In April, the Senate Transportation Committee held an informational hearing on the latest version of the California High-Speed Rail Authority’s business plan. Continuing the Authority’s persistent rejection of reality, Authority CEO Ian Choudri claimed that everything remains hunky-dory. We haven’t seen this level of denial since the Monty Python dead parrot skit. Fortunately, after Choudri’s testimony, other witnesses, who recognized that the parrot was indeed dead, provided a starkly different perspective. Reports from both the Legislative Analyst’s Office and Office of Inspector General correctly noted that several portions of the business plan are inconsistent with existing statutory law. Even worse,...