Could it be that the federal government is more protective of the interests of California taxpayers than the state’s own politicians and bureaucrats? Two stories from last week certainly support the theory. First, recall that the U.S. Department of Transportation had already announced in June that it was pulling the plug on any further federal funding for California’s controversial high-speed rail project. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy was blunt in his assessment that, “we don’t want to invest in boondoggles.” The decision to cut off funding was set forth in a 315-page report to the High Speed Rail Authority confirming that...