This blog post was written by Beth Bissmeyer, a Berea College student and co-chair of the Madison County chapter.

Just thought I'd share a couple links worth checking out.

--David Hawpe, of The Courier-Journal, wrote an article today that looks at some important statistics from a report, "A Statistical View of the 'Bluegrass State,' 2008," produced by CQ (Congressional Quarterly) Press. One staggering figure in the article is that, between 1998 and 2007, public campus tuition rose by the highest percentage in Kentucky, a trend that continues with more budget cuts.

Since we refuse to fund education effectively, it's no surprise that we're fourth in percentage of the population still in poverty, third in percentage of senior citizens stuck below the poverty line, ninth in percentage of poor children, fifth in families living in poverty," David Hawpe.

Such staggering numbers show that we have a long way to go in turning Kentucky around, but they also serve as a motivator to work harder to make sure that turn around happens.

--Appalachian Voices has put together a great site that tracks campaign contributions from the coal industry to members of congress. You can visit the site here, or enter your zip code in the box below to see how much money your representative receives from the coal industry. Kentucky's two US Senators have both received money from the coal industry. Since 2000, Sen. Mitch McConnell has received $376,300 from the coal industry, and Sen. Jim Bunning has received $151,960.