- September 23, 2010 • 11:30 am PDT
- + comments
- See original
- prevnext
Ridiculous though it may seem, Stephen Colbert is testifying before congress this Fridayabout immigration reform . While not an expert on the subject, he did devote a day to working on a corn farm in an effort to raise awareness about United Farm Workers and undocumented immigrants. But it's not his expertise the savvy politicians behind his testimony are after, it's his celebrity.
It's not hard to understand the appeal: Celebrities, by virtue of being famous, are able to bring considerable attention to the causes they choose to represent, which is why they're often asked to come before congress and spread their tail feathers. Here are six examples of famous folks who went to Washington for a cause.
1
GOOD Pictures: Go Outside
2
From Tweet to Street: Anti-Poverty Campaign Takes Supporters' Messages to Camp David
3
Pet Diaries: The Joint-Custody Dog Who Taught Me to Move On
4
GOOD Maker Challenge: How Would You Use Storytelling to Improve your Community?
5
How Cherokee Is Real Cherokee? Mixed-Race People Discuss Elizabeth Warren
today's top stories from our friends at pitchfork

From Andalusia to Olympia, here are ten gorgeous places we might not have for much longer.
Who's winning the fight for influence in Washington? GOOD and Piece Studio look at the top lobbying industries and the money they give for an...

Take a look at our favorite snapshots from today's #30DayofGOOD Challenge: Document someone who helped you.
General David Petraeus, who took over the military effort in Iraq in February 2007, is testifying before Congress this morning.It's our first big,...

File under glass half full: President Obama's head science guy thinks that Congressional climate science hearings would be a good thing.

Celebrities go silent on Twitter and Facebook for World Aids Day. The only way to get Lady Gaga tweeting again is to fork over money for the cause.

Gates is moving ahead with his polio eradication agenda, but some questioned the plan after his big announcement yesterday

Countries with lots of forest stand to benefit from the lucrative timber trade, but at what cost to their ecological footprint?

What to watch for in energy and environmental policy as the 112th Congress convenes.
Perhaps our Congressmen and women have always been crazy, and we're just starting to take notice. But it seems like there has been a real...
For a very brief moment earlier this year, I considered a run for Congress. My Congressman had announced his retirement. Shortly thereafter, he...
After an event to discuss high gas prices, Congressmen (like Mr. Speaker Denny Hastert) drove off in hydrogen-powered cars. What cheer! Only,...
Economic times may be hard for the vast majority of Americans, but here's one bright spot: Congress will go ahead and enjoy its annual $4,700 pay...
Remember when America's economy was pushed to the brink of total collapse by a combination of irresponsible borrowing, bank malfeasance, and the...

"This civil disobedience stuff kind of works. How many coal plants are there?" So wrote Bill McKibben, one of the climate movement's leading men...
There has been lots of talk about the disparity between the princely health care plans our pampered members of Congress enjoy and the stingy,...

Spoiler: There's not a lot of color on the Hill.