A good analogy is like an antique turnip.

A few weeks back, Professor Orin Kerr of the Volokh Conspiracy blog suggested that, when using analogies to explain issues relating to technology law, one should not become too wrapped-up in "the analogy game" and lose perspective. Not that it's particularly analogous to technology law, but Kerr's suggestion would apply as well to foreign policy. It's a shame that Congressman Ric Keller, a Republican from Florida, didn't get the message:

Let me give you an analogy. Imagine your next door neighbor refuses to mow his lawn and the weeds are all the way up to his waist. You decide you’re going to mow his lawn for him every single week. The neighbor never says thank you. He hates you and sometimes he takes out a gun and shoots at you.

Under these circumstances, do you keep mowing his lawn forever? Do you send even more of your family members over to mow his lawn? Or do you say to that neighbor, ‘You better step it up and mow your own lawn or there’s going to be serious consequences for you’?

Does Kerr support the withdrawal of American troops or the President's surge? If he thinks too much about that analogy, even he might not be certain. In the meantime, I'm heading home to oil my guns just in case my neighbor tries to mow my lawn.