Creating overseas offices supposedly devoted to improving California's international trade was a popular political exercise in the 1980s and 1990s. There was no objective rationale for the program, nor any rhyme nor reason to where the offices were located. Governors and legislators acted on political whim, driven more by local factors or Capitol politics than a hard-nosed investment-vs.-return equation. Finally, the entire program collapsed of its own absurd weight. Journalistic investigations and official audits established that the trade offices were less than useless, with their directors - political appointees all - spending most of their time dreaming up phantom accomplishments....