LIVE from D.C., it's SATURDAY AFTERNOON!!

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Rally co-hosts Colbert & Stewart

Click 'read more' for rally pics.

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Time for a reprise -- Happy Halloween!

The trouble with most New Yorker magazine covers is their built-in timely uniqueness. They are alternately funny, poignant, newsy or socially relevant, and then they fade into obscurity. A month, a year, a decade later, the meaning of many covers is forgotten.
Some covers do buck the trend. Saul Steinberg's classic New Yorker's world map, for example (see read more) is one example. �Herewith Jaxonia publishes its candidate for enduring fame:

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When was the first ticker tape parade?

A�ticker-tape parade�is a�parade�event held in a downtown urban setting, allowing the jettison of large amounts of shredded paper products from nearby�office�buildings onto the parade route, creating a triumphal effect by the snowstorm-like flurry.

The term originated in�New York City�after a spontaneous celebration held on�October 29,�1886�during the dedication of theStatue of Liberty, and is still most closely associated with New York City. The term�ticker-tape�originally referred to the use of the paper output of�ticker tape machines, which were remotely-driven devices used in brokerages to provide updated stock market quotes. Nowadays, the paper products are largely waste office paper that have been cut using conventional�paper shredders. The city also distributes paper�confetti.^[1]

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A tea party update

The right-wing tea party movement likes to affect the use of the Gadsden Purchase flag as a symbol of their discontent with the government; they translate the 'don't tread on me' motto as an implicit warning to the�constituted�governments of America to 'back off.'
While contemporary usage does make allowances for the use of that flag as a symbol of discontent, its original meaning was one of American unity and solidarity. Indeed, no less a formidable figure than founding father Benjamin Franklin saw the rattlesnake as a fitting emblem for the country. In one of his famous essays he wrote of the snake:


"I recollected that her eye excelled in brightness, that of any other animal, and that she has no eye-lids�She may therefore be esteemed an emblem of vigilance.�She never begins an attack, nor, when once engaged, ever surrenders: She is therefore an emblem of magnanimity and true courage.�As if anxious to prevent all pretensions of quarreling with her, the weapons with which nature has furnished her, she conceals in the roof of her mouth, so that, to those who are unacquainted with her, she appears to be a most defenseless animal; and even when those weapons are shewn and extended for her defense, they appear weak and contemptible; but their wounds however small, are decisive and fatal:�Conscious of this, she never wounds till she has generously given notice, even to her enemy, and cautioned him against the danger of stepping on her.�Was I wrong, Sir, in thinking this a strong picture of the temper and conduct of America?"


Look closely at the Gadsden snake -- coiled and ready to strike, her tail brandishes no less than 13 rattles. A UNITED country, not a divided one.
Click 'read more' if you'd like to see the original Naval ensign that inspired the Gadsden flag



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Maybe all is not lost

After more than 200 years of trying, it is exasperating to the point of ultimate ennui to realize that America, with all its incredible riches, both natural and philosophic, and in the face of natural and man-made catastrophes, STILL cannot get its act together.

As we face a Presidential mid-term election that is in scary lockstep with the 'two-steps-forward, one-step-back' doctrine of the past 30 years, isn't there ANY hopeful signs out there? Have we accomplished nothing of value in the last decade or so?
Well, it ain't much, but Jaxonia would like you to consider the International Space Station. In little more than ten years, this little blip in orbit was created and has flourished and grown in worldwide cooperation. Look at what has been accomplished so far, while the rest of us have spent the decade car-bombing or Predator-striking each other.
Make friends with a nerd -- they know what they're doing! Click the headline -- watch the space station grow!