Last year liberal eyebrows were raised when Gavin Newsom, the Democratic lieutenant-governor, journeyed to deeply Republican Texas, along with several Republicans, to uncover the secret of the Lone Star state's job-creation record.

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Like genetics today, "galvanic forces" were then at the leading edge of the quest to uncover the secret of life, with implications both thrilling and terrifying: the promise of scientific miracles or the threat of godless abominations.

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