Senator Robert Menendez had introduced legislation,  (The Big Oil Bailout Prevention Act) that would have ensured BP can't hide behind the $75 million liability cap that the oil industry had previously lobbied and obtained from Congress for damages from an oil spill.

But Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski, once again using the Senate's "Polish rules" by which a single senator can prevent the majority from legislating in a crisis, blocked consideration of the bill. [snip]

BP itself had earlier promised not to hide behind the $75 million liability shield, and claimed that it would pay any legitimate claims.[However], just a few hours before Murkowski bailed out Big Oil, Transocean, BP's partner in Deepwater Horizon, filed a motion in federal court not only to hide behind the $75 million liability limit, but to use an antiquated 1851 maritime law to limit its liability to only $27 million.

Maritime law was the basis for Exxon's dodging most of its liability for the Valdez oil spill, -- written for merchant ships but now being applied to enormous oil platforms on the reasoning that, if it floats, it must be a "vessel."

And, while I've barely seen any of the Eastern teams this year, who were the geniuses who decided to underrate a team like the Kelts with 3 bona fide HOFers, aging though they are, plus one b.f. young point guard superstar who's got game.  That's 4 scorers to guard.  

I'd stick with the cheeseburger and fill your immediate future with bliss. Guaranteed.

Places to eat:  Agusto in Trastevere, a terrific place for carbonara near Campo di Fiori--also sells wine and cheese, need reservation, can't remember name--maybe Rustica?)

But my favorite is the Sistine Chapel. Saw the big wall cleaned (The Last Judgment of Christ) a few years ago (I'd seen it pre-cleaning many years before, so the difference was interesting) I was admiring the colors and thought the background blue looked in hue (the shade of color) to be an ultramarine blue. Ultramarine means from "over the water" and the pigment was made from Lapis from mines in Afghanistan (the best lapis mines are still there today and even tho a chemical ultramarine is the standard today, a true lapis can still be purchased with some searching).

Ultramarine Blue was an incredibly expensive pigment and was supplied by the patron, not the artist (it reflected the importance/wealth of the patron). Since the wall has this singular hue (tho it is not very saturated) I thought "whoa, that must not actually be lapis 'cause, think of the $$$ it would have cost". Sure enough, turns out it was. Reformation was a sort of teaparty.

In any case the Vatican Museums are completely wonderful and fascinating. St. Peter's is breathtaking. I guess one is supposed to feel appropriately overwhelmed. I happened to be there the very day this current pope had the coronation ceremony and it was interesting to see St. Peter's as a living spiritual setting, rather than a modern-day notion of museum. For some reason the Italians seemed to have lots of comments about the Pope's shoes.

That's a list of things/places they shouldn't miss (as most tourists do):
*    Giardino degli Aranci: a wonderful little garden on top of a Hill....there is a door with a hole that points straight to St. Peters dome....it's amazing
*    Gianicolo: you can have a breathtaking view of all Rome and the surrounding hills...and every day at noon sharp they fire with a cannon! They should not miss that
*    Pizzeria Frontoni Viale Trastevere: best pizza in the world. They have a kind of empty focaccia, then you choose the size and the stuff you want to put inside! I miss that so much!
*    Trastevere: it's a neighbor with all little streets and restaurants and shops. That's a pretty tourist place but it's worth a visit.
*    Tony's Gelateria (Viale Dei Colli Portuensi): best gelato ever!!!! It is outside the tourist area (but not too far). If they have a chance, they should definitively go there!!!! The cream and marron glaces flavors are unbeatable!!!
*    Porta Portese: huge flea market on Sunday morning (close to Trastevere). You can find literally everything....just beware of pickpockets if they visit!