Over the past week, we've chronicled Don Cheadle and friends playing poker to benefit Darfur, Selena Gomez working for UNICEF, and Anthony Edwards running the New York City Marathon to help build a Kenyan children's hospital.  Each time, we've received at least one comment along these lines: "What about all of the problems here?  Why don't these stars help Americans first?"

It's not an unreasonable question – though maybe those folks missed our coverage of Georgia flood relief, David Spade helping firefighters, Moby donating concert proceeds to domestic violence shelters, and our first Find The Good story, Ludacris helping donate cars to people in need.

It's true that many of the highest-profile celebrity charity efforts seem to be aimed overseas.  Is that because those projects seem more exotic, or is the need there truly greater?  Plenty of stars are working to solve domestic problems, from David Arquette's constant work with food banks to Adam Lambert helping schoolkids to Soleil Moon Frye's advocacy of Alzheimer's awareness.  And let's not forget the king of celebrity philanthropy: the late Paul Newman, whose Newman's Own foundation has donated more than $280 million to thousands of different charities, in the U.S. and around the world.

But back to our question: should American celebs focus on American causes, or is all charitable work laudable, regardless of location?  And for those who favor domestic efforts, what should take priority?  (Are you doing anything toward that cause?)  And do you know of any stars whose work we should be profiling here?

Full disclosure here: My name is Jenny, and I’m an "American Idol' fan. With that out of the way…

Have you seen it? Adam Lambert’s album cover?

Well, you should.

When I first saw it, I thought it was a picture from my favorite movie when I was 5 – "Xanadu."

But no, it’s the cover art for "Idol" runner-up Adam Lambert’s debut album.  His blue hair, rainbow eyeliner, overly photoshopped face and no shirt (but is he wearing roller skates?!) picture definitely grabs your attention.

The photos released last week from Lambert’s Details Magazine shoot also grab your attention. If you haven’t seen those photos, just click here.  Pretty crazy, huh? Clearly this is a guy who likes to push boundaries – all of them.

Adam, though, seems to find the blogosphere buzz over the cover a little strange.  He tweeted out today his exasperation with people who didn’t get his "omage" – his spelling, not mine – to the campiness of the past. Hey … maybe my "Xanadu" reference wasn’t too far off.

If you’d like your own personal copy of "Xana" - oops, sorry, Adam Lambert’s "For Your Entertainment" – the album will be released on November 23.

Paula Abdul sported a black church lady hat and Adam Lambert rocked a skinny bow tie, but it was Snoop Dogg who elicited catcalls from the media when he strolled into the Beverly Hills press conference to announce nominees for the 2009 American Music Awards. The rapper had traded in his signature football jersey and braids for a vest, a velvet blazer, a slicked-back ponytail and a pair of nerd glasses. "This is about me stepping up and becoming a bigger, better person and becoming a business," he confided after the presser. "I'm the new President/Creative Director of Priority Records." Does this mean the iconic hip-hop star has turned over a new leaf, so to speak? Well, judge for yourself. When we asked him if marijuana should be legalized, he had this to say: "You know how I stand. I stand very high on that!"

Lambert tells us he's been buried in a studio, working on his new album - which he described as "glam rock packaged in a pop sensibility." He gave a thumbs-up to the gay rights rally that took place in D.C. over the weekend, saying "I think it's great. I think it's a civil rights issue, and I think people deserve to be heard on it. I believe in equal rights for everybody." He said his Rolling Stone cover story was liberating. "To really sit down with a reporter and talk about me from the ground up was really, really great, and I feel like we got a lot of stuff out of the closet - literally cleaned out that closet - so hopefully people can focus on the music." His debut CD hits stores November 24th - two days after he performs on the AMAs.

As for Ms. Paula Abdul... she gave us this Sarah Palin-esque answer when we asked if a show in Vegas was in the cards as part of her post-"Idol" life. "I have many different opportunities in Las Vegas, which I've been offered for years, but the timing is right because I have TV projects that I'm doing - a lot of different things that are very exciting that I get to continue to live my dream now."

However, she was much more succinct when discussing frustration that the "Idol" women have been pitted against each other in the media. "No one ever said anything about the guys, and I know for a fact there was jealousy going around with the guys - bigger dressing rooms, trailers, someone buys a house for X amount of millions, and the other one says, 'Well, I bought the whole land.' And then somebody got J. Lo's interior designer. 'Well, I bought J. Lo!' That's how it would work, you know."

Adam Lambert's fans made him last season's "American Idol" runner-up - now they've answered his call to help struggling schools.  The singer's online fan groups competed to see who could raise the most money for DonorsChoose.org, which lets people give money directly to classroom project requests submitted by teachers around the U.S.

The month-long challenge raised $229,000 for arts- and music-related learning resources and supplies, benefiting nearly 88,000 students - many in high-poverty schools.

According to DonorsChoose, U.S. school teachers spend $1 billion out of their own pockets each year, trying to make up for seemingly endless cuts to school budgets.  The Web site, founded in 2000, allows teachers to describe specific projects for their students; donors can then select which projects to support, either in part or in full. YouTube: Lambert thanks his fans

So far, 109,000 public and charter school teachers have used the site to obtain $38 million for books, supplies, technology, and other learning resources, helping some 2.5 million students.  The Lambert competition is over, but fans can still donate in his name at DonorsChoose.org/AdamLambert.  And whether you donate in his name, or on your own, I can tell you: the photos and thank-you notes you'll get from the kids you help make it even more rewarding.