Sorta nice but also creepy and disturbing.

In a trend so rich in weirdness it deserves a John Prine song, D.C. lobbyists are hiring homeless people to stand in line for them in order to get coveted seats at key hearings. The practice – complete with a website – gives money and stature to people who desperately need it, while using them to facilitate policies that often work against their interests.

"I'm a part of something today and I'm very happy about that," says Williams Howard Johnson Jr., in line since midnight for a 10 a.m. climate-change bill hearing.

- Common Dreams