If you are reading this article, then it is no surprise to you that our electronic culture is changing faster than we can measure and our connectedness boasts the largest geographical and numerical network in history. The phenomenon of our communication age is a child of several technologies that all dramatically shaped our culture, and it is merging, changing, and undoing many of the products of those technologies as electronic culture claims its own place in our postmodern world.

The phenomenon of the American Media is in full swing. The mass of opportunity is driven by the gravitational pull of pollsters. With the inertia growing, it seems improbable that we will see any shift to professional journalism in the near future. The throttle is open for the pendulum to swing far right.

The value of Jon Stewart and Steven Colbert is rising. These artists of the airwaves reflect truth and bring balance to current events. We at The Fireside Post do not have access to the AP wire - so we are left to evaluate after-the-fact. Jon Stewart is a master of artistic evaluation.

There are some things that we, as a culture, cannot do without. Oil. Television. Wal-Mart. Cell Phones. Media Punditry. In order for these things to exist, we have to continually evaluate them and to find ways of curbing our dependence on them. Otherwise, we become slaves to our devices. Oil, for instance, needs investigation into alternative fuels to ensure that we are not going off the deep end with our reliance on foreign sources. Television is feeling the balancing force of the internet in reaching their audience. Media Pundits have…well, they have Jon Stewart.

There were two major news developments in the past few days. The President of the United States was in Europe on a diplomatic mission and a Senator from Illinois was bowling in Pennsylvania.

Can you guess which received the most media attention?

BUCHAREST, Romania — President Bush suffered a painful diplomatic setback Wednesday when NATO allies rebuffed his passionate pleas to put former Soviet republics Ukraine and Georgia on the path toward membership in the Western military alliance.

The decision, to be made final on Thursday, was sure to be cheered by Moscow, which heatedly opposes NATO’s eastward expansion.