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William Steakin, AOL.com

Mar 3rd 2017 2:06PM

When asked what she would change about the 2016 presidential election, former Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton gave a pretty obvious response: "I'd win."

Clinton delivered the quip during a question-and-answer session at her alma mater of Wellesley College on Thursday, where she also opened up on the challenges of being a female candidate.

The first female nominated for president by a major party commented on some of the critiques she faced while running for office.

"You know you're going to be subject to unfair and besides-the-point criticism," said Clinton.

"Compromise is not a dirty word in democracy," the former secretary of state added.

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President Johnson and Secretary Clinton take the stage https://t.co/pKDnfqKQmg

Waiting to see Hillary Clinton speak at Wellesley College - one of her first public engagements since the election https://t.co/SpvVsbWNH7

hillary was so amazing and brilliant!! #iconic moment when she threw shade at her "opponent" and took a sip from he https://t.co/fiwZfx6Mhx

One example of the many now-deleted @wellesley_news live tweets about closed press Hillary Clinton event last night https://t.co/tSz7IX58h0

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Clinton's Thursday appearance was initially to be lived streamed by Wellesley College, but an email was sent out by the school's president Paula Johnson saying the school would be taking measures to "ensure this remains a private Wellesley event."

The event was attended by about 1,000 of the college's faculty, staffers and students, and guests were asked to turn off all cellphones before Clinton gave her remarks.

The former first lady is set to deliver the commencement speech at Wellesley College on May 26, where she graduated in 1969.

RELATED: The best photos from the entire 2016 election year

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MOBILE, AL- AUGUST 21: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump greets supporters after his rally at Ladd-Peebles Stadium on August 21, 2015 in Mobile, Alabama. The Trump campaign moved tonight's rally to a larger stadium to accommodate demand. (Photo by Mark Wallheiser/Getty Images)

COMMERCE, CA - MAY 24: Democratic presidential candidate former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton greets supporters during a campaign event on May 24, 2016 in Commerce, California. Hillary Clinton is campaigning in California ahaed of the State's presidential primary on June 7th. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

DURHAM, NH - FEBRUARY 04: Democratic presidential candidates former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) during their MSNBC Democratic Candidates Debate at the University of New Hampshire on February 4, 2016 in Durham, New Hampshire. This is the final debate for the Democratic candidates before the New Hampshire primaries. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

COLUMBIA, SC - FEBRUARY 24: Anita Brown, a volunteer for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, makes phone calls from a campaign field office to encourage voters in South Carolina to vote in the upcoming Democratic primary on February 24, 2016 in Columbia, South Carolina. The South Carolina Democratic primary is scheduled to take place on February 27. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

VIRGINIA BEACH, VA - OCTOBER 22: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump delivers remarks while campaigning at Regent University October 22, 2016 in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The U.S. holds its presidential election in 17 days. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

LAS VEGAS, NV - FEBRUARY 14: Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) jokes around as he speaks during a campaign rally at Bonanza High School on February 14, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Sanders is challenging Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination ahead of Nevada's February 20th Democratic caucus. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

LAS VEGAS, NV - OCTOBER 19: Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump (C) walks off stage as (L-R) Lara Yunaska, Vanessa Trump, Melania Trump, businessman Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump, Vanessa Trump, and Donald Trump Jr. look on after the third U.S. presidential debate at the Thomas & Mack Center on October 19, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Tonight is the final debate ahead of Election Day on November 8. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Supporters reach out to shake hands with US President Barack Obama after he spoke at a Hillary for America campaign event in Greensboro, North Carolina, October 11, 2016. / AFP / JIM WATSON (Photo credit should read JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images)

CLEVELAND, OH - JULY 21: An attendee stands amongst balloons at the end of the fourth day of the Republican National Convention on July 21, 2016 at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump received the number of votes needed to secure the party's nomination. An estimated 50,000 people are expected in Cleveland, including hundreds of protesters and members of the media. The four-day Republican National Convention kicked off on July 18. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

TAMPA, FL - OCTOBER 24: People react as Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at the MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre on October 24, 2016 in Tampa, Florida. There are 14 days until the the presidential election. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

LAS VEGAS, NV - OCTOBER 19: Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump appears on television screens in the media center during the third presidential debate the Thomas & Mack Center on October 19, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Tonight is the final debate ahead of Election Day on November 8. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

PHILADELPHIA, PA - JULY 28: Khizr Khan, father of deceased Muslim U.S. Soldier Humayun S. M. Khan, holds up a booklet of the US Constitution as he delivers remarks on the fourth day of the Democratic National Convention at the Wells Fargo Center, July 28, 2016 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton received the number of votes needed to secure the party's nomination. An estimated 50,000 people are expected in Philadelphia, including hundreds of protesters and members of the media. The four-day Democratic National Convention kicked off July 25. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Donald Trump's running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, promised to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement and other trade deals that Trump says hurt American workers during a campaign rally on Monday, Oct. 10, 2016 in Charlotte, N.C. (John D. Simmons/Charlotte Observer/TNS via Getty Images)

Cardboard cut outs of the faces of three candidates for the Republican nomination for the 2016 US Presidential election (L-R) Ted Cruz, Donald Trump and Marco Rubio, are seen set up on urinals in a pub in London on March 1, 2016 as part of an informal poll for customers to log which they dislike the most. Part of the satirical television show The Last Leg, customers at the pub are able to choose which urinal to use and then log their poll on a list on the wall afterwards. / AFP / JUSTIN TALLIS (Photo credit should read JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images)

DALLAS, TX - SEPTEMBER 14: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at the American Airlines Center on September 14, 2015 in Dallas, Texas. More than 20,000 tickets have been distributed for the event. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)

COCONUT CREEK, FL - OCTOBER 25: Democratic presidential nominee former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton greets supporters during a campaign rally at Broward College on October 25, 2016 in Coconut Creek, Florida. With two weeks to go until election day, Hillary Clinton is campaigning in Florida. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Huma Abedin waits for an event with Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton at University of New Hampshire September 28, 2016 in Durham, New Hampshire. / AFP / Brendan Smialowski (Photo credit should read BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images)

MADISON, WI - MARCH 30: Republican Presidential candidate Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) laughs at a poster while speaking to guests at a town hall event called 'Women for Cruz' Coalition Rollout with wife Heidi, mother Eleanor Cruz, and former Republican candidate Carly Fiorina March 30, 2016 in Madison, Wisconsin. Candidates are campaigning in Wisconsin ahead of the state's April 5th primary. (Photo by Darren Hauck/Getty Images)

GLENDALE, AZ - OCTOBER 17: Arizona Cardinals fans wear masks of Presidential candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton during the NFL game between the New York Jets and Arizona Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium on October 17, 2016 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images)

LAS VEGAS, NV - OCTOBER 22: Singer Katy Perry (R) takes a selfie with dorm residents as she canvasses for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton at UNLV on October 22, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Today is the first day for early voting in Nevada ahead of the November 8 general election. (Photo by David Becker/Getty Images)

CHARLOTTE, NC - OCTOBER 14: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump stands with Women for Trump as he speaks to supporters at a rally on October 14, 2016 at the Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. Trump continues to campaign for his run for president of the United States. (Photo by Brian Blanco/Getty Images)

ALBUQUERQUE, NM - OCTOBER 30: Supporters cheer for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump during a campaign rally at Atlantic Aviation near Albuquerque International Airport October 30, 2016 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. With less than nine days until Americans go to the polls, Trump is campaigning in Nevada, New Mexico and Colorado. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

An attendee wears a fake nose reading 'Hilary's Lies = Obvious' during a campaign event with Donald Trump, 2016 Republican presidential nominee, not pictured, in Henderson, Nevada, U.S., on Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2016. Trump's weeklong slide in the presidential race started when he showed up to the first debate unprepared and spoiling for a fight. On Tuesday evening, Mike Pence helped slow it by doing the opposite. Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg via Getty Images

WEST DES MOINES, IA - JANUARY 31: A billboard of Donald Trump in the backyard of George Davey's home on January 31, 2016 in West Des Moines, Iowa. The billboard features the photo of Mr. Davey's chosen candidate in the upcoming Iowa caucuses: Donald Trump. (Photos by Charles Ommanney/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

HIALEAH, FL - DECEMBER 28: People wait for the arrival of Republican presidential candidate and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush for a meet and greet event at Chico's Restaurant on December 28, 2015 in Hialeah, Florida. Bush continues to campaign for his parties' nomination as the presidential candidate. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

MIAMI, FL - SEPTEMBER 12: Republican presidential candidate and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush shows off a Reagan/Bush '84 tee-shirt as he speaks during a Miami field office opening on September 12, 2015 in Miami, Floria. Bush continues to campaign for the Republican nomination. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

NEW YORK, NY - FEBRUARY 10: Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT) meets with Reverend Al Sharpton at Sylvia's Restaurant on February 10, 2016 in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City. The meeting comes after a strong victory for Senator Sanders in the New Hampshire primary. (Photo by Andrew Renneisen/Getty Images)

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO - JULY 29: Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump reacts to the cries of three-month-old Kellen Campbell, of Denver, right, while holding six-month-old Evelyn Keane, of Castel Rock, Colo., after Trump's speech at the Gallogly Event Center on the campus of the University of Colorado on July 29, 2016 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. (Photo by Joe Mahoney/Getty Images)

TOPSHOT - Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump kisses a 'Women for Trump' placard during a rally at the Lakeland Linder Regional Airport in Lakeland, Florida on October 12, 2016. / AFP / MANDEL NGAN (Photo credit should read MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images)

LOS ANGELES, CA - JUNE 08: Democratic presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders (D-VT) prepares to board a flight from Los Angeles back to Vermont on June 8, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. During a rally in Santa Monica last night Sanders vowed to continue his campaign into the convention. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

SAN DIEGO, CA - JUNE 02: Democratic presidential candidate former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton delivers a national security address on June 2, 2016 in San Diego, California. With less than one week to go before the California presidential primary, Hillary Clinton delivered a major national security address as she campaigns in Southern California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

GREEN BAY, WI - OCTOBER 17: Anastasia Lee waits for the start of a campaign rally with Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump at the KI Convention Center on October 17, 2016 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Lee is scheduled to sing the national anthem at the rally. Trump will square off with democratic rival Hillary Clinton for a final debate before the election on October 19 in Las Vegas. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 11: Democratic presidental nominee former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton waves as she leaves the home of her daughter Chelsea Clinton on September 11, 2016 in New York City. Hillary Clinton left a September 11 Commemoration Ceremony early after feeling overheated and went to her daughter's house to rest. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

PORTLAND, OR - MARCH 25: A bird lands on Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders podium as he speaks on March 25, 2016 in Portland, Oregon. Sanders spoke to a crowd of more than eleven thousand about a wide range of issues, including getting big money out of politics, his plan to make public colleges and universities tuition-free, combating climate change and ensuring universal health care. (Photo by Natalie Behring/Getty Images)

LAS VEGAS, NV - OCTOBER 19: Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump looks down at the podium during the third U.S. presidential debate at the Thomas & Mack Center on October 19, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Tonight is the final debate ahead of Election Day on November 8. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

WEST PALM BEACH, FL - MARCH 15: Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton winks at Sam Oser during a visit to a Dunkin' Donuts on March 15, 2016 in West Palm Beach, Florida. Clinton is campaigning in North Carolina before traveling to Florida to hold a primary night event. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

DUBUQUE, IA - JANUARY 30: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump arrives for a rally at the airport on January 30, 2016 in Dubuque, Iowa. Trump is in Iowa trying to gain support in front of the state's February 1 caucuses. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

CLEVELAND, OH - Democratic Nominee for President of the United States former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks to and meets Ohio voters during a rally at John Marshall High School in Cleveland, Ohio on Wednesday August 17, 2016. (Photo by Melina Mara/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

IN FLIGHT, UNITED STATES - OCTOBER 26: Democratic presidential nominee former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton delivers birthday cake to reporters on her campaign plane while traveling from Tampa, Florida to New York on October 26, 2016. Hillary Clinton turned 69 years-old today. With less than two weeks to go until election day, Hillary Clinton is campaigning in Florida. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

TAMPA, FL - OCTOBER 24: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump hugs the American flag as he arrives for a campaign rally at the MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre on October 24, 2016 in Tampa, Florida. There are 14 days until the the presidential election. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 22: Democratic presidential candidate and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton testifies before the House Select Committee on Benghazi October 22, 2015 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. The committee held a hearing to continue its investigation on the attack that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans at the diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, on the evening of September 11, 2012. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

ORLANDO, FL - NOVEMBER 02: Amelia Good, 6, wears a crown made from pipe cleaners during a campaign rally with Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump at the Orlando Amphitheater at Central Florida Fairgrounds November 2, 2016 in Orlando, Florida. With less than a week before Election Day in the United States, Trump and his opponent, Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, are campaigning in key battleground states that each must win to take the White House. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Democrat presidential nominee Hillary Clinton takes a selfie with attendees at a rally at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan October 10, 2016. / AFP / TIMOTHY A. CLARY (Photo credit should read TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images)

An attendee stands for a photograph while wearing a shirt in support of Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont and 2016 Democratic presidential candidate, not pictured, in Kenosha, Wisconsin, U.S., on Wednesday, March 30, 2016. After routing Hillary Clinton in three western-state Democratic caucuses, Sanders still faces daunting delegate math and a road ahead dominated by big-state primaries that have been the weakest link in his campaign. Photographer: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg via Getty Images

CLEVELAND, OH - JULY 21: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump delivers a speech during the evening session on the fourth day of the Republican National Convention on July 21, 2016 at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump received the number of votes needed to secure the party's nomination. An estimated 50,000 people are expected in Cleveland, including hundreds of protesters and members of the media. The four-day Republican National Convention kicked off on July 18. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

Pastors and attendees lay hands and pray over Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump during the Midwest Vision and Values Pastors and Leadership Conference at the New Spirit Revival Center in Cleveland Heights, Ohio on September 21, 2016. / AFP / MANDEL NGAN (Photo credit should read MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 17: Destn Montague listens to President Barack Obama speaks at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's 46th Annual Legislative Conference Phoenix Awards Dinner, September 17 2016, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Olivier Douliery-Pool/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 12: A demonstrator wearing a Donald Duck costume dances in front of the Trump International Hotel during the hotel's first day of business September 12, 2016 in Washington, DC. The Trump Organization was granted a 60-year lease to the historic Old Post Office by the federal government before Trump announced his intent to run for president. The hotel has 263 luxury rooms, including the 6,300-square-foot 'Trump Townhouse' at $100,000 a night, with a five-night minimum. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

PHILADELPHIA, PA - JULY 27: US President Barack Obama and Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton embrace on the third day of the Democratic National Convention at the Wells Fargo Center, July 27, 2016 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton received the number of votes needed to secure the party's nomination. An estimated 50,000 people are expected in Philadelphia, including hundreds of protesters and members of the media. The four-day Democratic National Convention kicked off July 25. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

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More from AOL.com: ICYMI: AG Jeff Sessions had contact with Russians during campaign, judge in Casey Anthony trial speaks out, Mexican company willing to help Trump build wall DNC narrowly elects Tom Perez as new chair Hillary Clinton is president according to this fake news site

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Hillary Clinton on what she'd change about the 2016 election: 'I'd win' - AOL News

The police cannot force you to tell them the passcode for your phone. Forcing you to turn over or type in your passcode violates the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incriminationthe privilege that allows people to plead the Fifth to avoid handing the government evidence it could use against them. And if you have a phone thats encrypted by default (which we hope you do), forcing you to type in your passcode to unlock the device means forcing you to decrypt your phone, too. That forced translationof unintelligible information to intelligiblealso violates the Fifth Amendment.

But theres a problem: not all law enforcement officers have received the memo. In one particularly egregious case, military investigators forced the defendant, Sergeant Edward J. Mitchell, to unlock and decrypt his iPhone 6 after he asked for a lawyer. Not only was the investigators continued interrogation of Sgt. Mitchell without a lawyer a clear violation of U.S. Supreme Court precedent, but compelling him to unlock and decrypt his phone also violated the Fifth Amendment. The case is currently on appeal to a federal military appeals court, and we filed an amicus brief with the court explaining why.

The Fifth Amendment privilege against compelled self-incrimination protects testimonial communications. Testimonial communications are those that require a person to use the contents of his own mind to communicate some fact. Testimonial communications dont have to be verbal; the key is that the information conveyed must come from the suspects own mind. As we explain in our brief, compelled passcode-based decryption is inherently testimonialand thus always prohibited by the Fifth Amendmentfor two reasons.

First, the compelled entry of a memorized passcode forces a person to reveal the contents of their mind to investigatorscontents that are absolutely privileged by the Fifth Amendment. As far as the Fifth Amendment is concerned, theres no difference between forcing a person to type their passcode directly into their phone and forcing them to say it out loud to an investigator. The trial judge in this case understood that and found that typing in a passcode was a testimonial act. So just by forcing the defendant to unlock his phone, the investigators violated his Fifth Amendment right.

Second, the process of decryption itself is testimonial because it involves translating unintelligible, encrypted evidence into a form that can be used and understood by investigatorsagain relying on the contents of the suspects mind.

Encryption transforms plain, understandable information into unreadable letters, numbers, or symbols using a fixed formula or process. When information is encrypted on a phone, computer, or other electronic device, it exists only in its scrambled format. If Sgt. Mitchells phone had merely been locked but not also encrypted, had the officers broken into the phone, they would have been able to access and understand the information stored on the phone. But since the phone was encrypted, if they had tried to break into the phone, they would have found only scrambled, encrypted data; they wouldnt have been able to understand it. The officers needed Sgt. Mitchell, and his unique knowledge, to translate the information on the phone into its unscrambled, intelligible state for them to be able to use it against him. In other words, they were seeking transformation and explanation of data by an accused of the very data they sought to incriminate him with. This thus violated the Fifth Amendment for a second and independent reasonbecause of the nature of compelled decryption.

Oral argument in this case is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. on April 4, 2017 at the University of Notre Dame Law School in Indiana, as part of the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces student outreach program. We hope the court holds that, because of the very nature of decryption, compelled passcode-based decryption hits at the heart of the Fifth Amendments privilege against self-incrimination.

Thanks to the American Civil Liberties Union and ACLU of the District of Columbia for joining our brief.

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EFF to Court: Forcing Someone to Unlock and Decrypt Their Phone Violates the Constitution - EFF

The year is 2019. The government sends in a SWAT team to seize any corporate property it wants without the due process or just compensation required by the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution. The government also has the power to swipe bank assets, raid newspaper offices without warrants or just cause, and even censor any news published by a media corporation. No, its not the plot of a newly unearthed Orwell novel. These tactics, and more, would be legal under an amendment to the U.S. Constitution just introduced by Montana Sen. Jon Tester.

Testers amendment aims to strip rights from corporate entities. His amendment would provide that (1) The rights enumerated in this Constitution and other rights retained by the people shall be the rights of natural persons; (2) As used in this Constitution, the terms people, person, and citizen shall not include a corporation, a limited liability company, or any other corporate entity established by the laws of any state, the United States, or any foreign state.

Senator Tester justifies his proposal by arguing that a corporation doesnt hop on the combine to try and get harvest done. Well.

Seven years after Citizens United, the whole corporations arent people and therefore shouldnt have rights bit is getting pretty tiresome. Certainly, our elected officials should be held to a higher standard of debate.

Yes, its true that if youve never thought about it, the idea that corporations are people seems absurd on its face. Corporations are not people, of course. But, for many purposes, it makes perfect sense that the law treats them as such. For example, if the law did not treat corporations as people, they couldnt be sued.

The bigger point, though, is that corporations have rights because people have rights, and people form and own corporations. This is a principle as old as the American Republic, re-emphasized by the Supreme Court as early as 1819 in Trustees of Dartmouth College v. Woodward. A corporation, the Court noted, is an artificial being, invisible, intangible, and existing only in contemplation of law. But that didnt mean that people gave up their rights when they formed a corporation. Rather, the decision emphasized that when people join together to accomplish things, they usually need some form of organization, and shouldnt have to sacrifice their rights just because they organize. Individuals, wrote the Court, find it impossible to effect their design securely and certainly without an incorporating act. Corporate rights are the rights people have when they act together.

Oddly enough, in the momentous Citizens United decision that prompts Testers proposal, not even the Courts dissenters ever mentioned the issue of corporate personhood. Why? Because they all understood that corporate personhood is a longstanding doctrine that is not controversial in law, and was not what the case was about.

So lets think about Testers reasoning. There are over 29,000 farms and ranches in Montana. Many of these are incorporated. And indeed, around the country a great many, perhaps most, family farms are incorporated. So in a sense, when your local family farmer gets to work, it is indeed a corporation who hops on that combine. In fact, Testers family farm is incorporated it is T-Bone Farms, Inc. Does Tester think it should be illegal for him to post a political sign on his farms property?

Under Testers proposed constitutional amendment, the government could deprive him of a right to a jury trial any time a lawsuit involved his farm. The government could simply take his land, without due process, for any reason, and without compensation, all in violation of the takings clause. All this because, by incorporating his farm, he would give up his constitutional rights.

Constitutional amendments, such as that offered by Tester, will not pass in the next few years but they indicate the general hostility to free speech that many senators have, and their willingness to silence speakers they dont like. They also show the willingness to advocate rash and dangerous proposals to accomplish that end. In the long term, that should concern us all.

Brad Smith is the chairman of the Center for Competitive Politics and the former chairman of the Federal Election Commission.

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ONLINE-ONLY OPINION: Tester's assault on corporate rights is an assault on people's rights - The Missoulian

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Man's murder conviction, life sentence upheld on appeal The Telegraph Dinkins also challenged his conviction on the grounds that Lowe, who invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, could have given some useful testimony without incriminating himself. Dinkins' allegation of error, however, is not ...

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Man's murder conviction, life sentence upheld on appeal - The Telegraph

A senior aide to Chancellor Angela Merkel hit back at Turkeys government, saying Germany doesnt need lessons in democracy after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan likened the cancellation of rallies by two of his cabinet ministers to Nazi practices.

Peter Altmaier, Merkels chief of staff, called the comment absolutely unacceptable as tension escalates in a relationship already strained over Turkeys human rights record after a failed coup to topple Erdogan in July. Volker Kauder, Merkels top lieutenant in the German parliament, linked the surge in tension to Erdogans campaign to expand his powers in a referendum planned in April.

Nobody can outdo Germany in terms of rule of law, tolerance and liberalism, Altmaier said in an interview with broadcaster ARD on Monday. Theres no reason whatsoever for us to accept such accusations or advice from anybody.

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Erdogan lashed out in Istanbul on Sunday after local authorities in two municipalities canceled campaign events by his ministers in the buildup to the referendum. In comments widely reported in Germany, Erdogan said the decisions have nothing to do with democracy and that recent practices in Germany are no different from the Nazi ones of the past. An estimated 1.4 million Turkish voters live in Germany.

The flareup risks further straining Turkeys relations with the entire European Union as EU foreign ministers meet in Brussels on Monday. The Ankara government has jailed a German-Turkish reporter whom Erdogan described as a spy, and is pressing Germany to extradite fugitive Turkish military officers involved in the coup attempt.

The town of Gaggenau in southwestern Germany triggered the turmoil last week by revoking its permission for Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag to hold a campaign rally, citing concerns of overcrowding. In Cologne, authorities canceled Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekcis planned address on Sunday to a Turkish community, citing security concerns.

Merkel last week condemned the jailing of German-Turkish journalist Deniz Yucel, 43, as bitter and disappointing, saying the charges of terrorist propaganda threatened press freedom in Turkey. Kauder also condemned Erdogans comparison with the Nazi era.

Its an incredible and unacceptable turn of events that a leader of a NATO country talks this way about another NATO country, especially one who has considerable problems with the rule of law, the head of Merkels Christian Democrat-led caucus told ARD on Sunday.

For all the criticism by German leaders, Turkey and the EU have shared interests beyond trade.

Erdogan and the EU last March forged a deal to stem the flow of refugees entering Greece via the Aegean, with Turkey agreeing to take back people turned away. The uneasy accord that helped ease the trade blocs refugee crisis is unlikely to be upended by Erdogan amid new tensions with Germany, according to its Austrian partner.

The EU is a critical trade partner for Turkey, taking 47 percent of its exports in January. Germany was the No. 1 export destination for Turkish goods, accounting for 10 percent, according to Turkeys statistics agency.

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Erdogan's Nazi Comparison Draws Fire From Merkel Chief of ...