More truthout 7/1

Midwest Floods Spotlight Decrepit Infrastructure
http://www.truthout.org/article/midwest-floods-spotlight-decrepit-infrastructure Andrew Stern of Reuters reports: "The latest US natural disaster is triggering fresh rounds of concern and debate about how to repair America's aging infrastructure."

Lawmakers Break for July Fourth With Few Accomplishments
http://www.truthout.org/article/lawmakers-break-july-fourth-with-few-accomplishments The Washington Independent's Mike Lillis says, "A week ago, Senate leaders approached a calendar full of pressing legislation with heads full of optimism that they could wrap it up before the July 4 recess. Then reality hit."

Obama to Rename Bush's Faith Office
http://www.truthout.org/article/obama-rename-bushs-faith-office Mike Allen, The Politico, writes: "Sen. Barack Obama (D-Illinois) plans to slam President Bush's program as 'a photo op' and a failure on Tuesday, and says he would scrap the office and create a new Council for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships that would be a 'critical' part of his administration."

Dr. Reese Halter Global Warming's Twin Evil: Wildfires and Drought
http://www.truthout.org/article/global-warmings-twin-evil-wildfires-and-drought Writing for AlterNet, Dr. Reese Halter says, "The hundreds of fires hitting California right now are a wake-up call to both government and California residents: we're unprepared for a rapid climate change crackling at our doorstep."

For First Time, Congress Addresses Transgender Workers
http://www.truthout.org/article/for-first-time-congress-addresses-transgender-workers Rob Hotakainen, McClatchy Newspapers, reports: "After getting hired as a national security analyst with the Library of Congress, David Schroer took his new boss out to lunch to share some news: On his first day of work, he planned to show up as Diane. The next day the job offer was withdrawn, and Schroer says it was a clear case of discrimination."

Federal Court Upholds Restrictive Abortion Law
http://www.truthout.org/article/federal-court-upholds-restrictive-abortion-law Melanie Brandert of The Argus Leader writes: "A federal appeals court decided Friday that a state law requiring abortion doctors to get written consent from women who want an abortion should be enforced."

US Leads World in Substance Abuse
http://www.truthout.org/article/us-leads-world-substance-abuse According to Reuters, "The United States leads the world in rates of experimenting with marijuana and cocaine despite strict drug laws, World Health Organization researchers said on Tuesday."

Critics Rip Elections Supervisor After Miscount in West Palm Beach Race
http://www.truthout.org/article/critics-rip-elections-supervisor-after-miscount-west-palm-beach-race The South Florida Sun-Sentinel's Mark Hollis writes, "Palm Beach County elections officials said Friday they are investigating why they failed to quickly count more than 700 votes in a special election that marked the county's first experience with optical scanners."

Ex-Agent Seeks Declassified CIA Documents on Iran
http://www.truthout.org/article/ex-agent-seeks-declassified-cia-documents-iran
Joby Warrick, for The Washington Post, reports: "A former CIA operative who says he tried to warn the agency about faulty intelligence on Iraqi weapons programs now contends that CIA officials also ignored evidence that Iran had suspended work on a nuclear bomb."

Milt Bearden The Truth Is Out on CIA and Torture
http://www.truthout.org/article/the-truth-is-out-cia-and-torture
Milt Bearden, for The Washington Independent, writes: "But whatever the solution for getting US intelligence collection abroad back on track, it should begin with the formal denunciation by the next administration of the use of torture by any US agency -- including the CIA. It might also encompass a balanced investigation into past abuses, but this time with a top-down targeting rather than just throwing a few low-level suspects to the wolves."

Human Toll Yet to Be Counted in Zimbabwe
http://www.truthout.org/article/human-toll-yet-be-counted-zimbabwe
Shashank Bengali reports for McClatchy Newspapers: "Zimbabwe's election may be over - President Robert Mugabe claimed victory Sunday and was immediately sworn in for another five-year term - but the human toll of one of the most brutal political campaigns in recent memory is still being calculated. Opposition leaders and pro-democracy activists think that government militias killed scores of people and abducted perhaps hundreds of others as Mugabe decimated a popular opposition party and extended his 28-year rule over this crumbling southern African nation."

Andre Gorz Theorizing Deliverance From the Labor- and Commodity-Centered Society
http://www.truthout.org/article/theorizing-deliverance-labor-and-commodity-centered-society
In one of the last texts to appear before his death, French "Philosopher of Freedom" Andre Gorz returns to the dynamic of financial capitalism and the reasons we may see guaranteed social income as an opportunity to exit capitalism. The French original first appeared in Mouvements; this translation is a Truthout exclusive.