About

A long, long time ago, someone said something along the lines of, “Truth is the first casualty of war.”

As it turned out, proper citation was the second, since no one seems to know for certain who actually came up with the original quote. But regardless of its provenance, “the first casualty” seems to me a perfect title for a blog. It both alludes to my search for some form of journalistic verity while, I hope, simultaneously winking sheepishly to my readers, for whom such lofty aspirations can never be wholly reconciled with the actual substance of my writing.

But never mind all that. For me, The First Casualty is primarily a diary: what gets me riled will inevitably snake its way into a new post. At times this may arrive in the form of a 3,000-word screed. At other times, perhaps a simple YouTube video. Flip-flops will occur. (Perhaps even flip-flops of flip-flops, also known as flip-flops².)

So perhaps now would be a good time to disclose common sources of outrage. False-equivalency in the media. Unconstitutional abrogation of civil liberties. Mindless warmongering. Demagogic platitudes. Political euphemism. Paul Ryan. Sometimes Paul Krugman. Also, Rand Paul. (Really, if it has “Paul” in it, there’s a decent chance I’m already angry.)

The slightly less depressing truth is that any number of things can inspire a blog post, and not just negative things. I’m partial to photos of cityscapes, for example. And I refuse to pass up a quality sports clip when it appears.

Enough, then. Stop reading this and start reading the blog. And then invite your friends. And if you haven’t had enough after a little while, go check out my old blog project, 50 Books for 2010, and let me know what you think.

Thanks for coming.

– Jay

Publications

The New York Times

A Tale of Two Subway Platforms – January 1, 2014

The Huffington Post

Days of Fire Generates More Heat Than Light – November 26, 2013

Michael Bloomberg Wants to Buy Your Vote – March 15, 2013

Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Television’s junk, or The Newsroom from nowhere – July 26, 2012

The Brooklyn Quarterly

Antagonizing Principles – August 26, 2014