Seventy-two hours after my post, “Bring Them Home,” another headline:

5 Troops Killed in Afghanistan Violence

Mr. President:

How many more troops for Afghanistan, for how long, to what end?

I started this series of posts* as the death toll began to rise in Afghanistan. July was the first “Deadliest Month.” 43 Americans were killed. Then 45 more in August. I chronicled the continuing loss of U.S. troops with special attention to Georgians while noting my growing unease with the war.

“So with each passing day, with more of our troops being killed, I'll honor their service and sacrifice - as my heart breaks - and my questions remain,” (August 12).

This final post summarizes my reasons for reaching the conclusion I have- a conclusion not reached lightly.

But first. Just like the ones cited in my previous commentaries, so reads the following headline, then another two days later and yet another a week later.

Two Georgia Marines killed in Afghanistan

Maine Staff Sgt. Aaron M. Kenefick, 30, of Roswell and Marine Gunnery Sgt. Edwin W. Johnson, Jr., 31, of Columbus. Kenefick had been recently awarded the Purple Heart after he was injured by shrapnel. But he went back into combat.

Another Georgia Marine was killed last month as were two Georgia National Guardsmen in July.

5 U.S. troops among 50 killed in Afghan violence

Peachtree City soldier dies in Afghanistan

Army Sgt. 1st Class Shawn Patrick McCloskey, 33, of Peachtree City, was on his third deployment to Afghanistan.

President Obama has already sent 21,000 additional troops to Afghanistan If more U.S. troops are sent, it means more U.S. dead. We will have a force there by year's end of some 68,000,.more than double the U.S. commitment of a year ago. Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, is likely to soon request thousands more. President Obama has to decide - “Obama's war?” Rumblings of discontent are already surfacing in Congress. If Obama moves to deploy more, the health care debate will seem tamely civilized compared to the probable outcry to follow.. His liberal-left base - with all those Bush-hating, anti-Iraq war zealots - will have some choices to make.

I concluded my post of August 12, writing “So with each passing day, with more of our troops being killed, I'll honor their service and sacrifice - as my heart breaks - and my questions remain.”

Today, no questions remain. I now agree with George Will. It's time to get out I think other conservatives agree too and our ranks are growing.

 We should leave “by rapidly reversing the trajectory of America's involvement in Afghanistan, where, says the Dutch commander of coalition forces in a southern province, walking through the region is 'like walking through the Old Testament,'” (Italics Added).

Will argues that current U.S. strategy of protecting the population is increasingly troop intensive - and costly. That strategy should be jettisoned and replaced with one that includes a substantial reduction of ground forces and doing what we can do offshore, “using intelligence, drones, cruise missiles, airstrikes and small, potent Special Forces units, concentrating on the porous 1,500-mile border with Pakistan, a nation that actually matters.”

More conservatie voices have joined Will's call for a draw down of U.S. forces.

Should the Taliban again take control of Afghanistan, we can live with that. Let the tribal dominated Afghans deal with it. Moreover, as Will points out, Somali ranks as the only nation with a weaker state.

Many Americans, like me, have no clue what our mission in Afghanistan is or how it might end.

If Pakistan becomes seriously threatened, we and the Pakistanis can respond then. And what about Al-Qaeda? Al-Qaeda is a stateless, multinational terrorist network with regional activities in Africa, Europe and the Middle East. It isn't exclusive to Afghanistan neither is the war on terror nor are the Taliban and Al-Qaeda necessarily synonymous - both have different agendas.

A majority of Americans now see the war in Afghanistan as not worth fighting.

The long and tortured 1,400 years of the history of Afghanistan should be an omen for curtailing our involvement there.

The war, once labeled the “good war,” isn't.

The war, called the “war of necessity” by President Obama, isn't.

It's time to get out of that alien, godforsaken, barren place.

Bring Them Home.

*“The Deadliest Month,” (August 4), “The Deadliest Month, Part II,Georgia Marinekilled in Afghanistan,” (August 10) and “The Deadliest Month, Part III, The Summer of My Afghan Discontent,” (August 12), “The Deadliest Month(s), Part IV, The Summer of My Continued Afghan Discontent,” (August 28

Georgians from across the state and every walk of life poured into Washington last Saturday to attend the massive 9/12 demonstration.

The “Tea Parties”of April 15 and the Fourth of July as well last month's Town Hall meetings, all culminated in what is so aptly being described as nothing short of historic.”We are witnessing a very rare phenomenon, the genuine, broad based spontaneous political movement with no visible charismatic leaders,” (“9/12 was a transformative event,”American Thinker, September 14).

Several friends made the trek and they were floored by the sheer size of the crowd, the commonality of purpose. and tremendous spirit. One said the experience was “awesome.” My friends and the other Georgians - like their fellow Americans who traveled to Washington by plane, train, car or bus - all share the same frustration; a kind description to say the least.

This frustration transcends any one issue or political party It's centered on a visceral disdain for the Washington political culture . It mirrors what I have written about extensively in these pages* - a growing populist-based discontent among everyday, ordinary Americans.

Last October, I wrote, “Remember the 1976 movie, “Network?” Peter Finch’s memorable performance with his 'I’m Mad As Hell and I’m Not Going To Take This Anymore!' just about sums up the mood of the country, particularly of everyday, ordinary folks - who’re the country’s foundation.”

The 9/12 demonstration is a realization of what some of us have been preaching for sometime. Moreover, it represents the ascendancy of American conservatism, fueled by the resurgence of a uniquely American populist tradition - beholden to no party or politician.

Those who ignore, belittle or demonize it or those who think they own it, do so at their peril.

* “The Times They Are A-Changin’,”(October 31, 2008); “What Now? Depart I Say,” (November 6, 2008); “Thoughts on the RNC,” (January 13); “The Case for Conservative Populism,” (March 4); “The Guns of August,” (August 7).

Today is 9/11. Never forget OR forgive. The loathsome editorial page of the New York Times (9/10/09 says we should mark today as a day of National Service and, oh, yeah, Remembrance.

The Times concludes by saying “Showing the nation’s strength, resilience and unity is the best way to stand up to terrorists of all kinds.” Hell no!

We “stand up to terrorists” by killing them...duh.

God Bless America.

“Race has always been and remains a factor in Atlanta politics — sometimes more overt; other times more subtle,” so says an op-ed piece. This year the overt racial factor has hit like a sledgehammer in the midst of the mayoral campaigns.

Last week's flap over the “The Struggle for Unity” memorandum, written by two Clark Atlanta University professors, ignited fierce and overwhelming criticism from all quarters including the black candidates for mayor and the current - black - Mayor Shirley Franklin who called the memo “bigoted.” The negative outcry was well deserved.

The document had explicit or implied touches of clenched fist black nationalism, a dash of aggrieved, “we're owed” mentality, and was sprinkled with racialist, identity politics and victimization. “The Struggle for Unity” with it's “Black Agenda” is a failed recipe for disaster. Blacks are concerned about quality-of-life issues like drugs and escalating violence and crime in their neighborhoods, property taxes and cost effective delivery of city services. Not unlike white folks. A “Black Agenda” is as repugnant as a “White Agenda” would be - and the outcry of such would be deafening.

The agenda urges voting for a black candidate simply because he or she is, um, simply black. That's pure nonsense and tarnishes and demeans the legacy of what the original “struggle” was all about. “The Struggle for Unity”and it's agenda espouses an Atlanta I don't want to see and I  think most Atlanta residents don't either - based on the reaction the memorandum received.

 Atlanta has a stellar history of biracial governance from William B. Hartsfield, to Ivan Allen, to Sam Massell, to Maynard Jackson, to Andrew Young. “The City too Busy to Hate” was a beacon of the new South. The only agenda that mattered was an “Atlanta Agenda.”

“The Struggle for Unity” harkens back to an era long past. It's discredited message was rightly rejected.

Just a few days after the release of “The Struggle for Unity” memorandum, a Spelman College student was hit and killed by a stray bullet on the professors' campus at Clark Atlanta University. Another student was wounded. A tragic but telling post script to a “Black Agenda.” Do the professors get it?

As a pastor says, “There is a crisis of violence in our community.” Perhaps that sad and telling incident on their very campus might prompt the good professors to take a look at the out of control, escalating crime and violence plaguing our city - especially black-on-black. A document with that "agenda" would be welcomed.

NOTE: This is my first post as editor of Red County's Fulton County Georgia Web site.

All too often, those of us who write political commentary take ourselves and what we say all too seriously. We tend to say the same-old, same-old thing on the same ol', same ol' issues day after day - “The sun shone, having no alternative, on the nothing new," (Samuel Beckett, Murphy, 1938). Moreover,blog sites are flooded with pompous, boring, deadly serious verbage.” The Georgia Follies” won't be.

Here, we intend to present topical issues - mostly, but not all, political - using satire. We'll be using “irony, sarcasm, ridicule, or the like, in exposing, denouncing, or deriding vice, folly, etc.,” in prose “in which human folly and vice are held up to scorn, derision, or ridicule.”

If you're easily offended, have no sense of humor or irony then “The Georgia Follies” definitely isn't for you. But if you like the burlesque, caricature, parody, travesty, ridicule - irreverently poking fun at others, especially those in public life - then read on...”The Georgia Follies” is your thing.

Finally, a brief disclaimer. Whatever is written here, is never, ever meant to be harmful or mean spirited and should not be taken as such. It's meant to be humorous satire which might provoke a chuckle or two if not an agreeing nod at what's said. All in good fun.

Without, further ado then, there's the First Edition of “The Georgia Follies” for you to digest - Tums not provided.

> With Governor Sonny Perdue term limited from seeking re-election next year, there's already talk about what he plans to do. Sources close to the governor say there's a wide range of options including joining the circus as a clown, teaching trout fishing to inner city youth or being a spokesman for the Women's Christian Temperance Union.

> Atlanta and Fulton County residents are still in shock over the kidnapping of members of the city council and the county commission. Wearing ski masks and brandishing “Mad As Hell” buttons, the daring abductors are holding the officials at an undisclosed solid waste dump. They're demanding a single figure ransom. Thus far, no one has stepped forward.

> We recall this was the same group who claimed responsibility for an earlier, brash move last April after the state legislature had just adjourned for the year. They stormed into both chambers of the General Assembly and held all 180 state house and all 56 state senate members captive - in their seats - until members successfully completed an intensive Literacy Action tutorial. Few have been released.

> A headline that would piss-off Amnesty International: “Troy Davis Executed.” Death penalty opponents blame racism and Bush.

> A headline that most would cheer many: “Brian Nichols Found Dead in Jail Cell.” No suspects are being pursued.

> Another cheerful headline: “Bravo cancels Real Housewives of Atlanta.” The housewives have been booked for a limited engagement at Zoo Atlanta.

> Republican gubernatorial hopeful and states rights advocate, Ray McBerry, says there's “too much Washington in Atlanta and too much Atlanta in the rest of the state...” (Atlanta Journal Constitution, May 16). McBerry, who talks openly of secession, would undoubtedly want to leave Atlanta to the Yankees if Georgia left the Union. Many would agree.

> Former Georgia congressman and House Speaker Newt Gingrich has again denied reports that he's running for president in 2012. However, he did indicate that a Coronation would work nicely.

> Another former officeholder - with royalist leanings - Roy Barnes a/k/a “King Roy” wants his job back as governor. He was on one of those patented candidate's “listening tours” of the state. Roy Barnes, “listening?” Since when?

> The debate over health care took an ugly turn last month after a swastika was found painted outside of U.S. Rep. David Scott’s (D-Douglasville) Smyrna office. The incident propelled the obscure congressman to yet another appearance on CNN and a bit more of his fifteen minutes of fame.

> Atlanta Police Chief Richard Pennington said at a news conference that he will leave his job at the end of the year when Shirley Franklin's second term as mayor ends. Before coming to Atlanta, he was chief in New Orleans. Great resume that. The number of assaults, murders, robberies and carjackings in Atlanta would suggest that Pennington brought his New Orleans ineptness with him.

And, finally,

> Tommy Irvin, the longest serving Commissioner of Agriculturein the United
States as well as the longest serving statewide official in Georgia, hasn't yet said whether or not he'll seek re-election next year. Aides say much depends on the outcome of Irvin's experiments with the cotton gin.