[Louis Foxwell]

As far as my approach, my first response was tongue-in-cheek. A bit on the snarky side, but not intended to insult. I think it was plenty gentle.

Snarky?

0's message is replete with the positive and the upbeat. Tragically it is based on nothing but his own narcissism.

Hosepipe is correct. Unless we face squarely the awful truth of 0's presidency and its tragic consequences for our nation we will not be able to even begin to deal with the mess we are in.

You may feel that his is demoralizing commentary. I view it as clear headed truth telling.

[Windflier]

Here is the statement that I first responded to, and which I saw as demoralizing:

we(america) are/is screwed.. "We" waited too long..

I've agreed with some of hosepipe's subsequent statements to me, but this is the one that got us started.