asset in charge of Intelligence? A brain-worm-addled science denier in charge of health? A failed TV host/surgeon in charge of Medicare? Wow. Hopefully, a few republicans in the Senate will find their balls and insist on FBI background checks and real hearings.
Comments:
But y’all keep watching your right-wing propaganda.
I wrote this right after I finished reading your book, but never did anything with it. Since you impersonated one of our cousins and requested a review – here it is.
John wrote a book: Departures
Based on the preliminary description, I’d have never read this book except that the author is one of my younger brothers. Thus, I was curious to see just how much of this story was John’s life, how much was John’s fantasy and how much was his imagination.
John has always been a bit of a braggart. He has a tendency to make thinly veiled threats “as to what he’d do if he saw one of us siblings he was arguing with”. This book “lives up to” his bravado.
Brief synopsis:
The protagonist (Dan) is a commercial pilot; married. A secondary story goes back to his time as an F16 pilot in Iraq. His marriage is stagnant – he’s even thinking about divorce when he comes home unexpectedly and finds his wife having sex with a good friend (and Chief Pilot, sort of his boss).
Dan, distraught ends up at a strip bar, and runs into an amazingly sexy woman who introduces him to a crime boss. The crime boss seems to have a similar childhood experience (killing his father who murdered his mother) and they work out a deal where Dan works for the crime boss as a hitman; using his pilot position to travel to various cities “without being traced” and in return, the crime boss deals with his wife and friend.
That of course is the biggest hole in the storyline – that since he didn’t have to buy tickets to fly, somehow there would be no connection between Dan and the murders. Of course, the FCC, the Airline, and the TSA would all have records, records that could be accessed easily.
His crime boss, however, planned the missions meticulously, creating as much of a gap between the mission objectives and Dan and himself as possible – which, in reality, could have allowed anyone to complete the missions – no need for a high-profile pilot who was a total amateur.
Meanwhile, the stripper (really a prostitute) falls for Dan and vice versa – and they have an unbelievable sex life whenever there is a break in the hit-man missions.
Dan’s deal with the crime boss is to have his wife and friend (her lover) killed. In the end, her lover is just stripped of his pilot license and Dan saves his wife from death, literally with minutes to spare, then pushes her through an instant divorce (also unlikely).
AND the F16 mission in Iraq. He’s shot down and comes across an anti-aircraft site where he manages to kill most of the soldiers there to save the rescue helicopter that is arriving to save him.
——————————————————————————————————
So, what does all this mean in terms of John’s life, John’s view of himself? Well clearly there is still a lot of anger with his divorces – and a lot of fantasy as to how they might have ended differently. This is an odd sense of morality – in doing something “the right way”, honor, respect (from and for the crime boss), and all that. He does “save” his soon-to-be ex-wife from being murdered (at his request) by the crime boss, just in the nick of time, then shuttles her off in the instant divorce with what he decides is an equitable sharing of his (hitman) money. All the while having raucous sex with his stripper/prostitute.
His excuse for comfortably slipping into the hitman role is the fact that he had seen his mother murdered and plunged the knife into his father’s chest. He never actually states it that way, but it is referenced numerous times so the reader is left with no alternative than to accept it as reasonable. John has never had such an event (double murder) in his life, so perhaps this is how he reasons that while he’d like this kind of “excitement” in his life, he would never actually stoop to be a hitman.
As for the stripper/prostitute falling in love with Dan (and he with her), in a way that is him rescuing her from her lifestyle – except she chose that life, she loved that life and to some degree intended to continue some form of sex-work – which he was OK with, so long as he got “his” on a regular basis. All through this story, there is a gerrymandered line between what things were ok on a moral scale and what things were not. For example, he was concerned with every hit that there was a “good reason” the person needed to die. Yet sometimes it was the hit was a wife beater or murderer, but other times it was just someone muscling in the boss’s business. His wife cheating on him signaled the end of their marriage and for a while, a reason to kill her, yet literally minutes after witnessing her transgression, he was having sex with a stripper – all the while repeatedly claiming that during his marriage he NEVER strayed with another woman.
Oddly, he often works in how little money pilots make and the need for them to have secondary income (part of his justification for becoming a hitman). Reality Check!!! Pilots make lots of money – a major airline captain makes three times as much money as I ever did. It is another departure from reality coupled with an inflated self-worth for someone who will likely be replaced by a computer in the not-too-distant future.
Finally, Dan was handsome, fit, attractive to all women, all around wonderful airline captain – all things John only dreamed to be. Well, maybe he’s a good airline captain. Well, maybe not anymore.
This is the first of two books. I doubt I’ll be reading the other.
P.S. Someone passed on part of John’s response as I have him blocked. I received and shelved the book in late July as I was in the middle of a book series. I read Departures mid-September over two days and wrote the book report 9/19 believing it would at some point in the future come in handy. I then mailed the book to Mom. I have receipts but I know you are unaccustomed to actually respecting facts, preferring to make up your own. And for a website no one reads, when I post here I usually get a response within a couple of hours……….
Goodbye John
Gardner Mountain was an act of faith in service of a dream. 
Dad and Mom took a huge leap in their lives, to move to the mountain to build a new home. We all have had some investment in the mountain, in the home, in the dream. Many if not all of us, probably feel like we knew a bit of what Dad must have felt, that he was not building just a house, but a home; THE Gardner Home that would last beyond his lifetime.
My memories of working side by side with Dad go back to Ludlow. Before Bermuda, before Rantoul, before Champaign, before Indianapolis, before Gardner Mountain. Dad and I worked to paint Miss North’s house. We scraped and painted the boat in Bermuda. We tuned up the Corvair bus in Rantoul. He taught me electronics at the bench in the garage. We fixed TVs and dozens of other appliances – because that was Dad’s part of the American Dream: using his skills to support his family. We built a garage in Champaign. We hauled buckets of water out of the sump, in the dark, during an ice storm power outage. We worked on dozens of projects on Central Avenue, including repairing the damage from an exploded water tank because another attempt to save a few dollars almost killed one of his kids. We cut dozens of trees for other people and cut and hauled dozens of trees off Gardner Mountain for firewood.
What is the point, of all this? The thousands of times I worked side by side with Dad provided me with a point of view of how Dad thought, how Dad viewed life and his Family. Dad suffered no fools gladly. Dad was willing to bend a few rules, but he also valued skills, trust, hard work, and careful thought. Over and over again, my memory of him has been sullied (attempted) by various members of the Gardner Family by telling me Dad would have embraced the culture of lies in the hate-based political cult. He would not have. They justify their hate of those who don’t look like them, who don’t speak like them, who don’t live like them, all in service of the fascist dream this world has seen before, and are all so willing to destroy Dad’s Gardner Family in the process.
We’ve lost Dad. We’ve lost Jim. Jim, despite all his problems, tried his best to live up to Dad’s ideals in support of Dad’s Dream of Gardner Mountain as a Family Home. Now we have lost Mom to Faux News. She has embraced the cult to the point of attacking her own children for not being members of the same cult. The eldest son has never stepped up to weigh in on the situation that I’ve seen. The remaining four siblings have baptized themselves, confirmed themselves, and married themselves into a false religion. And in the process, they have destroyed Dad’s Gardner Family. Now I know, the cult members are screaming – “No, WE are still a family” or “It’s all your fault”! And so, maybe a few of you are a dysfunctional hate-based family, but you are no longer Dad’s Gardner Family. You no longer are living Dad’s Dream of The Gardner Family on Gardner Mountain.
Monica and I have not felt like a Member of Dad’s Gardner Family for years. The incessant scrambling to control Gardner Mountain’s financial resources, the unending stream of insults and accusations, and the poisoning of all family dynamics with noxious politics have destroyed any reason to claim family membership. Mary’s vindictive nature and her need for total control, refusing to let Monica and I disconnect from the LLC.
You laughed at us when we told you how bad Covid would get. Hundreds of thousands died needlessly. You laughed (and attacked) us when we told you how this cult would end up. Someday in the not-too-distant future, you will realize there is nothing funny or good about the cult that you’ve made a part of your family’s lives. Enjoy your fantasy while you can.
So, there you have it. Anyone reading this who wants to connect to the cult side of Gardner Mountain, to see Mary’s landscaping, her role as presumptive leader of the family, as well as her political diatribes, they can be found at gardnermountainllc.com
Mike
P.S. The maga cult are protesting furiously, attempting to bolster their belief in the corrupt POS. Deep down, beneath the thin crust of hypocritical christianity, beneath the viscous layers of hate, misogyny, xenophobia, racism, and homophobia; buried away in their subconscious – “You know I’m right!”.
Well, it’s nice to know that Mary reads my blogs. Unfortunately, Mary is so, so deep into maga bullshit what she writes is completely bereft of any truth or logic. Magas do two things. One, they usurp and corrupt definitions – twisting them to mean what they want them to mean. Two – they project. ANYTHING they are accused of, anything they’ve actually done, and despite the volumes of evidence that the accusations are true, turn around and accuse others OF THE EXACT SAME THING.
It’s plain and simple, Trump and his minions are fascists and totalitarian wannabes. Play with words all you want, but Trump is parroting Hitler, is a racist, a rapist, a misogynist, a xenophobe, a criminal, a traitor, and a fraud. So, pretend otherwise, but there really isn’t a question on any of that. Oh, and he’s quickly sliding into dementia. He can’t draw a complete audience, can’t keep people in their seats all the while telling 3-4 lies a minute and when he’s not lying, he’s calling people names like a third grader.
His plan is Project 2025. Despite his recent attempts to distance himself from it, there is plenty of video evidence of him speaking about it, at the cesspool where it was written and complimenting their work. Many of the people who helped write it are part of his circle. P2025 is a blueprint to turn America into Russia.
So fuck all you MAGAS who think you can simply rewrite history and edit dictionaries to assuage your shredded consciences.
Update: Mom is in full maga mode now. She kept trying to “win me over to her side” by regurgitating trump bullshit, taunting me and calling me names. I had to finally block her phone number. Mom is well into dementia as far as we can tell from this distance. Her short-term memory is gone (by her own admission). She can’t answer the simplest questions about GardnerMTN, the trust, her will – ANYTHING. She still mistakenly thinks each of us kids will get 1/7th of the estate. That train left the station years ago but that is what she is saying. Trump is the second coming of Jesus in her mind. Everything he does is ok by her. She doesn’t realize she will lose what little retirement and healthcare she currently gets if he gets back in the Whitehouse. Joseph, Mary, Jeanne, John and Matt are complicit in all this.
I hear only Jeanne and David showed up for wood cutting. Wonder why the rest of the family decided not to step foot on the property.
Mike
P.S. just saw the latest screed from gardnermountainllc.com Mary’s fecal matters is PAGES LONG. Mary is desperate to convince herself that trump isn’t a worthless piece of shit, felon, racist incompetent loser.
Hi Mary!!!
Since some of my relatives seem to be having difficulty understanding the words they toss around frivolously, I’ve included below some definitions of terms:
Communism (from Latin communis, ‘common, universal’)[1][2] is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement,[1] whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered around common ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange that allocates products to everyone in the society based on need.[3][4][5] A communist society would entail the absence of private property and social classes,[1] and ultimately money[6]and the state (or nation state).[7][8][9]
I.E. Democracy is NOT Communism. Communism isn’t the opposite of Authoritarianism.
Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political status quo, and reductions in democracy, separation of powers, civil liberties, and the rule of law.[1][2] Political scientists have created many typologies describing variations of authoritarian forms of government.[2] Authoritarian regimes may be either autocratic or oligarchic and may be based upon the rule of a party or the military.[3][4] States that have a blurred boundary between democracy and authoritarianism have some times been characterized as “hybrid democracies”, “hybrid regimes” or “competitive authoritarian” states.[5][6][7]
Minimally defined, an authoritarian government lacks free and competitive direct elections to legislatures, free and competitive direct or indirect elections for executives, or both.[11][12][13][14] Broadly defined, authoritarian states include countries that lack human rights such as freedom of religion, or countries in which the government and the opposition do not alternate in power at least once following free elections.[15] Authoritarian states might contain nominally democratic institutions such as political parties, legislatures and elections which are managed to entrench authoritarian rule and can feature fraudulent, non-competitive elections.[16]
I.E. Democracy is NOT Authoritarianism. Trump wants Authoritariansim: Project 2025
Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflict, and social transformation. Marxism originates with the works of 19th-century German philosophers Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Marxism has developed over time into various branches and schools of thought, and as a result, there is no single, definitive Marxist theory.[1] Marxism has had a profound effect in shaping the modern world, with various left-wing and far-left political movements taking inspiration from it in varying local contexts.[2][3][4]
In addition to the various schools of thought, which emphasise or modify elements of classical Marxism, several Marxian concepts have been incorporated into an array of social theories. This has led to widely varying conclusions.[5] Alongside Marx’s critique of political economy, the defining characteristics of Marxism have often been described using the terms “dialectical materialism” and “historical materialism”, though these terms were coined after Marx’s death and their tenets have been challenged by some self-described Marxists.[6]
I.E. Democracy is NOT Marxism.
Fascism (/ˈfæʃɪzəm/ FASH-iz-əm) is a far-right, authoritarian, ultranationalist political ideology and movement,[1][2][3] characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hierarchy, subordination of individual interests for the perceived good of the nation or race, and strong regimentation of society and the economy.[2][3] Opposed to anarchism, democracy, pluralism, egalitarianism, liberalism, socialism, and Marxism,[4][5] fascism is placed on the far-right wing within the traditional left–right spectrum.[6][5][7]
TRUMP, Projuct 2025 are Fascism and Authoritarianism, and Mysoginy and xenophobia and racism.
Neo-Nazism comprises the post-World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and racial supremacy (often white supremacy), to attack racial and ethnic minorities (often antisemitism and Islamophobia), and in some cases to create a fascist state.[1][2]
Neo-Nazism is a global phenomenon, with organized representation in many countries and international networks. It borrows elements from Nazi doctrine, including antisemitism, ultranationalism, racism, xenophobia, ableism, homophobia, anti-communism, and creating a “Fourth Reich“. Holocaust denial is common in neo-Nazi circles.
I.E. Trump
Racism is discrimination and prejudice against people based on their race or ethnicity. Racism can be present in social actions, practices, or political systems (e.g. apartheid) that support the expression of prejudice or aversion in discriminatory practices. The ideology underlying racist practices often assumes that humans can be subdivided into distinct groups that are different in their social behavior and innate capacities and that can be ranked as inferior or superior. Racist ideology can become manifest in many aspects of social life. Associated social actions may include nativism, xenophobia, otherness, segregation, hierarchical ranking, supremacism, and related social phenomena. Racism refers to violation of racial equality based on equal opportunities (formal equality) or based on equality of outcomes for different races or ethnicities, also called substantive equality.[1]
I.E. Trump
Xenophobia (from Ancient Greek: ξένος (xénos), “strange, foreign, or alien”, and φόβος (phóbos), “fear”)[1] is the fear or dislike of anything which is perceived as being foreign or strange.[2][3][4] It is an expression which is based on the perception that a conflict exists between an in-group and an out-group and it may manifest itself in suspicion of one group’s activities by members of the other group, a desire to eliminate the presence of the group which is the target of suspicion, and fear of losing a national, ethnic, or racial identity.[5][6]
I.E. Trump
Misogyny (/mɪˈsɒdʒɪni/) is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against women or girls. It is a form of sexism that can keep women at a lower social status than men, thus maintaining the social roles of patriarchy. Misogyny has been widely practised for thousands of years. It is reflected in art, literature, human societal structure, historical events, mythology, philosophy, and religion worldwide.
An example of misogyny is violence against women, which includes domestic violenceand, in its most extreme forms, misogynist terrorism and femicide. Misogyny also often operates through sexual harassment, coercion, and psychological techniques aimed at controlling women, and by legally or socially excluding women from full citizenship. In some cases, misogyny rewards women for accepting an inferior status.
Misogyny can be understood both as an attitude held by individuals, primarily by men, and as a widespread cultural custom or system. Sometimes misogyny manifests in obvious and bold ways; other times it is more subtle or disguised in ways that provide plausible deniability.
I.E. Trump
Malignant narcissism is a psychological syndrome comprising a mix of narcissism, antisocial behavior, sadism, and a paranoid outlook on life.[1] Malignant narcissism is not a diagnostic category defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR). Rather, it is a subcategory of narcissistic personality disorder(NPD)[2] which could also include traits of antisocial personality disorder, paranoid personality disorder.
Malignant narcissists are grandiose and always ready to raise hostility levels, which undermines the families and organizations in which they are involved, and dehumanizes the people with whom they associate.[3]
I.E. Trump
Narcissistic mortification is “the primitive terror of self dissolution, triggered by the sudden exposure of one’s sense of a defective self … it is death by embarrassment“.[1] The concept has been widely employed in ego psychology and also contributed to the roots of self psychology.
When narcissistic mortification is experienced for the first time, it may be defined as a sudden loss of control over external or internal reality, or both. This produces strong emotions of terror while at the same time narcissistic libido (also known as ego-libido) or destrudo is built up.[2] Narcissistic libido or ego-libido is the concentration of libido on the self. Destrudo is the opposite of libido and is the impulse to destroy oneself and everything associated with oneself.
I.E. Trump
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