Mark Oshinskie

Writer at Freelance

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Articles

The 'Never Again' Mantra

1 week ago | lewrockwell.com | Mark Oshinskie

The "Never Again" Mantra This week, instead of one, longer story, I’ll begin with two shorter ones. Some parents feel they’ve failed their children if they don’t take them to Disneyworld. But the Magic Kingdom doesn’t always yield bliss. It’s hot and the lines are long. Sometimes the costumed characters are too much in kids’ faces. Plus, children load up on sugary snacks and beverages and crash emotionally after consuming these. And the rides at local or regional amusement parks are much better.
Are We Smarter Than Our Ancestors?

3 weeks ago | lewrockwell.com | Mark Oshinskie

Are We Smarter Than Our Ancestors? When I was a kid, the postman semi-annually delivered a booklet-sized mail-order catalog with an odd mix of hundreds of household gadgets and cheap novelties: personalized pencils, cat toys, jumping beans and kitschy doorstops, et al. The catalog also displayed the above-pictured LP cover of Orson Welles’ 1938 War of the Worlds radio broadcast mockudrama.
A LOSS OF FACE

1 month ago | markoshinskie8de.substack.com | Mark Oshinskie

During my freshman year of high school, several friends were on the wrestling team. Mickey represented our school in the 88-pound class. He won all or most of his bouts against other schools. Our mutual friend, Danny, was a 98-pounder but didn’t get to wrestle in the team matches because a kid named Johnny was in the same weight class and consistently defeated Danny in the intra-team qualifying bouts.
Rick Steves, the Fascist Playbook and the Covid Response

1 month ago | lewrockwell.com | Mark Oshinskie

While waiting with a friend on the southbound platform at the crowded junction of Medellin, Colombia’s two Metro elevated train lines in February 2017, a short, bespectacled, wavy-black-haired, thirtyish man approached me and asked, in Spanish, where I was from. I answered, “Los Estados Unidos.”He replied, “Gracias para derrotar Alemania en la segunda guerra mundial” and walked away, smirking. I can say most of what I want to say in Spanish and understand most of what natives say to me.
To Skate on Thin Ice

Mar 7, 2025 | brownstone.org | Mark Oshinskie

Northern New Jersey, where I grew up, sometimes had skateable outdoor ice. But the conditions needed for decent ice—three nights of sub-twenty-degree weather, with little or no surface-marring snow—were rare. We averaged about a half dozen days of good ice per winter. When the ice was good, and I wasn’t at school or basketball practice, I skated as much as I could. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Memories of natural ice time are among my outdoor favorites, both as a kid and as a grown-up.
Artificial Intelligence and Coronamania Cheerleading

Oct 24, 2024 | lewrockwell.com | Mark Oshinskie

Many people hail Artificial Intelligence as a revolutionary technology. Since no one I know will discuss with me the Covid lockdowns and injections, I asked the AI Copilot chatbot a series of questions about these measures. I’ve read that many Pharma sales reps are former college cheerleaders. This cohort tends to be young and physically attractive—connoting vitality and bestowing an overall halo effect—enthusiastic and prone to simplistic partisanism.
9/11 and the Scamdemic

Sep 19, 2024 | lewrockwell.com | Mark Oshinskie

Last week, I was talking with three people about the Scamdemic. One said that, given government’s and media’s plainly dishonest and strategic orchestration of an extreme viral overreaction over the past 54 months, nearly any conspiracy—past, present or future—seemed at least remotely possible. None of us disagreed with that dark notion. For those who apprehended the Covid Scam, any prior faith they had in the government and media has been broken.
The Way They Were

Sep 12, 2024 | lewrockwell.com | Mark Oshinskie

The Way They Were It’s hard to score goals in professional ice hockey. In a typical season, only thirty of 700 NHL players score more than thirty goals and only three players score over fifty. About twenty years ago, I read of a defenseman who had just hung up his skates. Though he played effectively for a decade, this player never scored more than five goals in a season. On the day he announced his retirement, a reporter asked the now-ex-player how he’d like to be remembered.
The Media Slowly Backpedals

Sep 9, 2024 | eestieest.com | Mihkel Johannes Paimla |Mark Oshinskie

By Mark Oshinskie, Brownstone Institute, (Select photos and emphasis by QTR)Early in my legal career, I handled many one-day trials. Late one afternoon, I returned to my office. Still wearing my suit and carrying my briefcase, I passed the open office door of a senior colleague named Ben. He called out to me, “How’d you do today?”I stood in his doorway and replied, “Not good. I couldn’t get their witness to admit what I wanted him to.”Ben smiled and said, “You’ve watched too much TV.
Not Feeling Minnesota

Sep 5, 2024 | lewrockwell.com | Mark Oshinskie

Last week, I traveled to Minnesota for my first summer vacation in ten years. My wife, Ellen, doesn’t like hot weather and I thought it would be cooler there than in New Jersey. It was, though not markedly. Minnesota has many nice woods, streams and lakes. I had last been there in early June 2002 to deliver an environmental law lecture in Duluth, a unique and scenic small city on a steep slope at the western edge of Lake Superior.