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TheDC Morning: You got to know when to Holder, know when to fold ‘er

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1.) You got to know when to Holder, know when to fold ‘er — If Eric Holder thought he could stonewall his way through the Fast and Furious debacle, things just got tougher. TheDC’s Matthew Boyle reports: “Attorney General Eric Holder’s tenure in the Obama administration may be coming to an end. At least eight members of Congress have now called on Holder to resign over the growing Operation Fast and Furious scandal. Republican Reps. Vicky Hartzler of Missouri, John Mica of Florida, Quico Canseco of Texas and Gus Bilirakis of Florida each told The Daily Caller on Thursday that they believe Holder should step down now. The number of members of Congress calling for Holder to end his career in government because of Fast and Furious is now eight, a number which has doubled in one day. Previously, Republican Reps. Joe Walsh of Illinois, Raul Labrador of Idaho, Blake Farenthold of Texas and Paul Gosar of Arizona called on Holder to resign… Holder avoided talking openly about Operation Fast and Furious for months until Gosar told The Daily Caller that administration officials responsible for the program could be considered ‘accessories to murder.’ The attorney general finally opened up, citing Gosar’s comments to TheDC as the reason for his first-ever unsolicited disclosure about the controversial program.” You’re welcome, America. In other Fast and Furious news, the White House has been claiming that National Security Staffer Kevin O’Reilly is “on assignment for the State Department in Iraq and unavailable” to answer questions about what he knew and when he knew it. But as PJ Media just discovered, O’Reilly is reachable after all. Or at least he was until he disconnected his phone number. Paging Darrell Issa…

2.) What Chu wants — It probably isn’t “testifying before Congress.” Eric Holder’s testimony didn’t go so well, but hey, maybe Steven Chu will do better! Matthew Boyle reports: “President Barack Obama’s Energy Secretary, Steven Chu, has agreed to testify about the failed solar energy company Solyndra before congressional investigators on the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The hearing, according to committee staff, will be on November 17. Solyndra received a $535 million loan guarantee from the Department of Energy. Taxpayers are burdened with that cost since the solar panel manufacturer went bankrupt. ‘We appreciate Secretary Chu making himself available and look forward to hearing his testimony on DOE’s involvement with the half-billion dollar loan to Solyndra,’ Energy and Commerce’s Oversight and Investigations subcommittee chairman Rep. Cliff Stearns said in a statement. ‘We hope he will finally provide answers about why DOE consciously ignored the direct warnings from their own experts that Solyndra was doomed to fail, and granted the loan to Solyndra.'” Note to Chu: Don’t claim you didn’t hear about Solyndra until a few weeks ago. That one doesn’t really work.

3.) Michelle Obama turns on the charm — You think they’re starting to get nervous in the White House? Maybe just a little bit. TheDC’s Neil Munro reports: “The president is facing a very tough re-election campaign, first lady Michelle Obama told audiences at three Florida fundraisers on Thursday. ‘This is going to require each of you to grab somebody by the shoulders and make them understand what’s at stake; how their self-interest is directly tied … It’s up to each of you to work like you’ve never worked before,’ Mrs. Obama told an afternoon crowd of 200 people at the waterfront Tampa home of property developer Joel Cantor.” Grabbing people by the shoulders? Technically that’s assault and battery, but whatever. The important thing is that you need to give Michelle Obama your money so she can help you make less money because it’s not fair that you make more money than other people. At the same fundraiser, Michelle said: “Like it or not, we’re all in this together.” So at least she’s giving us a choice.

4.) Congressman Rangel just fine with Obama bypassing Congress — The Constitution is great, as long as everybody does what you want them to do. If not, you don’t have to abide by it if you don’t want to. TheDC’s Nicholas Ballasy reports: “New York Democratic Rep. Charlie Rangel told The Daily Caller that ‘gridlock’ in Congress has made it ‘necessary’ for President Barack Obama to unilaterally implement mortgage refinancing and student loan programs without congressional authorization. TheDC asked Rangel if he thinks there are other areas where Obama should bypass Congress. ‘I do, but I don’t want it to be interpreted that I welcome the executive branch using their powers instead of having the legislative branch do it. It’s necessary now because it’s a gridlock between the president and the United States. I hope that is just so very, very unusual,’ Rangel told TheDC after a rally on Capitol Hill Wednesday.” Rangel doesn’t welcome the President of the United States usurping his authority; he just thinks it’s acceptable as long as it isn’t being done by a Republican.

5.) App-rehended — If only they’d had cellphones in the ’60s, man! TheDC’s Josh Peterson reports: “Were you arrested while speaking up for the ’99 percent?’ There’s an app for that. Jason Van Anden, a software developer for Tiffany & Co. and Citibank, has released a new app in support of Occupy Wall Street. ‘I’m Getting Arrested’ is available for free download in the Android app store. The app allows users to quickly send a predetermined text message to their emergency contact lists in the event of an arrest. Van Anden, a self-described ‘artist/technologist,’ created the app after one of his friends was arrested while protesting.” If you use the free time afforded you by working for Citibank and Tiffany’s to develop a smartphone app that tracks your friends who get arrested while protesting the rich, you might be a liberal.

6.) Today’s words of wisdom from Adam Baldwin’s Twitter feed — “Wealth creators increase individual Liberty by liberating people from tyranny & poverty. So, what exactly does #ows serve to increase?”

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