Then we get whack jobs in Congress like KM who says use the train money for water. Ummm ... as for (what's left of) the bonds at least, that's against the law (they were approved for one purpose not the other, for better or worse), and it's not Federal money under his control. And while he can certainly block further use of Federal money itself for HSR (and has, with his friends, done so), he can't use money already allocated to transportation for water (different pots, different enabling legislation) without more work and thought than he's willing to do, and with a lot of collateral damage. Good for a sound bite though.

Perhaps, for CAHSR, we should figure out how to clean up their act somehow (audit? other investigations?) and complete at least part of the system, then look for how to long-term fund the thing so private and offshore investors might be willing to send money instead of snide comments.