Illegally downloading David Cook's music

First and foremost, several of you have posted that your advice to this individual would be to donate the price of the CD or each song to the American Cancer Society. I want to say to you that this speaks volumes to how genuine of a fan you are. Not only do you believe this is what David would want, but you didn't even hesitate to tell this person that paying for it is the right thing to do. For that, I personally thank you.

I made a phone call this morning regarding this topic. For anyone who is having an ethical dilemma because they have downloaded David's music without paying for it, here is what has been suggested to you:

Whatever amount of money will put your conscience to rest, send in the form of a donation to the American Cancer Society.

Praise from the Government

http://mccaskill.senate.gov/newsroom/recor...?id=298321&

05.22.2008 2:13 pm

Blunt, Kinder — and now, McCaskill — can’t get enough of their “Idol�

By: Jo Mannies

When there’s “idol� praise to be made, the state’s two top executives are at the ready. And Missouri’s junior senator even delivered a floor speech on her �idol’s� behalf.

Late Wednesday and earlier today, Gov. Matt Blunt and Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder each quickly e-mailed statements lauding the victory of Missouri’s own David Cook on �American Idol.�

Later today, U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., delivered her accolades on the Senate floor.

First, the governor:

“Melanie and I congratulate America’s newest idol David Cook,� Blunt said. “David’s tremendous vocal talents, performance skills and the momentum of this victory will serve him well as he continues his music career. On behalf of all Missourians I offer our congratulations to David and wish him the best.�

Blunt noted that Cook is a native of Blue Springs, and a 2006 graduate of the University of Central Missouri.

Said Kinder, in his lengthy blog post:

“In my travels throughout our great state, I have met so many talented and gifted people who give so much joy and happiness to their fellow Missourians…A young man named David Cook from Blue Springs, Missouri showed the world the kind of talent we have in our great state by winning the title of American Idol after a world record 97.5 million votes were cast.

“For the record, David received 56 percent of the vote, which is impressive since most politicians are lucky to get close to such a margin of victory.

“(Trust me on this one.)…It is Missourians like David who exemplify what it means to be a ‘Show Me Stater.’ “

Said McCaskill in her floor remarks:

“Mr. President, I want to congratulate a Missourian who has accomplished something truly remarkable.

“We have known our share of champions in Missouri, like the 2006 St. Louis Cardinals and the Big 12 North winning University of Missouri football team. We’ve also had our share of great entertainers, like Josephine Baker, Scott Joplin, and Sheryl Crow. But it is very rare that we have someone who is both…

“David’s victory was remarkable even by American Idol’s standards. The show has become one of the greatest competitions the country has ever witnessed. It is ubiquitous. It is practically unavoidable. And with the eyes of the whole country watching, David Cook won American Idol by the incredible margin of 12 million votes out of a record 97.5 million votes cast. His performances, along with those of David Archuleta, the other worthy finalist, drew in more viewers than watched the season finale last year.

“It is telling of the graciousness and humility of this superbly talented young man that David didn’t even intend to try out for the show. The only reason he was at the audition was to support his brother. But while entering the contest may have been accidental, it is no accident that the country voted him the next American Idol. His easy confidence and visible passion (not to mention that voice!), made him the clear choice. He was also one of the nicest contestants ever to appear on the show – even notoriously grumpy Simon Cowell said so…�

Even state experts are weighing in. At the University of Missouri School of Journalism, radio-television professor Lee Wilkins said that “American Idol� is such a success “because it promotes individuality.�

In a release, he explained that Cook and runner-up David Archuleta “became leaders for today’s popular culture…�

� ‘This is a culture that’s celebrity saturated and American Idol is a celebrity making machine,’ � Wilkins said. � ‘It’s successful at that because the culture itself is receptive and because many of the contestants, not just the winners, have enormous appeal. People watch because the show plays on our notions of authenticity and individuality—this resonates in a culture that prizes these things…’ “

“ ‘It also harkens back to those Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney movies where some ‘kids’ would put on ‘shows’ in their backyards and finish with a Hollywood musical. All of us know people who are talented, and some of us have talent and we would like to succeed with it,’ � Wilkins added.

An interesting take on the Idol phenomenon, which has a tenuous link to politics.

As many wags have said: politics often is seen as show business for homely people

July 18 - St. Louis or August 29 - Kansas City

Anyone headed to David's old stompin' grounds? I'm pretty sure I'll be at both the KC and the STL shows.

Privacy Thread

Dearest Word Nerds,

I have been in contact with the Cook Family and they have requested that we keep our conversations focused on David, his music and his journey as a whole before, during and after American Idol. Since that's really what this forum is for, I told them I would do what I could to help.

Although the attempted fundraisers and all other efforts to support Adam Cook are very much appreciated, the very best thing and the only thing that we should be doing for the family is keeping them in our thoughts and prayers.

The local & national news, internet, print and most every other form of media will do anything for a good story, especially one that can be potentially heart-wrenching and that alone is enough to have to deal with on a daily basis. Our job as loyal Word Nerds is to keep David as the Idol front-runner, get him to win, then buy every piece of merchandise with is name/intials/photo/music on it... not to exploit or continue to discuss his personal/family life, let's leave that to the trashy tabloid reporters.

The point of this is not to harp on anyone here, but more-so to give a heads-up that any future threads and/or posts may be removed if they are considered to be overly-invasive of the privacy of anyone in the Cook Family. Several threads have already been removed entirely and several individual posts have been also, if your posts or threads have been deleted, please understand that it is not personal. I am only doing what I can to try to oblige them in their desperate attempt to maintain some sort of privacy.

The same goes for who David is dating, his vices, habits, religious preferences etc. Basically anything that hasn't been disclosed in a public statement by himself or the family would be, I feel, considered "private." As far as news articles, TV stations, etc., let's leave them in the magazines and on the TV (or YouTube).

David's got some of the best fans in the world on this site, but in order to remain some of the best fans, let's raise the bar shall we? Let's not only be the best, but the classiest and most respectful.

Thank you very much for understanding!