j

n=52

American Dependence

a: 18th century britain ~
b: China today

What: "Once the most self-sufficient republic in history, which produced 96 percent of all it consumed, the U.S.A. is almost as dependent on foreign nations today for manufactured goods, and the loans to pay for them, as we were in the early years of the republic. What the British were to us then, China is today. Beijing holds the mortgage and grows impatient as we endlessly borrow on equity and refuse to begin paying it down. The possibility exists of an eventual run on the dollar or even a U.S. debt default."

Useful?
Writer: Patrick J. Buchanan
LCC: J
Where:
Date: Jan 4 2010 3:25 PM


House Elf Is Like An Indentured Servant

a: A house elf ~
b: an indentured servant

What: "In a lot of ways, a house elf is like an indentured servant. They serve the person that owns them until they are given their freedom. Indentured servants usually worked for a set amount of time but a house elf only had one way to become free". The rest is in the linked article....

Useful?
Writer: Not Stated
LCC: JX
Where:
Date: Aug 2 2011 12:38 PM


Useless?

a: A lobbyist ~
b: like an appendix

What: "OK, maybe I'm being a little hard on lobbyists, but I think a lobbyist is like an appendix: You never know just how little you need it until it gets taken out."

Useful?
Writer: Joey Kennedy
LCC: JA
Where:
Date: Apr 7 2012 3:40 PM


A union member is like an indentured servant

a: A union member ~
b: an indentured servant

What: "A union member is like an indentured servant." This is a really weak analogy. The linked article describes how manditory union dues are a form of forced assocation, which is un democratic. The association is weak. Indentured servants are paying off debt to become free. Union members are forced to pay dues to be represented. There's a big difference, in principle.

Useful?
Writer: Buzz Hargrove
LCC: J
Where:
Date: Aug 2 2011 12:53 PM


Voting And Rifles

a: A vote ~
b: a rifle

What: "A vote is like a rifle; its usefulness depends upon the character of the user. " Theodore Roosevelt

Useful?
Writer: Theodore Roosevelt
LCC: J
Where: Reference Link Has Evaporated
Date: May 27 2011 11:27 PM


Afghanistan Is Like The Sopranos

a: Afghanistan ~
b: the Sopranos

What: "And, in a world where violence is an acceptable means of succession, well, putting a couple bullets in the head of the local strongman makes a lot of sense."

Useful?
Writer: Not Stated
LCC: JX
Where: Reference Link Has Evaporated
Date: Mar 12 2012 5:50 PM


Afghanistan As Chaotic Muslim Country

a: Afghanistan ~
b: all chaotic Muslim countries

What: "Afghanistan is like all chaotic Muslim countries--where brutal fundamentalist religion, primitive tribalism, medieval traditions and abject corruption of police and military and the civilian population rule the day--remains an absolute basket case. Afghanistan is unsalvageable. I have argued this so many times in this CBC site."

Useful?
Writer: Mike Tenszen
LCC: J
Where:
Date: Mar 12 2012 6:06 PM


American Corporate Stalinism

a: An american office manager ~
b: Soviet bureaucrat

What: "She didn't insist too much on what she was telling us, and it became clear she was in a position similar to that of a veteran Soviet bureaucrat who must work on two levels at once: reality and official ideology". This is a great essay that's more about working with your hands, but it makes some great points about the mindset of the contemporary American organizational style. Well worth reading.

Useful?
Writer: MATTHEW B. CRAWFORD
LCC: J
Where:
Date: Sep 30 2010 9:45 AM


Basing An Economy On Marx

a: Basing an economy on marx ~
b: basing a space program on Ptolemy

What: "Yes, we do. The latter lead inevitably to the former. Basing an economy on Marx is like basing a space program on Ptolemy."

Useful?
Writer: torujordan
LCC: J
Where:
Date: Jul 29 2010 4:39 AM


Gerrymandered District In La

a: Ca-33 ~
b: the Nintendo character Yoshi

What: "I think it sort of looks like the Nintendo character Yoshi. I live up in Yoshi's head up north". This is a good discussion of Proposition 20, which moves control of California congressional district away from the state legislature and to an citizen commission."

Useful?
Writer: Not Stated
LCC: J
Where:
Date: Nov 4 2010 6:45 AM


California Finances

a: California finances ~
b: Bankrupt family

What: "She compared the state's situation to a family with a mortgaged house, maxed out credit cards and zero savings. She said her outspokenness on the topic at public meetings and other forums has caused some at the Capitol to tell her she is apocalyptic, and she said she has been asked to quiet down."

Useful?
Writer: Diane Harkey
LCC: J
Where:
Date: Feb 23 2010 3:51 PM


Ann Coulter Is Simon Cowell In Drag....

a: Calling ann coulter a political analyst ~
b: calling Simon Cowell an arts critic

What: "And the media are a big part of that. There's been a big transformation of media from information providers to entertainment sources. I mean, calling Ann Coulter a political analyst is like calling Simon Cowell an arts critic." ....Can this be true? See the link for a discussion of words and politics. The parallel between these 2 is questionable.

Useful?
Writer: And Nunberg
LCC: J
Where: Reference Link Has Evaporated
Date: Jan 26 2011 2:28 AM


American

a: Car salesman ~
b: preacher in the church of the American dream

What: "When I decided to write a story about the salesmen of cars, used and new, it was because I believed the car salesman to be a preacher in the church of the American dream. What is a car salesman if not a cleric who, like a minister or rabbi, sells the vision and moves the product?"

Useful?
Writer: RICH COHEN
LCC: J
Where:
Date: Sep 8 2009 6:45 AM


Decrepit American Bureaucracies

a: CIA ~
b: General Motors

What: These are 2 American Institutions that have significantly helped the United States become the preeminent world power in the last Century. General Motors provided a large part of the industrial base that was essential for defeating Germany and Japan in WW2. The US kept producing armaments, while the factories of Germany and Japan were bombed to oblivion. General Motors was a key factor in this production. The CIA was important during the Cold War. The academic communist bitch about and analyze the third world machinations that the CIA has been involved in during the Cold War. And they are correct. By design, the CIA played a pivotal role in destabilizing countries that produced governments that may have been antagonistic to the United States and possibly sympathetic to the Soviet Union. Most notable were Chile and Iran. Now both of these institutions that long ago helped win these wars have become decrepit. GM took a loan from the federal governments to survive and the CIA was one of the pieces of a dysfunctional and bloated national security structure that failed to prevent the 9/11 attacks.

Useful?
Writer: mattyflynn
LCC: J
Where: Reference Link Has Evaporated
Date: Jan 11 2010 2:44 AM


Conservative Intellectuals

a: Conservative thinking ~
b: old left

What: "Once upon a time, the intellectual conservatives in this country cherished their dissidents, encouraged argument, embraced the quirky, valued the eccentric and mocked the lock-step ideological left. Now they are what they once mocked. And they have the ideological discipline of the old left."

Useful?
Writer: Andrew Sulllivan
LCC: J
Where:
Date: Mar 28 2010 6:32 AM



a: Constitution/statists ~
b: holy water/ vampires

What: "The Constitution to liberals, Democrats, Statists and the TSA is like holy water, the cross or garlic to vampires, like silver bullets to werewolves, like water to the wicked witch, like sobriety to W. C. Fields, it terrifies and angers them!" Nice stream of analogy. Also see his comments that politicians are like bananas.

Useful?
Writer: sjmjax
LCC: JK
Where:
Date: Jan 23 2012 11:27 AM


Gerrymandering

a: Gerrymandering ~
b: Tenure

What: "Gerrymandering is like Tenure, or life time appointment to the bench, we should all be that lucky". .........

Useful?
Writer: Hercule_Savien_IV
LCC: J
Where:
Date: Nov 5 2010 12:43 AM


Gerrymandering

a: Gerrymandering ~
b: "covenant not to compete"

What: "Gerrymandering is like a "covenant not to compete" provision written into party employment - voters from this jurisdiction must work for this party". This is a full blow academic article on the Political Market place analogy.

Useful?
Writer: Thomas Tso
LCC: J
Where:
Date: Nov 5 2010 12:53 AM


Gun Control and Drunk driving:

a: Gun control ~
b: trying to solve drunk driving

What: "Gun control is like trying to solve drunk driving by making it harder for sober people to own cars." A very good point.

Useful?
Writer: Jerrybob
LCC: JK
Where:
Date: May 27 2011 11:25 PM


Haiti

a: Haiti ~
b: Island of the Damned

What: With one in ten under-40s infected with HIV, and millions living in squalor and destitution, thousands try to flee each year to the U.S. by hanging on to anything that will float. ---> The most infamous of these killers is the Cannibal Gang, a group of sadists once led by a former prisoner with political aspirations, who was himself shot in the eyes and had his heart cut out in 2004. His gang lives on, murdering innocent people and allegedly eating their organs

Useful?
Writer: ANDREW MALONE
LCC: J
Where:
Date: Jan 15 2010 2:45 AM


Idea is food

a: Idea ~
b: Food

What: A link to an article about how the US government, DARPA, is looking to build software that analyzes non-literal thinking and writing in a variety of languages. The aim is better probe what people in other countries and cultures are really thinking......

Useful?
Writer: ALEXIS MADRIGAL
LCC: J
Where:
Date: May 28 2011 12:13 AM


Legalizing Gay Marriage

a: Legalizing gay marriage ~
b: electing a black president

What: "But what he doesn't realize is that legalizing gay marriage is like electing a black president. Before you do it, it seems inconceivable." ...........

Useful?
Writer: MAUREEN DOWD
LCC: J
Where:
Date: Aug 5 2010 10:29 AM


Libya

a: Libya ~
b: the old Czechoslovakia

What: "Put simply, Libya is like the old Czechoslovakia, it is two separate states hammered together under the flag of an authoritarian regime. The people are different, they are from different tribes to the people of Tripoli, and they are also more prone to religious extremism"

Useful?
Writer: Not Stated
LCC: JX
Where:
Date: Feb 27 2011 6:19 AM


Madison Wisconsin

a: Madison ~
b: The Berkley of the Midwest

What: I was working with women who grew up in Wisconsin. The topic turned to how conservative the Midwest can be. She said yes, but you should go to Madison, 'cause it's a bit different. "It's the Berkley of the Midwest."

Useful?
Writer: mattyflynn
LCC: J
Where:
Date: Jun 13 2010 3:08 AM


Mendocino County

a: Mendocino county ~
b: The Napa of marijuana

What: See the story. Humboldt county is making the same claim. In fact CNBS had a similar story a couple months back.

Useful?
Writer: Laura Bly, USA TODAY
LCC: J
Where:
Date: Oct 9 2010 5:58 AM


Modern Conservatives=bad Metal Band

a: Modern conservative ~
b: a bad metal band

What: "How did conservative discussion on TV go from this to Glenn Beck? While still given to hyperbole, they both are quite erudite and there's no yelling or fearmongering. Compared to this, modern conservatives sound like a bad metal band: a lot of noise with no substance." The linked video is a Firing Line discussion between Bill Buckley and Malcolm Muggeridge. And the point is raised in this analogy is appropriate. How did political conservatism go from this to the noisy nonsense that is Fox News?

Useful?
Writer: TheLichens
LCC: JA
Where:
Date: Nov 21 2011 11:41 AM


Muslim Brotherhood and the YMCA

a: Muslim Brotherhood ~
b: the YMCA?

What: " Because they don't want the truth about their sins, and the need to be saved, people render themselves vulnerable to a lot of other lies, like "Islam is a religion of peace and love!", and "The Muslim Brotherhood is like the YMCA", or "homosexuals have as much right to marry as straight people", or "Everyone is going to heaven"."

Useful?
Writer: Pastor Bill Randles
LCC: J
Where:
Date: Feb 2 2011 1:57 AM


Northern California Culture

a: Northern California Culture is becoming ~
b: the Culture portrayed in Ecotopia

What: This book portrays the succession of Northern California, Oregon and Washington into a single sovereign state based on sound ecological principles. Some of the key features are bicycle transportation, mag-lev trains and government of Lesbian Druids. I must say, that the book was enjoyable, but the political subtext in the novel should be abhorrent to any freethinking American. In short Callenbach is advocating lesbionic totalitarianism based on a protecting the natural world. This is not protecting other human beings, it means protecting nature itself, as if it were a citizen with rights. It doesn't say anything in the US Constitution about the natural world having Rights. If you look at the environmental movement in the past 30/40 years, that has been the driving premise. It a horrid conflation of natural based religion mixed with left wing progression politics. As this is written, there is a freakish sense of the feminine that has pervaded this area,The Bay Area, since I've lived here. Who knows how this will play out in the future.

Useful?
Writer: LucretiaGermanica
LCC: J
Where:
Date: Oct 22 2010 9:25 AM


Oakland

a: Oakland ~
b: Detroit

What: "My ex-wife and I went to a Burger King in Oakland because we were hungry. Also because she was an idiot that insisted in going into this crime infested restaurant like she was a white Rosa Parks. We ate in a tension filled stare fest. Oakland is like Detroit in that it's over run with Mixon type supporters that are very angry and hateful toward whitey. One day a government with guts will take back that which was forcefully taken from it. "

Useful?
Writer: samurai
LCC: J
Where:
Date: Jul 28 2010 1:59 AM


Leadership

a: Obamas pragmatism ~
b: Mushy Steel

What: "There is a strange quality to Barack Obama's pragmatism. It can look like dilly-dallying, weakness, indecisiveness. But although he may seem weak at times, one of the words most applicable to him is something else entirely: ruthless. Beneath the crisp suit and easy smile there is a core of strategic steel."

Useful?
Writer: Andrew Sullivan
LCC: J
Where:
Date: Oct 20 2009 12:56 AM


Afghanistan Policy

a: Open-ended commitment of arms and money ~
b: form of dependency-generating welfare

What: "That time-line the GOP hawksters are decrying: it seems to have jolted Afghanistan's leadership into less complacency. __ One weird contradiction in current conservative thought. Isn't an open-ended commitment of arms and money and troops to a weak foreign country a dangerous form of dependency-generating welfare? If we can have welfare reform domestically, why can we not have it internationally?"

Useful?
Writer: Andrew Sullivan
LCC: J
Where:
Date: Dec 3 2009 12:10 PM


Spread It And It Go Boom....

a: Political awareness ~
b: gasoline

What: "Awareness is the gasoline. Spread it broadly, and a tiny spark can ignite change. (Hey, not so bad for on the fly...) And look at states where a similar change was made: Activists in Connecticut spent years pushing that issue, spreading awareness. And when the governor was convicted for corruption, change happened."

Useful?
Writer: Lawrence Lessig Esq.
LCC: JK
Where: Reference Link Has Evaporated
Date: Jul 2 2013 2:04 PM


President Bart Simpson

a: President Trump ~
b: Bart Simpson

What:

"Hillary is like Lisa Simpson running for president. Trump is like Bart Simpson running for president."


Useful?
Writer: Marry Christmas
LCC: JK
Where:
Date: Apr 20 2016 11:56 AM


Reading Marx

a: Reading Marx ~
b: fucking a microwaved squash

What: You know. Marx. Reading Marx is like fucking a microwaved squash -- everyone's got to do it eventually, but you probably shouldn't get so into it that you start joining a club. Because the next thing you know you'll be standing on the back of a personnel transport humorlessly waving a huge flag and screaming through a bullhorn at a bunch of people who made the fatal mistake of not agreeing with you, while your comrades herd them through barbed-wire-lined corrals with rifle butts and... wait

Useful?
Writer: Not Stated
LCC: J
Where:
Date: Jul 29 2010 4:33 AM


State of Illinois

a: State of Illinois ~
b: The Simpsons

What: "It like living next door to the 'Simpsons'-you know, the dysfunctional family down the block". Indiana Governor, Mitch Daniels.

Useful?
Writer: Mitch Daniels
LCC: J
Where:
Date: Jan 16 2011 6:59 AM


The AMA is like Kmart...

a: The AMA ~
b: Kmart

What: "I received the following spam from the American Medical Association. It is beyond embarrassing. If the AMA truly felt they were performing such good service on behalf of doctors, they shouldn't have to peddle themselves at half price like some cheap linen sale at Kmart." I guess he believes it's too much of a marketing based organization.

Useful?
Writer: ZMD
LCC: J
Where:
Date: Aug 6 2011 4:08 PM


The Palo Alto Hellmouth

a: The East Meadow Crossing ~
b: The Palo Alto Hellmouth

What: Yes indeed. There have a been several suicides on this spot in the last year, mostly local high school students. There has been speculation that these students were under a lot of pressure socially and academically. I've yet to see an honest assessment of what the actual causes were. People don't like to talk about this kind of event and newspapers don't like to write honestly about it for fear of offending the community. But what is it about this juncture? What's going on this city?

Useful?
Writer: LucretiaGermanica
LCC: J
Where:
Date: Oct 13 2010 2:49 AM


The Return Of Jerry Brown

a: The return of jerry brown ~
b: a Freddy Krueger re-make

What: "The return of Jerry Brown is like a Freddy Krueger re-make. The thought of the man running California's business is truly frightening."

Useful?
Writer: Rovin
LCC: J
Where:
Date: Nov 6 2010 12:56 AM


The Tea Party

a: The tea party ~
b: a pool of 2nd class citizens

What: "To the Republican establishment, tea party people are field hands. Their labors are to be recognized and rewarded, but they are to stay off the porch and not presume to sit at the master's table."

Useful?
Writer: Patrick J. Buchanan
LCC: J
Where: Reference Link Has Evaporated
Date: Sep 18 2010 1:55 AM


Afghanistan Culture

a: Tribes in afghanistan ~
b: jellyfish

What: [T]he desire for "tribal engagement" in Afghanistan, executed along the lines of the recent "Surge" strategy in Iraq, is based on an erroneous understanding of the human terrain. In fact, the way people in rural Afghanistan organize themselves is so different from rural Iraqi culture that calling them both "tribes" is deceptive. "Tribes" in Afghanistan do not act as unified groups, as they have recently in Iraq. For the most part they are not hierarchical, meaning there is no "chief" with whom to negotiate (and from whom to expect results). They are notorious for changing the form of their social organization when they are pressured by internal dissension or external forces. Whereas in some other countries tribes are structured like trees, "tribes" in Afghanistan are like jellyfish.

Useful?
Writer: poliusmia
LCC: J
Where:
Date: Dec 2 2009 5:10 AM


Uncle Sam The Dirty Stoned Hippy....

a: Uncle sam ~
b: a stoned, dirty, stinkin' hippie

What: "Yet Uncle Sam is like a stoned, dirty, stinkin' hippie with a credit card. It's gluttonous, it's slovenly, it's indulgent. For anybody to bail anybody out is wrong. It's counterproductive and disgusting" --->Finally someone put things in perspective. Of course the rest of the interview is very good. Except Mr. Nugent is a bit long winded.

Useful?
Writer: Ted Nugent
LCC: J
Where:
Date: May 27 2011 11:39 PM


The Glue Sniffing Congress

a: United states congress ~
b: a group of glue sniffing teenagers

What: Financial glue sniffing at its worst. They like to spend money and get some money.

Useful?
Writer: LucretiaMia
LCC: JA
Where:
Date: May 20 2012 3:57 PM


The Us Washington Elites.......

a: Us government 2013 ~
b: Maoist gerontocracy

What: It is indeed. Look at the US government, or maybe the 2 political parties that hold the most power,currently . A duopoly that spends much of it's time currying favor and power with the money powers so they can get more money and power so they can get even more money and power and favor. It's 2 factions fighting to control the levers of power in Washington DC. The powerful people in both parties are in their early 70's. They have been around a long time. That how you get to the top of the heap. It has the flavor of a Maoist gerontocracy. What is characteristic of this form of government? Check back for more later.....

Useful?
Writer: LucyShew
LCC: JC
Where: Reference Link Has Evaporated
Date: Mar 14 2013 12:09 PM


Us Tax Deductions And Fiscal Indulgences

a: Us tax deduction ~
b: a Fiscal indulgences

What: "Luther would not think much of our current tax system, I expect. We argue about rates, the financial equivalent of purgatory. The Republicans in Congress are prepared to sacrifice our immortal debt rating to the proposition that not one penny increase is possible, even though almost no one actually pays those rates." This analogy needs a concise link.

Useful?
Writer: MICHAEL MUNGER
LCC: JK
Where:
Date: Jul 27 2011 11:08 PM


The Old People Got More Of It.....

a: Vatican gerontocracy ~
b: american labor movement

What: "The Vatican gerontocracy is like the American labor movement and cuban communism."

Useful?
Writer: Josh Greenman
LCC: JX
Where:
Date: May 31 2013 11:43 AM


Transplant Rejection?

a: Washington establishment ~
b: healthy immunological system

What:

"Washington is a very healthy immunological system," he said. "You'll see a full-blown organ rejection if you put too many status-quo disruptors in Washington."


Useful?
Writer: Anthony Scaramucci, an adviser to the Trump transition
LCC: JK
Where:
Date: Dec 18 2016 1:59 PM


All Over The Place

a: Washington hearing ~
b: a fern in the rainforest

What: "On April 24, Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar scheduled a hearing. Fun story, right? A hearing in Washington is like a fern in the rainforest. But this hearing was notable for both its subject and its attendance. It was a meeting about the most important economic crisis facing America today: long-term unemployment. "

Useful?
Writer: DEREK THOMPSON
LCC: JK
Where:
Date: May 14 2013 11:44 AM


Washington, D.c Vs. Disneyland

a: Washington-dc ~
b: the rest of the U.S

What: "One wonders where a world view like Mr. Easterbrook's comes from. But we find a clue on the book jacket, where we learn Mr. Easterbrook resides near Washington, D.C. This, I believe, explains a lot. Washington, D.C. is like the rest of the U.S. in the same way Disneyland is like the rest of Californinia." .This is a blog article about factories in the US with a comment about foreign lobbying.

Useful?
Writer: LEE TESCHLER
LCC: J
Where:
Date: Nov 30 2010 2:48 AM


Getting A Chinese Visa And The Soup Nazi

a: Why getting a chinese visa ~
b: Seinfeld Ordering Soup

What: "I've been emailing with the Chinese Consulate for the past week and every interaction essentially turns out to be something akin to the Seinfeld episode about the 'Soup Guy', only these guys email the equivalent of 'NO VISA for you!'.

Useful?
Writer: Rp
LCC: JX
Where:
Date: Sep 14 2011 10:42 AM


WikiLeaks

a: WikiLeaks ~
b: TMZ for war crimes

What: "WikiLeaks is like TMZ for war crimes."

Useful?
Writer: mattbors
LCC: J
Where:
Date: Jul 27 2010 7:10 AM


Wikileaks

a: Wikileaks ~
b: BP Oil leak

What: #wikileaks is like a #BP Oil leak.....a gusher of misinformation that destroys all the good in it's path! Help put a cap on #wikileaks. Hmmmm. This seems like a stretch.

Useful?
Writer: robinsage
LCC: J
Where: Reference Link Has Evaporated
Date: Jul 27 2010 7:13 AM


Climate Politics

a: war on climate change ~
b: war on cancer

What: "They are taking advantage of the current situation. That is understandable. In previous times people got wonderful research grants in a war against cancer and they achieved a lot of money for that. Now we have a war on climate change and we have a huge number of people out there who have their career staked on it and are beneficiaries of this process.

Useful?
Writer: Louise Gray
LCC: J
Where:
Date: Nov 14 2009 1:55 AM



Green Venn Diagram

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.