Greene County Democrat

Category: Community

  • CBC Chair G. K. Butterfield and Rep. Robin Kelly condemn discriminatory housing practices of Facebook advertising

     

     cbcpac_gkbutterfield_cp_web120

     Congressman G. K. Butterfield

           WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congressional Black Caucus Chairman G. K. Butterfield (NC-01), and Congresswoman Robin Kelly (IL-02) condemn Facebook and CEO Mark Zuckerberg for its use of “Ethnic Affinities” advertising that allows users to exclude groups based on race and ethnicity in clear violation of the Fair Housing Act of 1968.

    “We have witnessed exclusion and discriminatory practices among popular social media platforms once before,” said Chairman Butterfield. “Racism and discrimination in any form should never be tolerated. Members of the Congressional Black Caucus are outraged and challenge Facebook and all social media platforms to take the issue of discrimination seriously and implement innovative solutions that aim to prevent ill-treatment of its customers and discrimination on its platform.”

    “As a representative of Chicago, the origin city of Hansberry v. Lee which helped strike down restrictive housing covenants, I feel a particular obligation to see to it that discriminatory housing practices are not allowed to endure,” said Congresswoman Kelly. “While I don’t believe that Facebook intentionally sought to promote housing discrimination, I do feel they now have a responsibility to right this wrong. Technology shouldn’t be used to divide communities, and episodes like this are preventable. This conversation isn’t limited to Facebook, and unfortunately there have been a number of recent reports about technology being misused to divide communities. Without a doubt the tech sector can benefit from having a more diverse, robust and inclusive design and vetting process as they continue innovating.”

    Reps. Butterfield, Kelly, Emanuel Cleaver, II (MO-05) and Yvette Clarke (NY-09) addressed their concerns with Facebook in a letter, and has called upon the company to swiftly address and remedy the discriminatory practice in a manner that continues to allow and support innovation, as well as promotes inclusion and diversity among its workforce and throughout the tech sector.

    Since its establishment in 1971, Members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) have joined together to empower America’s neglected citizens and address their legislative concerns. For more than 40 years, the CBC has consistently been the voice for people of color and vulnerable communities in Congress and has been committed to utilizing the full Constitutional power and statutory authority of the United States government to ensure that all U.S. citizens have an opportunity to achieve the American Dream. To learn more about the Congressional Black Caucus, visit http://cbc-butterfield.house.gov.

  • Civil Rights Groups condemn nomination of Jeff Sessions as Attorney General

     

    Daniel MaransReporter, Huffington Post

    senator-jeff-sessions

     Alabama U. S. Senator Jeff Sessions

    Civil rights groups are condemning President-elect Donald Trump’s selection of Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) as United States Attorney General. At issue are Sessions’ history of racist comments and hard-line anti-immigration stance. The Senate rejected then-President Ronald Reagan’s nomination of Sessions as a federal judge in 1986 after colleagues testified about racially offensive comments Sessions made as a U.S. Attorney in Alabama.

    Attorneys who worked with Sessions alleged in the 1986 hearings that Sessions once referred to a black attorney as “boy,” suggested a white attorney was a traitor to his race for representing black clients, called the American Civil Liberties Union and National Association for the Advancement of Colored People “un-American” for trying to “force civil rights down the throats of people who were trying to put problems behind them,” and said that his only problem with the Ku Klux Klan was the extremist group’s marijuana use.

    Senator Sessions was the U. S. Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama who prosecuted Perry County activists Albert Turner, Evelyn Turner and Spencer Hoague in 1986 for alleged voter fraud dealing with absentee ballots. Sessions brought 272 charges against the trio who were acquitted of all charges but the prosecution was the beginning of voter suppression in the Alabama Black Belt.

    In a stinging statement demanding that either Trump withdraw Sessions’ nomination or the Senate reject his nomination, Wade Henderson, president and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, cited Sessions’ long opposition to federal intervention to protect voting rights. He also called out Sessions’ repeated votes against legislation aimed at shielding LGBTQ Americans and women from discrimination and abuse as evidence that the Alabama senator’s views had not substantially improved since the 1986 hearing. Sessions voted against the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act.

    “People can certainly change over the course of 30 years, but despite glimmers of hope throughout his career—including his work on the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 – the overall record shows that Senator Sessions has not,” Henderson said. “He has no place leading our nation’s enforcement of civil rights and voting rights laws or implementing our nation’s desperately needed reforms to policing.”

    Michael Keegan, president of People for the American Way, called on the Senate to reject Sessions’ nomination for the country’s top law enforcement post. “In the last 30 years, Sessions has done nothing that demonstrates that the Senate’s judgment was incorrect or that he’s learned from his mistakes,” Keegan said in a statement. “Instead, he’s spent years making a name for himself as one of the Senate’s most extreme anti-immigrant voices, even attacking the Constitution’s guarantee of birthright citizenship. As a senator he’s voted in favor of torture programs under the Bush administration and opposed hate crime protections for LGBT people.”

    Rashad Robinson, executive director of Color of Change, a digital civil rights activism group, also called on the Senate to reject Sessions. “Our question for members of the United States Senate is simple: do they support racism, or do they not? In 1986, the Republican-controlled Judiciary Committee refused to confirm Sessions to the federal bench,” Robinson said in a statement. “In 2017, the Senate should be just as unequivocal: ‘no’ to racism means ‘no’ to Jeff Sessions.”

    Sherilynn Ifill, president of the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, condemned Sessions’ nomination in similarly strong terms. “Jeff Sessions has a decades-long record – from his early days as a prosecutor to his present role as a Senator – of opposing civil rights and equality,” Ifill said in a statement. “It is unimaginable that he could be entrusted to serve as the chief law enforcement officer for this nation’s civil rights laws. This is yet another signal from the incoming administration that it is not only prepared to turn its back on equality, it is actively working to continue to sow division and undo decades of progress.”

    Anthony Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, said that while the organization does not take stances on presidential nominations, it does “educate the American people and the Congress about nominees’ records and past positions.” “Sen. Sessions has called the ACLU un-American and communist, assertions we flatly reject,” Romero said in a statement. “His positions on LGBT rights, capital punishment, abortion rights, and presidential authority in times of war have been contested by the ACLU and other civil rights organizations.”

    Richard Cohen, president of the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Alabama, offered praise for Sessions, calling him “extremely helpful” to the center’s work fighting for justice for the family of Michael Donald, a black man lynched by the Ku Klux Klan in 1981. But Cohen said the Center could not support Sessions nomination due to his opposition to immigration reform and ties to anti-immigrant groups. “Senator Sessions not only has been a leading opponent of sensible, comprehensive immigration reform, he has associated with anti-immigrant groups we consider to be deeply racist, including the Federation for American Immigration Reform and the Center for Security Policy,” Cohen added.

    Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.), a leading champion of comprehensive immigration reform and a member of the House Judiciary Committee, also cited Sessions’ unyielding resistance to reform in a statement condemning his nomination. “If you have nostalgia for the days when blacks kept quiet, gays were in the closet, immigrants were invisible and women stayed in the kitchen, Senator Jefferson Beauregard Sessions is your man,” Gutierrez said.

    Gutierrez’s use of of Sessions’ full name mocks him for a name that pays homage to Confederacy President Jefferson Davis and Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard.  “No senator has fought harder against the hopes and aspirations of Latinos, immigrants, and people of color than Sen. Sessions. He is a staunch opponent of legal immigration and someone who has blocked every effort to improve, modernize, and humanize our immigration system, which is two or three decades out-of-date,” Gutierrez said.

    “He is the kind of person who will set back law enforcement, civil rights, the courts, and increase America’s mass incarceration industry and erase 50 years of progress,” he added.

  • Hillary Clinton’s popular vote lead increases to almost 1.7 million

    By Daniel Politi, Slate

    Hillary Clinton’s lead in the popular vote over President-elect Donald Trump keeps growing and currently (as of Nov. 18) stands at 1.677 million votes. On Election Day, Clinton received 63,541,056 votes compared to Trump’s 61,864,015 while other candidates received 7,034,595 votes, according to the latest numbers published by the Cook Political Report. So far the numbers show Clinton obtained 48 percent of the popular vote, compared to Trump’s 46.7 percent.

    The numbers mean that Clinton’s lead in the popular vote is, so far at least, much greater than Al Gore’s advantage when he won the most number of votes but still did not become president. In 2000, Gore received 50,996,582 votes compared to 50,456,062 for George W. Bush—an advantage of 540,520 votes.

    The widening gap between Clinton and Trump comes at a time when some are trying to persuade members of the Electoral College to change their mind and select the person who won the most votes on Election Day. There are numerous petitions circulating online calling on delegates to become “faithless electors” while Sen. Barbara Boxer from California has said she will introduce legislation to abolish the Electoral College. (Although abolishing the Electoral College is possible, it would actually be very difficult, argued Slate’s Mark Stern recently.)

    As more numbers come in, it is becoming clearer just how Clinton managed to win more votes without getting victories in certain key states. The Wall Street Journal recently summarized it: Put simply, Mrs. Clinton performed well relative to Barack Obama in states that didn’t matter for the Electoral College because they were states she could count on winning easily or losing badly. In two prime examples, Mrs. Clinton ran up the score in California, which hasn’t voted for a Republican since 1988, and outperformed Mr. Obama in Texas, which last voted for a Democrat in 1976.

    Meanwhile, Mr. Trump eked out victories in Florida, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, and won solidly in Iowa and Ohio. All those states voted twice for Mr. Obama.  

  • Boligee Mayor and councilpersons sworn in

    On Monday, November 14, 2016, Mayor Louis Harper and the new Boligee City Council were inaugurated in a ceremony held at Paramount Jr. High School. Harper and councilpersons were sworn in by Greene County Probate Judge Judy Spree. Council members include Councilman Michael Gibson, Sr., Councilwoman Teresa Head – Mack, Councilwomen Hattie Samuels, Councilwoman Halee Vogt and Councilwoman Earnestine Wade.
    Johnnie M. Knott served as  Mistress of Order. Music was rendered by Greene County High School Choir and Rev. Joe Webb. Sharon R. Washington, Boligee Town Clerk, brought greetings. Salutations were presented by Jonathan Benison, Greene County Sheriff, Torris Babbs of Babb’s Engineering, Iris Sermon of Greene County E911, Mattie Atkins, Greene County Circuit Clerk, and Hattie Edwards, former Mayor of City of Eutaw. Words of encouragement were presented by Earlean Isaac, retired Probate Judge.
    Throughout the program, the theme of unity and working together to move Boligee forward, was emphasized. The mission includes starting a fire station, building a walking trail, public bathrooms and remodeling city hall. Boligee Day has been established as an annual event. “Let’s continue to work together to make Boligee a great place,” said Mayor Harper. An organizational meeting was held immediately following the program.
    Mayor Louis Harper thanked everyone for their support and stated he looks forward to working for the next four years.

     

  • Greene County Commission approves 20 year tax abatement for proposed solar farm

    At its regular meeting on Monday, November 14, 2016, the Greene County Commission met and approved a twenty year tax abatement for the NextEra Energy Inc. This company proposes to invest $93 million in the construction of a solar energy farm on a thousand acres on Highway 43 south of Eutaw in Greene County.
    NextEra Energy Inc is competing with several other companies to respond to a request for proposals from Alabama Power Company for this project. Alabama Power Company will purchase the energy generated by the plant.
    Trey Hill of Bradley Arrant of Birmingham an attorney representing the company presented the request to the Commission and indicated that NextEra Energy was looking at several locations in Alabama to locate the project and was securing this property tax abatement from each potential county. There is no certainty that NextEra or Greene County will be chosen for this project. The tax abatement is an incentive to attract this potential project.
    The lawyer for NextEra indicated that he was not seeking an abatement in the sales tax on the manufactured items to be used in building the project because that tax goes to support the schools and the hospital. These sales tax receipts would come at the front end of the project and are estimated at $510,000, which is ¾% of the $70 million in solar panels and other equipment proposed to be purchased to build the solar farm.
    The property tax abatement would save the company $4.4 million in taxes over the twenty year period but still provide $ 3.7 million in taxes for Greene County Schools, which cannot be abated. Currently the 1020 acres generates $2,108 annually in taxes for the county.
    The solar farm will only require about two high paid employees when completed but will provide many more jobs during the construction period.
    The Commission reviewed the request in the meeting and asked a number of questions about the project. All of the Commissioners expressed concern that the request was made at the last minute and not enough time was given to study the project. Commissioner Cockrell indicated that the company should have come earlier and tried to use land owned by the county, which would have produced more benefits for Greene County. It was pointed out that the County Commission does not own land that is suitable for this project.
    The Commission voted 3 to 1, with one abstention to approve the project. Commissioners Michael Williams, Lester Brown and Tennyson Smith voted in favor; Corey Cockrell voted against and Allen Turner abstained (probably because he works for Alabama Power Company, at the steam plant).
    The Commission also agreed to seek Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding for two other perspective projects that the Greene County Industrial Authority is working to bring to Greene County. These projects are seeking state financial incentive support through the CDBG program.
    The Commission heard a financial report from Paula Bird, Chief Financial Officer, who indicated that finances were generally meeting the budgetary limits of 8% funding for October, the first month of a new fiscal year. She reported that the County had $ 3.6 million in local bank accounts and another $1 in sinking funds to address bonds that had been issued in previous years to fund projects.
    Bird reported that the County had paid $1,345,072 in claims for the month of October, which included some large matching payments to the state for road and bridge repairs.
    In other actions, the Greene County Commission:
    • Approved Southwest Alabama Regional Highway Safety Grant to pay overtime and additional costs for traffic control and enforcement, during the current fiscal year.
    • Approved Mutual Aid Agreement between American Red Cross and Greene County EMA to deal with disasters.
    • Approved $13,153 grant from ADECA Energy Division for energy efficient lighting at the Eutaw Activity Center.
    • Ratified a $9,000 grant for safety vests for the Sheriff’s Department.
    • Approved County Engineer to employ an Assistant Engineer and $5,874 for a computer design softwear.
    • Approved changes in the County’s Personnel Policies required by changes in Department of Labor regulations.
    • Approved travel for staff to attend training conferences.
    • Appointed Rosemary Edwards and reappointed Lucy Spann to the Greene County Hospital Board.

  • Robert Brown Middle School dedication held

    Pictured L to R: Sheriff Jonathan Benison, Superintendent James Carter, Renatta Brown, Magnolia Brown Dr. Robert Brown, Jerry Brown, Board members Dr. Carol Zippert, Carrie Dancy and Leo Branch.Brown family: Jerry, Renatta, Dr. Robert Brown, Mrs. Magnolia Brown, Superintendent Dr. James Carter presents photo of Dr. Brown which will be placed in Robert Brown Middle School

    The dedication of the Robert Brown Middle School in Eutaw, AL was held Thursday, Nov. 10, 2016 in honor of the first African American Superintendent of the Greene County School System. The ceremony consisted of unveiling the marque on the school grounds facing Mesopotamia Street with the signage Robert Brown Middle School. The new name was also placed on the front of the building. A framed photo of Dr. Brown was presented for the entrance foyer of the facility.
    The program included greetings and remarks from the Superintendent Dr. James H. Carter and School Board President Mr. Leo Branch. Dr. Carol P. Zippert, Board Vice President, shared a bio of the accomplishments and contributions of Dr. Brown. Welcome and remarks were given by Mrs. Barbara Martin and Mr. Frederick Square, Principals at the Robert Brown Middle School.
    A reception followed the formal program where family and friends shared congratulatory remarks regarding Dr. Brown, who was accompanied by his wife Mrs. Magnolia Brown, daughter Renatta and son Jerry. In his comments, Dr. Brown acknowledged the full support of his wife and children in all his endeavors. Mrs. Magnolia Brown was a Home Economics Teacher in the Greene County School System for over 40 years.Dr. Robert Brown, a native of Greene County from the Mantua community, served as Greene County School Superintendent from 1970 -1980. His appointment by the local school board came about following the special election of 1969, ordered by the U.S. Supreme Court when Black candidates were left off the ballot in Greene County Alabama for the 1968 elections. The special election of 1969 allowed the 80% Black majority population to elect Black candidates to the school board, county commission, sheriff’s office, tax collector, circuit clerk, and more. Dr. Brown was an activist in the Civil Rights Movement in Greene County.
    During his early years as superintendent, Dr. Brown secured resources to construct a new Eutaw High School, the facility now named for him. Eutaw High School was later re-named Greene County High School, following the consolidation of the two county high schools. As superintendent, Brown also facilitated the construction of the Peter J. Kirksey Vocational School, named for the first African American school board member in Greene County.
    Other accomplishments of Dr. Brown as superintendent included establishing JROTC Program; brought HeadStart Program to Greene County; established adult education program for Greene County citizens; established University Without Walls allowing teachers to earn advanced degrees; implemented first free breakfast program for school system and first free summer feeding program; instrumental in bringing Miles College-Eutaw Program to Greene County.
    Dr. Brown’s prior positions in the school system included Principal of Greene County Training School which he later re-named Paramount High School; Principal of Jameswood Junior High School; Chemistry and Physics Teacher at GCTS; Teacher Corps Director and Instructor at Livingston University, now University of West Alabama.
    In 2016, the Greene County golf course was officially named Dr. Robert Brown Double Eagle Golf Course. In 2013, Dr. Brown was inducted in the Black Belt Hall of Fame at the University of West Alabama. In 2015, he was recognized by the Epsilon Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity at Alabama A&M University and the Rocket City Ques of Huntsville as a Living Legend.
    Dr. Brown is a World War II Veteran who served under General George Patton. For his outstanding service, Brown received four Bronze Stars, the Combat Medal and an Honorable Discharge.
    At its May, 2016 meeting, the Greene County Board of Education approved the consolidation of Paramount Jr. High School and Carver Middle School. This became effective with the current 2016-2017 school year. Subsequently, at its July 2016 meeting, the board voted unanimously to name the new consolidated middle school Robert Brown Middle School.

  • After surprise election upset, Africans assess a changed U. S. landscape

    92318613_afp_kibera_20151680-750x400 South Africans study U. S. election polls and results

        Nov. 25, 2016 (GIN) – Africans were tweeting and messaging about the surprise outcome of U.S. elections last week that left many in the developing world worried for the future.

    Kenyan-American and distinguished professor Makau Mutua was “quarterbacking” as a “day after” couch potato who second guesses why his team lost.

    “Hillary Clinton was defeated by “white-lash”, as opposed to “white backlash”, he wrote, an opinion shared with CNN reporter Van Jones.

    “A large segment of white American males has been angry ever since Barack Obama, a Kenyan-American, was elected the first black President of the United States in 2008,” he wrote                   in the Kenyan news Standard… “Trump’s campaign was founded on a textbook definition of racism, xenophobia, misogyny, and islamophobia.”

    Speaking to the Voice of America, Ghanaian social activist Sara Asafu-Adjaye called it a missed opportunity for a first female U.S. president.

    “Not only is it that she is a woman. She’s a competent woman,” said Asafu-Adjaye. “And that over 48 percent of Americans believe she’s not the better person for the job, scares me.”

    Charles Eboune, an international relations expert in Cameroon, was dismayed that Clinton’s decades of experience in Washington couldn’t carry her to victory. “[The] majority is not always right,” Eboune told VOA.

    While students and youth shared disappointment in the voting outcome, the African ruling elite was jubilant.

    “(Trump’s) received congratulations from many African leaders, including those they call the sit-tight leaders, the overstayers, the dictators, the despots, the tyrants,” commented NPR reporter Ofeibia Quist-Arcton in Senegal.

    “Some of Africa’s leaders, especially those who aren’t popular in their own home countries, are, if not rejoicing and jubilating that they’ve got President Obama and Hillary Clinton off their backs, are certainly saying ‘those who have been hectoring us about human rights, about gay rights, about all sorts of things are no longer going to be in Washington, so phew,’” she said.

    As of this writing, eight African presidents have officially sent congratulations via their official twitter handles, starting with Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza, followed by Ghana’s John Dramani Mahama, who himself heads to the polls in December this year.

    Zimbabwe’s information officer, Chris Mushowe, said the country was looking forward to Trump’s inauguration to rebuild relations.

    Last but not least, Daily Show host Noah Trevor of South Africa riffed on the parallels between the end of apartheid and the historic election of President Barack Obama.

    “Freedom is actually the beginning of the journey,” he told his audience at the Chicago Humanities Festival this week. “The hard work really begins when you achieve your goal.”

     

  • Gwen Ifill, ‘PBS NewsHour’ Co-Anchor, dies at 61

    Ashley Alman Politics Social Media Editor, The Huffington Post

    gwenifill00

    Gwen Ifill

    Gwen Ifill, moderator and managing editor of “Washington Week” and co-anchor of “PBS NewsHour,” has died. She was 61 years old.

    WETA President and CEO Sharon Percy Rockefeller confirmed the news to staff in a Monday email, saying Ifill died of cancer.

    “I am very sad to tell you that our dear friend and beloved colleague Gwen Ifill passed away today in hospice care in Washington,” she wrote. “I spent an hour with her this morning and she was resting comfortably, surrounded by loving family and friends.”

    A veteran journalist, Ifill moderated the 2004 and 2008 vice presidential debates. She was set to receive the 2016 John Chancellor Award from Columbia University for “her unflinching pursuit of the truth, healthy skepticism of those in power and her commitment to fairness.” The award ceremony, scheduled for Nov. 16, was recently postponed.                  X

    Prior to her career at PBS, Ifill worked at The Washington Post, The New York Times and NBC News. She joined PBS in 1999, and in 2013, Ifill and her “PBS NewsHour” co-host Judy Woodruff became the first women to co-host a nightly news program.

    “Gwen was one of America’s leading lights in journalism and a fundamental reason public media is considered a trusted window on the world by audiences across the nation,” PBS President and CEO Paula Kerger said in a statement.

    Sara Just, “PBS NewsHour” executive producer, praised Ifill as a “journalist’s journalist.”

    “Gwen was a standard bearer for courage, fairness and integrity in an industry going through seismic change. She was a mentor to so many across the industry and her professionalism was respected across the political spectrum,” Just said in a statement.

    NBC News correspondent Pete Williams fought back tears as he reported on the death of his “dear friend, a former NBC colleague.” “Gwen would want me to get this together,” he said. “She had so many rewards and awards in her office you could barely see out the window. … She was one of the most successful women in journalism.”

    Politicians, journalists and celebrities paid tribute to Ifill on Twitter following the news of her death.

     

  • Jefferson County Alabama just elected 9 Black women to become judges

    Rahel GebreyesEditor, HuffPost Video

     

    jefferson-co-judges

    Three of the judges (L to R) Javan Patton, Elizabeth French and Agnes Chappell

    Black women made history in Jefferson County, Alabama.

    In a great stride for representation Tuesday, nine black women were elected to become judges in majority Democratic Jefferson County, Alabama, The Birmingham Times reported.

    The black women who came out on top in the district and circuit courts are all Democrats. Javan Patton, Debra Bennett Winston, Shera Craig Grant, Nakita “Niki” Perryman Blocton, Tamara Harris Johnson, Elisabeth French, Agnes Chappell, Brendette Brown Green and Annetta Verin are to be sworn in next January.

    French, who was re-elected to Jefferson County’s Circuit Court, told The Birmingham Times that she believes her hard work and years of experience helped to propel her to elected office.

    “I think the people don’t necessarily just support you just because of your race and gender. I think voters expect more than that. They look at our qualifications and make a decision about who they can trust with the leadership position,” she said.

    Tuesday night was a big night for women of color across the states ― not just in local politics, but in federal positions, as well. Three women of color, Catherine Cortez Masto, Tammy Duckworth and Kamala Harris, were elected to the Senate. Stephanie Murphy and Pramila Jayapal were also elected to the House. Next year, there will be 38 women of color serving in Congress, bringing us a little bit closer to shattering that glass ceiling.

     

     

     

  • Eric Holder says the Electoral College must be abolished

    Lee Moran Trends Editor, The Huffington Post

    eric-holder

    Former Attorney General Eric Holder called for an end to the electoral college voting system on Friday.

    With Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton winning the popular vote but losing the election, he said it was now time to change the way the U.S. elects its presidents.

    “I’m in the process now of writing an article that says there’s a simple solution to it and we have to just abolish the electoral college,” Holder told “Real Time” host Bill Maher.

    He acknowledged such a move would require a constitutional amendment, which Maher quipped would mean “some heavy lifting.” “But so all right, it involves heavy lifting, let’s lift heavy, let’s do it,” Holder replied.

    The duo later discussed why, despite President-elect Donald Trump’s claims throughout his campaign that the election was rigged against him, the electoral college system actually meant the opposite.

    And they found common ground on why voting days should be moved to a weekend or made a public holiday.