TELEVISIONARY is a blog about TV, which I re-noticed on revisiting this old controversy about onion rings and vaginas.

COLD WEATHER, and a propane shortage.

ON THE ROAD in a self-driving Audi.

FROM ANDREW MORRISS, ET AL., Involuntary Cotenants: Eminent Domain and Energy & Communications Infrastructure Growth.

K-12 IMPLOSION UPDATE: Philadelphia school cheating probe widens; more than 100 educators targeted.

RUSSIA WAKES UP AND SMELLS THE SHALE:

Russia began drilling a well in its Bazhenov shale formation in Siberia this week, tapping in to what may be the world’s largest single reserve of shale oil.

Moscow is coming to the shale game very late; because Russia is already rich in conventional oil and gas, it’s felt little pressure to invest in unconventional reserves. But as its hydrocarbon production begins to stagnate, Moscow is realizing that shale energy might actually be worth looking in to. And no wonder: Russia has the world’s largest reserves of shale oil, and ninth-largest reserves of shale gas. Earlier this week, a joint venture between Royal Dutch Shell and Gazprom Neft broke ground on its first fracking well in the Bazhenov shale, just outside of Salym. . . .

If Russia is able to successfully plumb its Siberian depths for shale oil and gas, it could leverage its energy holdings towards its ambition of becoming a Great Power once again. But a long list of hurdles needs to be cleared, and no one—not the UK, not Poland, not even China—has been able to follow in America’s footsteps.

So far.

IF YOU MEAN THIS, IT HAS TO BECOME CHEAPER: Higher education should be promoted to all students as an opportunity to experience an intellectual awakening, not just increase their earning power.

RENT, BUY, AND SELL: At Amazon, Save Up To 90% On Textbooks.

Also, coupons galore in Beverages and Coffee. And, speaking of coffee, the Insta-Wife has become quite a fan of the Jamaica Blue Mountain K-Cups.

Plus, today only: Up to 63% Off Logitech PC Accessories. Keyboards, webcams, gaming, and more.

MICHAEL BARONE: Do we face a disastrous century due to global cooling?

Are we facing a dangerous period of global cooling? That’s not a question that many have been asking. But reports that there has been a sharp reduction in sunspot activity raises that possibility. It has happened before. In his book Global Crisis: War, Climate Change & Catastrophe in the Seventeenth Century, historian Geoffrey Parker writes:

“The development of telescopes as astronomical instruments after 1609 enabled observers to track the number of sunspots with unprecedented accuracy. They noted a ‘maximum’ between 1612 and 1614, followed by a ‘minimum’ with virtually no spots in 1617 and 1618, and markedly weaker maxima in 1625-26 and 1637-9. And then, although astronomers around the world made observations on over 8,000 days between 1645 and 1715, they saw virtually no sunspots: The grand total of sunspots observed in those 70 years scarcely reached 100, fewer than currently [the book was published in 2013] appear in a single year. This striking evidence of absence suggests a reduction in solar energy received on earth.”

The result of the “Maunder Minimum” of sunspots was a so-called Little Ice Age, with significantly colder temperatures in the temperate zones, low crop yields to the point of famine and, Parker writes, “a greater frequency of severe weather events—such as flash floods, freak storms, prolonged drought and abnormal (as well as abnormally long) cold spells.”

John Ringo, call your office.

SALENA ZITO: Allegiance To Party Wanes. “One thing is for certain, however: The unifying characteristic among all denominations of voters is their universal hatred for Washington and their increasing distaste for politics in general. How each party deals with that will be the underlying story in American politics this year.”

LEGAL EDUCATION UPDATE: The University of Florida has put its dean-search letters up online. In them, the candidates talk about their thoughts on where legal education is going. It’s a useful window into what people are thinking about.

TIMOTHY SANDEFUR: Kentucky’s War On The Little Guy…And Nevada’s…and Missouri’s. State regulation of business costs a lot of jobs, but doesn’t get enough attention.

HOPEY-CHANGEY: Dianne Feinstein praises Obama for backing NSA surveillance.

OF COURSE, HE THREATENED THEIR RACKETS: Tom Coburn caused fear and loathing on Capitol Hill. “You could say Coburn was Tea Party before the Tea Party.”

SHOCKING NEWS: Bill Quick is neither convinced nor reassured by Obama’s NSA speech. I don’t blame him.

But I did find something to agree with in Obama’s speech:

Given the unique power of the state, it is not enough for leaders to say: Trust us, we won’t abuse the data we collect. For history has too many examples when that trust has been breached. Our system of government is built on the premise that our liberty cannot depend on the good intentions of those in power; it depends on the law to constrain those in power.

But in the case of the Obama Administration, the law has been doing a pretty sorry job of that. We need a lot more people to lose their jobs or go to jail to drive that lesson home.

OH, GOODY: Rise in Bird Flu Cases in China Stokes Worry Before Peak Travel Time. “China is disclosing a steadily growing number of cases of H7N9 bird flu, including four more cases announced on Friday, reviving concerns among health experts that the disease may be spreading and could pose a further threat as the world’s largest annual human migration begins ahead of Chinese New Year.”

HANNAH THOBURN: Yanukovych is Courting Disaster in Ukraine.

The list of new crimes enumerated in the documents that some Ukrainians are calling “The Law on Dictatorship” is long and targets all segments of Ukraine’s protesting population. For example, participants in the collective driving protest movement “AutoMaidan” now face a two-year suspension of their licenses and confiscation of their vehicles for driving a car that “moves in a column of more than five.”

The new laws also take a page from recent Putin initiatives and target civil society organizations. Now NGOs that receive foreign funding must register as “foreign agents” within three months or be dissolved. They will also have to pay an 18% income tax and submit to a strict reporting regime. Those that are branded as “extremist” will be closed.

Defamation has been re-criminalized and “extremist activity”—which is poorly and broadly defined—can be punished by large fines and up to three years in prison. Online media outlets that have flourished throughout the protests will now have to contend with requirements to register themselves as “information agencies” and a very real possibility that the state will order internet providers to block their websites.

A foretaste of Andrew Cuomo’s plans for New York? . . . .

NEWS YOU CAN USE: why you should run away from a nuclear blast.

I’m not sure I agree with this advice. The last thing you want to be is stuck in traffic when the fallout starts to come down. I might be willing to go a short distance — say to a nearby building — to find better shelter, but that’s about it. Here’s a piece I wrote for The Atlantic a while back on this topic. Also, this video.

HOPEY-CHANGEY: Millennials unhappy with Obama’s war on the young.

S.E. CUPP: Spare Us The Gun Lecture, Harvey.

K-12 IMPLOSION UPDATE: City ignored pleas to ax ‘lunatic’ principal.

They knew.

Teachers begged city officials to investigate “School of No” Principal Marcella Sills soon after she started in 2005 — citing her constant tardiness, harassment of staff and extravagant spending on parties while the school lacked books, pencils and paper.

“Get rid of her before it’s too late,” a 2007 letter urged District 27 Superintendent Michelle Lloyd-Bey, who oversees Queens principals.

Letters describe Sills as a tyrant and “rude lunatic administrator” who spurred an exodus of excellent teachers and failed to provide basic student supplies and services while handsomely furnishing her own office and squandering funds on catering and decorations.

“You need to examine Ms. Sills’ inability to lead,” says a 2006 letter from a “concerned teacher” to top Department of Education officials, including Carmen Fariña — now the city’s newly installed chancellor — and then-Chancellor Joel Klein. “Teacher morale is at an all-time low.”

A 2006 letter to Special Commissioner of Investigation Richard Condon — with copies to then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Klein and other officials — said Sills “comes in late on a daily basis” and does not record her absences, but calls staffers at home if they call in sick.

Read the whole thing.