You know, some people consider Texas to be a barren, heartless prison of stunted humanity and cultural illiteracy. To them it is a symbol of the worst American values; a place where ignorance is prized, rapacity lauded, the least fortunate scorned and abandoned, plus even the babies are packing heat. On the other hand, there is a dentist there who serves wine and beer. So it can't be all bad. [WARNING: Includes standard local news punnery.]

Oh, by the way, we were being critical of one of the pieces in this Slate series about dentists, and while we disagree with some of it, also it is only fair to mention that the other recent pieces in the series-such as this, on the lives of dentists, and this, on the cost of dentistry, are fascinating. Apparently tomorrow brings the piece about the insane disparity in rich/poor dental care, which, yes please.