-- Amil Imani

'Do you even understand the Constitution?' Bachmann slams Obama as GOP contenders square off in South Carolina AP via DailyMail.co.uk Opening a tea party-backed forum in this first voting state in the South, presidential hopeful Michele Bachmann on Monday criticised President Barack Obama's understanding of the Constitution and pledged fidelity to the nation's founding document as she wooed the grassroots activists who could deliver her the GOP's nomination. {C} Bachmann said the 2012 presidential election would hinge on each candidate's understanding of the Constitution, which she called 'that sacred document.' Branding herself a 'constitutional conservative,' the former federal tax lawyer challenged Obama's understanding of his powers. U.S. Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann speaks during the American Principles Project Palmetto Freedom Forum in South Carolina todayShe cited Obama's political and policy advisers, whom she called 'czars,' the Justice Department's decision not to appeal a court's overturning of a federal marriage law, and his immigration policies.

By Jon Cohen and Dan Balz | The Washington Post Public pessimism about the direction of the country has jumped to its highest level in nearly three years, erasing the sense of hope that followed President Obama’s inauguration and pushing his approval ratings to a record low, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. More than 60 percent of those surveyed say they disapprove of the way the president is handling the economy and, what has become issue No. 1, the stagnant jobs situation. Just 43 percent now approve of the job he is doing overall, a new career low; 53 percent disapprove, a new high. As part of a reinvigorated effort to regain momentum as he heads toward the 2012 election year, Obama traveled to Detroit on Monday for a Labor Day appearance that served as a prelude to his speech Thursday to a joint session of Congress in which he will unveil new proposals to create jobs. The urgency for Obama to act is driven not just by the most recent unemployment report, which on Friday showed no job growth in August and the unemployment rate stuck at 9.1 percent, but also by the depth of the political hole in which the president finds himself.

Monday, September 05, 2011 Confirming a surge seen in polling across the nation, Texas Governor Rick Perry has moved into first place among Republican voters in Iowa, host state to the first-in-the-nation caucus early next year. A Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of those likely to participate in the Iowa GOP Caucus shows that Perry is the first choice for 29%. Essentially tied for second are Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann at 18% and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney at 17%. Texas Congressman Ron Paul picks up 14% of the vote, and nobody else currently reaches the five percent (5%) mark. (To see survey question wording, click here.)   A month ago,   before Perry officially entered the race, Bachmann and Romney were essentially tied for the lead with Perry in fourth place. The new Iowa results are consistent with national polling  which also shows Perry on top. Perry leads President Obama by three  in an early look at a possible general election matchup. Other top Republican contenders are close. The president trails a generic Republican by eight. (Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls).   Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook. The survey of 862 Likely Iowa Republican Caucus Participants was conducted on August 31, 2011 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology. Perry has the support of 45% of Tea Party voters, while Romney holds a slight 24% to 20% lead over Perry among those who are not members of the grass roots movement.

A proposed Saudi counter terrorism law that would give the Interior Ministry sweeping powers and mandate jail sentences for criticizing the king would effectively squelch political dissent, human rights advocates said on Thursday.

The law would allow prisoners to be held without trial, and trials and appeals to be held secretly, Saudi and international rights advocates said. It would also grant the Interior Ministry broad powers including the ability to tap telephones or search houses without permission from the judiciary.

Saudi activists have long accused the judicial system and the Interior Ministry of a lack of respect for human rights, even when such rights exist legally. The new law, the activists said, would legalize those practices, removing all restraints.

Iran’s first nuclear power plant has been connected to the national power grid for a test run, Iran state radio reported yesterday. The report quoted Mohammad Ahmadian, Iran’s deputy nuclear chief, as saying the plant began to generate 60 megawatts of electricity at about midnight. Ahmadian said a ceremony marking the connection to the power grid will be held today. He expressed hope that the plant would feed the grid at full capacity in coming months. The power plant in the southern Iranian port of Bushehr has a generating capacity of 1,000 megawatts. The plant, built by Iran with Russian help, was supposed to go into operation over the past years but that had been repeatedly postponed. Also yesterday, Iran state media reported that the speaker of Parliament had postponed a visit to North Korea and China.

The report quoted Hossein Sobhaninia, a member of Parliament, as saying a visit by Ali Larijani to Pyongyang and Beijing has been postponed. But another member of Parliament said the postponement came after Larijani was not scheduled to meet with sufficiently high-ranking North Koreans. The lawmaker spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk about the case. The visit to North Korea would have been the first by an Iranian Parliament speaker since 1980s. Iranian and North Korean officials have said in the past that the two countries are in “one trench’’ in the fight against the West.   Read more...

Iran has yet to decide on a call by Kurdish rebels for a ceasefire in a major offensive it launched along the Iraqi border last week, the elite Revolutionary Guards said on Monday. The Party of Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK) announced earlier it would observe a truce from Monday and called on Iran to reciprocate to prevent further bloodshed. "The heavy fire has prompted this terrorist group to call for a ceasefire, but Iran has yet to make a decision in this regard," Guards operations officer Colonel Hamid Ahmadi told Fars news agency. "More than 30 PJAK rebels were killed and 40 wounded until noon (0730 GMT) yesterday according to our reports," he said, adding the full death toll could well be higher as Iranian forces did not have complete access to the targeted areas. Ahmadi did not specify whether any Iranian ground forces had crossed the border during the offensive. He said any truce with the PJAK would be "meaningless" unless the rebels first withdrew from border areas to pave the way for talks, "if necessary".