I have created a game that will take America by storm. It will be played in every car on every long, boring trip; it will be played by ritual pre-gamers looking to liven up the drinks before the drinks; and hopefully one day, it might even become a game show of its own.

It is because of my enduring pride of this great institution that I will share a preview of this game with you, my fellow Nittany Lions, before it becomes our nation's newest obsession.

The game: Six Degrees of Separation from al-Qaida.

Sure, I ripped it off from Kevin Bacon and his uncanny ability to be linked to virtually anyone in existence. However, the point of this game is a bit more realistic.

Through this game, I plan on proving everything that happens in the world can be linked back to al-Qaida.

The game can only be beaten when George W. Bush is linked to Osama bin Laden by six people or less.

My inspiration for this game comes from two places: reality and the Fox News Channel. It seems as though the two are beginning to coalesce, as the 24-hour news cycle becomes more vicious.

In high school, I had to read a book by the title of 1984 (some of you may have heard about it).

This book depicts grand empires fighting never-ending wars with ambiguous information from the front lines and the constant threat of spies and enemies among us.

Our reality has become littered with conflicted information coming from the front lines in the war on terror. There are enemies everywhere among us, or so we believe. Plots are being hatched on a seemingly continuing basis to slowly grind away at our liberties. The days are always "Yellow" and sometimes "Orange."

We exist under the constant threat of attack.

But do we really?

The Six Degrees of Separation from al-Qaida will prove otherwise.

We receive information so quickly in this country that our panic fuses have been significantly shortened. When something happens on the other side of the world, we hear about it before the people in that country even know it has happened. Next thing you know, we are sucking down the immediate speculation and analysis from the first "expert" that a producer can get on the phone. This scenario actually seems to be a formula, especially with terror incidents.

A bomb goes off in City X. CNN or Fox get a reporter on the scene. "Experts" start their mindless interpretation of the events. Al-Qaida is blamed as the principle suspect, before any evidence can possibly be sifted through. The statement, "This looks to be the footprint of al-Qaida," is uttered some hundred times by as many talking heads.

So what exactly is the "footprint" of al-Qaida? Destruction, mayhem, holes where buildings used to be?

That sounds like the footprint of terrorism, period. Yet, immediately we are told al-Qaida must be the perpetrator. Even if it is some fringe terror group that might have only the slightest connection with the al-Qaida terrorist network, or none at all.

Really, how does one become a member of the al-Qaida terrorist network? Is it carried by local cable providers?

The point is, such labeling has created an enemy that is far more ominous and massive than anyone can understand.

By linking every terrorist incident in the world to al-Qaida, this enemy stays virulent and off American soil. These are two very important traits needed to turn America's foremost invisible enemy into blockbuster political leverage. As long as al-Qaida remains a threat while not striking the homeland, our government is justified in waging this continuous war and simultaneously declaring victory with each terrorist act.

Let's all understand this with crystal clarity -- it is a victory for America when neighborhoods in Saudi Arabia are blown up by our enemies, or at least according to Bush. Since all terrorists are our enemies, and they can all be linked via the "network," we have a lot of enemies, including ourselves.

Al-Qaida is evil, there is no doubt about that. Rudimentary logic dictates that one who uses evil for gain must also be evil. Thus, through this logic, George Bush is evil.

Or stupid. Or both.

To substantiate this point, I will now link George W. Bush to Osama bin Laden in six degrees or less.

We will start with Bush. He has a vice president by the name of Dick Cheney. Dick has substantial ties to a company by the name of Halliburton. Dick's company was looking into building an oil pipeline through Afghanistan. Dick's company had to meet with Osama's drinking buddies, the Taliban, to convince them to pursue this venture.

Thus, Dick connects Bush to Osama. I win.

As long as we mindlessly look to scapegoat everything that happens in this world, we will always have enemies that rule our lives. There is always someone to blame in this world for everything. Perhaps we should all become better consumers of the information that we are fed and realize that is has both political and economical ramifications.

Fear should not dictate liberty, and coverage should not be sensationalized to play upon our fears for greater ratings; although, news channels do sell a lot more cures for erectile dysfunction when something terrible can be linked to al-Qaida -- or Dick Cheney.