I have progressive friends all over the South. Austin is great fun. In fact, in Austin there is a gay bar on the same block as the governor's mansion. I think that's pretty awesome. I watched the series finale of 'Six Feet Under' there with several other queens and a couple of suited gentlemen who I swear were politicians of some sort. They were stuffing dollar bills into the thongs of the hottie male dancers there.
ETA: Sorry, it's on the same block as the State Capitol and the TX Supreme Court not the Gov's mansion. Charlie's Bar.
