Folks, I started this craigconnects thing because I really want to use tech to give a real voice to the voiceless, and real power to the powerless. Ever 
since starting craigconnects, I’ve created a list of issues areas that I’m really focusing on. It’s important that we work together, as a community, and collaborate to create real social change. You can’t change the world from the top down.
Here are just 5 (of many) reasons we need social change:
- We seem to throw money into food and housing, yet a lot of folks are still in need, so something isn’t working right. This includes military families and veterans. We need to do it better.
- We need to improve the reentry experience of war veterans into the American economy and society. Less than 1% of Americans currently serve in the military, so this is a really important conversation to have. The conversation has already been started, we just need to keep collaborating and working toward our goals.
- Journalism Ethics. We need to ensure that journalism fulfills its role as the heart of democracy and its mission of seeking truth and building trust. The press should be the immune system of democracy. Turns out that what we have now are a lot of ethics codes and policies, but very little accountability. This is something I often discuss when I talk about trustworthy journalism in a fact-checking-free world. And this is also why I joined the board of Poynter, and work with the Columbia Journalism Review, Center for Public Integrity, and Sunlight Foundation.
- There are some real bad actors out there trying to implement laws to stop eligible people, including women, the elderly, and disenfranchised communities, from voting. What I learned in high school civics class is that an attack on voting rights is virtually the same as an attack on the country. We need to step up and remind folks that the Founders of the US tell us that everyone is equal in the eyes of the law, meaning that citizens have the right to vote. And we need to protect that right.
- Today, women represent 12% of all computer science graduates. In 1984, they represented 37%. This number should be increasing, and we can change that. It’s important that we encourage girls and women to get involved in tech. Here’s more on the importance of girls in tech.
Personally, I’m a nerd, and feel that life should be fair, that everyone gets a chance to be heard, and maybe to help run things. Sure, life isn’t fair, but that won’t slow me down. A nerd’s gotta do what a nerd’s gotta do.
Note to self: JUST LISTEN. That is, don’t ALWAYS attempt to solve the problem, SOMETIMES YOU JUST NEED TO LISTEN. (Courtesy of “You Just Don’t Understand” by Deborah Tannen.)
Craig Connects 
Life is not fair, I am diying at 54 of three different illnesses’s all very painful and all hopeless from a medical point of view. I used to be a pilot and crashed four times without so much as a scratch, no life is not fair. That said, the Troops returning from assignment and making the adjustment to “normal” life should be our first concern.
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I am a single mother of 3 awesome boys. A few years back I had my own business that didn’t survive in our dilapidated economy, so I became a server for Darden restaurants for 2 years until they made the Fortune 500 Top 100 Companies list and decided to restructure their stores and staff. As a result I lost my job, they didn’t need all the servers they staffed. In the same week the engine in my Camry blew up and my phone was shut off. Trying to help myself, I started working on my ’92 F150. Using youtube, I replaced the break, plugs, wires, starter, thermostat and water pump on my own and then had some help extending the exhaust for e-check. When completed, I was on my way to get plates for the truck when the engine in it also went. Not being from the area I live in, I have no friends, only former co-workers and most of my family has passed away, so I have no one to ask for help. I decided to try and make lemonades with the lemons life gave me and went back to college for Computer Information System Management. My children and I had to resort to walking everywhere in a lower class city where I am harassed by the opposite gender when I walk and have been attacked by dogs twice. I receive the Pell grant which isn’t nearly enough for us to survive on, but without transportation I am having a hard time finding a job within walking distance. My gas has already been shut off which means no cooking, hot water or the option for heat when it gets cold. My other utility bills are racking up and about to be shut off, I am at a loss. I receive a mere $85 in child support for just one of my children biweekly and instead of helping me by fulfilling the child support obligation, the father turned me in to Children Services thinking he could get custody and have his child support debt forgiven. I have nowhere to turn and no one to talk to. I don’t know how to get myself out of this situation, I have done everything I could think to do to help myself. I barely sleep trying to find options to make ends meet. If only I had my transportation back I would have more opportunity to get myself out of this horrible situation. My children are suffering and I am at a loss. I am not lazy and am desperate overcome our hardships, I just don’t know what to do anymore. If you have a suggestion on how I could help myself further, please email me at jennibeeblue@gmail.com. Thank you for taking the time to read what I had to say.
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