Barbara, It is sarcastic and intentional. I picked that up a long while ago. Sorry if it troubles you but it isn't directed at Dear Reader, but at the behavior I'm describing. I would ask you to consider not taking the comment personally, because that's not how it's intended. However it is in every way directed at me when and I if I happen to engage in idiotic behavior which I most certainly do. It's part of my writing style. When I read an article and feel as though I am being directly addressed, usually it's because there's something in the piece that pokes at something I don't want to look at. I most certainly do not assume that this is true for you, it is true for me. However I've had to learn over time to not take the author's writing personally. It rarely is about me unless I make it about me. I am a huge fan of George Carlin, who uses those terms liberally. His live audiences are well aware that he's not haranguing them personally any more than I am doing that with my readers. It's a literary device to make a point. It's not about you.