Progress Illinois

Are you a conservative who's pissed off that lobbying firms are treating gay people like equals? If so, I have the perfect spot for you to unwind. It's Crown Point, Indiana's Conservative Cafe. The Tribune has a profile:

Ann Coulter books sit stacked by the fireplace, and a picture of Ronald Reagan hangs on the wall. Fox News plays on all the televisions, and stock market quotes scroll along an electronic ticker above the cash register.

Behind the counter, owner Dave Beckham smiles proudly in a khaki T-shirt that reads "Zip It, Hippie." The shirt is for sale at the Crown Point, Ind., cafe, along with ones that say "Peace through Superior Firepower."

"It's a change from the traditional liberal bastion coffeehouses," Beckham says. "No one is going to bad-mouth America in here."

What prompted Beckham's business decision? He says the anti-American coffee houses he used to frequent -- chock full of Mac-using, latte-drinking, left-wing freak shows, I'm sure -- offended his down-home Midwestern values. One patron agreed:

"I like it here," he says. "I don't have to worry about listening to beatnik poetry or some political ideology that makes me want to vomit."

Beckham's next business venture? I'm sure it's a right-wing shoe store, where "Real Americans" can satisfy all of their Italian loafer needs.