They never go away. They never let up. They rarely traffic in reality. Conspiracy theorists are relentless. That much was clear Friday as the D.C. Council’s Committee on Government Operations and the Environment held a hearing on the Public Land Surplus Standards Amendment Act of 2009, which creates a bureaucratic labyrinth to dispose of government property.
Many people testifying before the council weren’t new CTs. They have seen in every executive — except that of former Mayor Marion Barry — a conspiracy to whack poor people or systematically push them out of the city to advance the desires of big developers. The CTs don’t make the connection between economic development and money needed to fund programs and services for the people they claim to be fighting to protect.
