The Best Covid Book Yet
I’m perhaps biased because the author’s become a good friend, but IMO nobody’s documented the “Scamdemic” better than Mark Oshinskie.
Mark Oshinskie can pinpoint the moment he first began to experience a “sense of dread” about what was coming in the world … when he knew everything that followed was going to be starkly different than what existed just a day before.
The date was March 19, 2020 - the day after lockdowns were announced by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.
Before going to bed, Mark had listened to an NPR radio report detailing what was getting ready to happen. The news left him unable to sleep so he got out of bed and wrote a letter-to-the-editor to The Washington Post itemizing some of his concerns.
He emailed this op-ed submission at 2:31 a.m. Tuesday, March 19, 2020.
The letter, of course, was not published. Still, Mark Oshinskie was off and running (or pecking away) on a writing career that ultimately led to the publication of his new book Dispatches from a Scamdemic.
While thousands of citizen journalists were also moved to chronicle the world’s New Abnormal, in my opinion, Mark’s dispatches are the best-written, mentally-stimulating .. and the funnest to read.
I discovered Mark’s writing later than some …
I discovered Mark’s Substack about 20 months ago. This means I’d read only about half of the 55 essays published in this book. However, I hadn’t read Mark’s early pieces, which means I’ve recently been able to savor dozens of narrative gems I missed. Plus, Mark’s wordsmith skills are so impressive, I’ve enjoyed re-reading pieces I’d already read.
Mark, who’s become a good friend of mine, employs a unique formula in his essays. He doesn’t overwhelm readers with data, jargon or excerpts of studies. Instead, he uses anecdotes from his own life to illustrate how the response to Covid has shown the good, but (mostly) bad and ugly sides of human nature.
In most essays, Mark tells stories from his own life and introduces us to a fascinating cross-section of people he’s met in his 66 years. He then circles back to a thought-provoking point/theme about our New Abnormal.
For me, the anecdotes that frame these stories are just as interesting as the text where Mark skewers our alleged leaders who orchestrated our faux Scamdemic.
We get life lessons from migrant laborers who earn extra money working at giant landfills (Mark joined them one day); from people who play YMCA pick-up basketball games with Mark; from professors that were full of themselves and from college students who have sadly drunk the kool-aid.
A recurring theme of Mark’s essays …
One of Mark’s recurring themes is that Covid, almost exclusively, was a health risk to people at the very end of their lives (and even most elderly people had nothing to worry about).
It takes about two minutes to pick up on Mark’s outrage that younger people were forced to miss out on milestone events - and more prosaic but vital personal interactions - all under the guise of, maybe, prolonging the lives of citizens who’d already lived a full life.
Mark also does a great job of illustrating that all the key points about Covid could have been known early on and no epidemiological expertise was required.
When reading Mark’s essays, I sometimes wonder if Mark is going to work his way back to his Scamdemic theme … but he always does. However, it wouldn’t matter if he didn’t, because these life vignettes are fascinating when recounted by someone with exceptional story-telling skills.
Mark, who worked as a lawyer for many decades, also has a rare talent for identifying all the logical flaws in the pandemic response. In just a few crisp sentences, he makes powerful points I struggle to make in 1,400-word essays.
As it turns out, every element of the response was counter-productive; all the fears were unnecessary - which is why Mark labels the whole sordid affair a “Scamdemic.”
Why Mark started writing …
Mark started writing as a project to document all the lies, but he also wanted to engage with friends and acquaintances and try to understand why so many people in his network of acquaintances were swallowing whoppers as irrefutable “settled science.”
Readers learn how almost nobody Mark tried to engage in a friendly, substantive debate would give him the courtesy of a reasonable give-and-take conversation.
Until recently, Mark spent years managing a community garden, which was his job for most of the Scamdemic.
Mark initially posted his essays on Medium, but had to abandon this speech platform after one of his supervisors threatened him with job dismissal (after one of his readers apparently ratted him out for publishing “Covid disinformation.”)
Figuring his bosses knew they couldn’t find a better manager for the community gardens, Mark called his supervisor’s bluff … and then moved his writing to Substack.
At some point, Jeffrey Tucker discovered Mark’s writing and began to publish some of his essays at the Brownstone Institute’s website. As more people discovered this talented and fearless writer and began sharing his columns, Mark’s Substack newsletter attracted more readers.
While Mark is now fairly well-known in the “freedom writer” or “Covid Contrarian” market, his writing (IMO) still hasn’t reached nearly enough people.
(If, say, The Wall Street Journal published one of Mark’s weekly essays, I have no doubt these would be far more popular than, say, Peggy Noonan’s essays).
A silver lining of Covid times is that many intelligent people have now discovered excellent writers and researchers who would never be given a job in our captured mainstream news organizations.
I was thus overjoyed when I learned Mark was going to self-publish some of his best columns in book form. While it’s not fair most brick-and-mortar book stores won’t publish fantastic books like this, people can still buy it.
For now, Mark’s selling books the old-fashioned way: People send him an email, telling him they’d like one or more copies. For $20, which includes all Mark’s labor and shipping costs, Mark personally puts a book in a media envelope, goes to the Post Office and mails (a signed copy) to your house.
(See order info at the bottom of this article).
So far so good …
Mark tells me he quickly sold out his first press run and recently re-ordered copies from the printer. I was happy to hear this report as it confirms plenty of people recognize talented writers and are still willing to buy and read books authored by someone with something important to say.
Some of Mark’s dispatches will make you want to bite nails; some will make you laugh … and all will make you think more deeply about why and how our world changed so dramatically and suddenly.
Millions of people can relate to the stories Mark shares. We just can’t tell these stories - and make the points this writer does - as well as Mark Oshinskie.
But we can buy his book! Those who do will be glad they did.
How to get Dispatches From a Scamdemic
To order Mark’s book, you can email the author at:
Note: Sometimes linked emails don’t work or go through. You might also try composing your own email from your email sender and use this email clue:
forecheck32 at gmail dot com
Mark’s mailing address is:
Mark Oshinskie
240 Wayne St.
Highland Park, NJ 08904
Highly-recommended interview:
Mark recently did a 23-minute interview with my friend Steve Kobrin, a fellow New Jersey resident who started a website where a gallery of “freedom fighters” simply talk about why they are fighting back against would-be authoritarians. As this interview reveals, Mark comes across as intelligent in person as he does in his writings.
Glowing Reviews from Mark’s Readers …
Here’s some of the reviews from the book’s back cover. Mark’s readers are excellent writers too!
“Mark has a special talent for storytelling that shows the absurdity of our coronavirus experience and overreaction. His essays need to be read widely. He often helped me through these dark periods when I wondered how many are out there wondering what happened to the world we knew.” - Dennis D. Duffy
***
“Mark’s post were a truce vaccination against the relentless propaganda from the government and media. Probably the only vaccination that actually worked during the Scamdemic.” - Steven Jaroszewski
***
“Tapping into life lessons from his past adventures as an attorney, farmer, other blue-collar jobs and varied experiences to expose the Covid lies, Mark’s essays are mesmerizing. A modern day Mark Twain of wit and wisdom shines through in his pages.” - Steven Berger
***
“Mark was the voice I needed at the height of the Pandemic. I’m extremely grateful for his clarity and courage.” - Gia Yan.
***
“Mark’s writing has been a tremendous blessing in this spiritual war.” - Lorie Bender
***
“Clear, meaningful truth-telling with a dose of humor.” - Michael Darby
***
“Beautiful wring. Jarring content.” - Diana Maggie
Tips for book reviewer, Bill Rice Jr:
When I recently told one of my subscriber friends that Mark had self-published a book of his essays, I was happy to learn that this man was also also a fan of Mark’s writing. Not only did he buy one book, he bought 10 (!) and is passing them out to friends, family and business clients.
I continue to be inspired and touched by the number of American citizens who are eager to help total strangers who they think are doing important work.
Substack has brought many of us together so I'd like to publicly thank the three men who started Substack.
For canucks, former CBC reporter Donna Laframboise has published hundreds of Freedom Convoy trucker stories on her Substack blog and upcoming books include one with letters and pictures from children across the country who delivered them. Scamdemic is truly what it was. I am having difficulty coming to terms paying association dues to a professional association that did nothing to support natural immunity.