Speaking from Hyde Park Academy in his hometown Chicago, President Obama says he wants to reignite the "true engine of America's economic growth, a rising, thriving middle class."

"Every day, we should ask ourselves three questions: How do we bring good jobs to America? How do we equip people with the skills those jobs require? And how do we make sure your hard work leads to a decent living?" Obama says in the address.

By launching manufacturing hubs across the country, the president says he believes it will "transform hard-hit regions into global centers of high-tech jobs and manufacturing." America should become a "magnet for new jobs," he says.

Obama explains that getting there should be simple.

"We need to make our tax code more competitive, ending tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas, and rewarding companies that create jobs here at home. And we need to invest in the research and technology that will allow us to harness more of our own energy and put more people back to work repairing our crumbling roads and bridges," says. "These steps will help our businesses expand and create new jobs."

The president also notes his goals raising the minimum wage and providing every American child with "high-quality preschool," because, he says, "kids in these programs do better throughout their lives."

"These steps will help grow our economy and rebuild a rising, thriving middle class. And we can do it while shrinking our deficits. We don’t have to choose between the two, we just have to make smart choices," he said.

A full transcript of the President's remarks after the fold, or visit the White House website.

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[NSFW]

This is your moment of clarity #191: Technological advancements are increasing exponentially. Your life is going to change in impressive ways pretty soon. Don't you wanna learn how? (And yes, it does involve drone aircraft and caribou.)

Keep fighting,

Lee

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Thanks to Heather for the videos!

During an interview on CNN Wednesday night, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange warned that mass surveillance was becoming a worldwide problem as technology progressed. Assange has just published a new book about the internet, called "Cypher Punks: Freedom and the Future of the Internet."

Assange told CNN host Erin Burnett that the Internet has merged with global civilization, giving governments and others an unprecedented ability to spy on virtually anyone, because the technology to do so has become cheaper.

"Rather, the new game in two is strategic surveillance," he said. "It is cheaper now to intercept all communications in and out of a country. Store it permanently than it is to simply go after one particular person."

Now while you get the impression, at first, that Mr. Assange is a guest on CNN to discuss his new book. It could have indeed been quite an interesting topic, but that doesn't seem to be what Erin Burnett had in mind as she continuously tries to interrupt...

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Some patriotic millionaires have a message for Congress:

Ten years ago, Republicans made a mistake. They gave tax cuts to millionaires. They decided our country needed less money and millionaires needed more.

Now our country doesn't have the money we need to build an economy that will work for all of us.

We need better roads to transport our products; faster internet for our technology companies; and more research at universities to spark our innovation.

Taking money from our future and giving it to millionaires is un-American.

Put America ahead of politics. Tax us!

Okay, John Boehner, what are you waiting for?

RT.com's Abby Martin takes a look at the facial recognition technology being used to data-mine protestors and track you.

[Tony Dokoupil reports on the little-known rules the government can use to shut down phone networks.]

According to the Daily Beast on Wednesday, Chicago law enforcement officials could shut down cell phone networks as part of their "security" operation in Chicago during the NATO summit.

Reporter Tony Dokoupil writes "Much of the cat-and-mouse game will be technological, with people in the streets wielding smartphones to coordinate actions and publicize what's happening, while law enforcement mulls whether to take the power of those phones away—disrupting service in the name of public safety."

While the tactic is usually associated with digital dictators abroad—and the Obama administration has sharply criticized such interruptions, even proposing sanctions against countries that curb their peoples' wireless freedom—shutdowns are a creeping American phenomenon as well.

Often a perfectly legal one.

Not only do the FBI and Secret Service have standing authority to jam signals, but they along with state and local authorities can also push for the shutdown of cell towers, thanks to a little-known legacy of the Bush administration: "Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) 303," which lays out the nation's official "Emergency Wireless Protocols."

“It’s the nature of law enforcement to push the envelope… It’s act first and litigate second.”

We've certainly seen this "act first" move in play more often than not during Occupy Wall Street protests alone. Dokoupil also writes that "Rumors of cellphone jamming also swirled around the Occupy protests in New York earlier this month; five people told The Daily Beast that they struggled to send photos, tweets, and basic text messages." It wouldn't be shocking, if the rumors are true, after all we've witnessed at the NYC protests and rallies. Cell phone jamming as a possibility during the NATO summit shouldn't really be a question at this point. Expect it.

Snuggly the Security Bear is here to tell you all about the wonders of preventing IP piracy through the SOPA and PIPA legislation. Snuggly is working with his Hollywood buddies at the MPAA and fixing the Internet right up!

A Mark Fiore political animation.