bureaucracy
"However, bureaucracy is like what Winston Churchill said about democracy: it is a terrible way to do things, but it happens to be better than all the rest."
"once you've created it, it never wants to die..."
"The bureaucracy is like a computer; it responds only to those who address it in the proper form."
"The regulatory bureaucracy is like Lennie Small in "Of Mice and Men" - a well-meaning giant, but the attic ain't been used in years, and you can't keep handing him rabbits."
"A bureaucracy is like a living organism which does not depend upon any single member, or any combination of members, to know what it needs to do and to get its job done."
"A bureaucracy is like a tube of toothpaste - it needs to be squeezed hard so nothing goes to waste."
"A bureaucracy is like a liquid. It will take shape of the receptacle you put it into. It is no use blaming the bureaucracy when political bosses promote bureaucrats not for their ability or integrity but loyalty and pliability,"
"In many respects the EU bureaucracy is like a vast ocean-going container ship; it is slow, guzzles fuel, and takes many miles to stop or change direction."

METAMIA is a free database of analogy and metaphor. Anyone can contribute or search. The subject matter can be anything. Science is popular, but poetry is encouraged. The goal is to integrate our fluid muses with the stark literalism of a relational database. Metamia is like a girdle for your muses, a cognitive girdle.