I'll try to make this short. Stephen Colbert has made the media focus on the plight of farmworkers who are abused because they have no rights, and done this better than anyone else for a really long time. You've probably seen his testimony delivered "in character":
In fact, as Dave Dayen has pointed out (BTW, hats off to DD for being all over this story) the most powerful testimony was at the end of the hearing, when answering the questions of Representative Judy Chu of California.
Some concern trolls in the media - including some who you'd think would know better - are suggesting that what Zoe Lofgren has done by bringing Colbert to testify "in character" in Congress - and his involvement in the Take My Job effort by the United Farm Workers in the first place - has been a setback to the effort to help the farmworkers.
I don't know about you, but Colbert's attention to this (and his serious answer to Rep. Chu why he was involved in this issue) has moved me enough to see what I could do to help. Perhaps you all have some better ideas, but here are the ones that occur to me:
#1 - Sign the UFW pledge to support the AgJobs bill (HR 2414), which is expected to allow current undocumented farm workers already in the United States a path to earn legal status.
#2 - Figure out if your representative in the House is a co-sponsor, and ask them to become one if they are not. (For example, my representative Jane Harman is not currently one of the 63 co-sponsors)
#3 - Give a little money to the UFW to help them support migrant farm workers. And if you have your donation end in $.01, they will know that it's a donation inspired by Colbert.
#4 - any suggestions?