Earlier this year I was in Santa Barbara and saw these "things" out in the water:
I asked a local guy what they were and he frowned and said oil drilling platforms.
I looked at him and said Aren't they beautiful? He didn't want to talk to me.
It's a good thing the people at this table were through eating...these busboys get there real fast...
I looked at him and said Aren't they beautiful? He didn't want to talk to me. Next time try this line and see what the idiot says:
Good! They keep the beach cleaner by reducing the natural seepage. When he comes back with incredulous disbelief, explain:
In 1542, Juan Cabrillo reported that the whole coastline in that area had rocks covered with black gooey oil. The Chumash Indians used the tar to seal their canoes and sold them up and down the coast. Drilling reduces the pressure of the subsurface oil and thus reduces the seepage that would otherwise foul the beaches and kill birds. So Simon's campaign rolls over, instead of using the issue, and boots an opportunity in a time of war over foreign oil. Meanwhile, if he hasn't already, he should divest the oil stocks.