I would like to create proportional symbol maps to show different metrics for cities across the united states, Alaska, and Hawaii. See some examples of these kinda maps here http://makingmaps.net/2007/08/28/perceptual-scaling-of-map-symbols/. I'm able to do it in R but it's not that pretty and it doesn't include Hawaii and Alaska. Preferably i'll like the map to look like the thematic map here http://flowingdata.com/2009/11/12/how-to-make-a-us-county-thematic-map-using-free-tools/. Is i possibly to use python and overlay symbols on the coordinates i'm interested in
