First cracks in decorum beginning to surface

de·co·rum

–noun

1.dignified propriety of behavior, speech, dress, etc.

2. the quality or state of being decorous; orderliness; regularity.

3. an observance or requirement of polite society.

On Monday Senate Minority Whip Kim Gillan, D-Billings, rose on the Senate floor on a point of personal privilege to raise the issue of Decorum. (Click here and fast forward to 41:45).

According to Gillan, she received several e-mails last weekend that questioned her behavior in a Senate Public Health Committee hearing . The hearing was a heated one over Senate Bill 161, sponsored by Sen. Verdell Jackson, R-Kalispell, to declare federal health care reforms "null and void" in Montana. (Clink here to watch the hearing).

At several points throughout the hearing proponents of the measure cheered and applauded, which is generally not allowed in committee hearings. Gillan and fellow Democrat Sen. Kendall Van Dyk took issue with the applause and Van Dyk eventually objected, saying the hearing was not a “political rally.”

However, the committee’s chairman, freshman Sen. Jason Priest, R-Red Lodge, allowed the applause, saying he didn’t want to infringe on anyone’s First Amendment rights.

Gillan didn’t specifically criticize Priest on Monday, but it was clear to anyone watching what she meant.

“We all have to be concerned about the decorum of the Senate and in hearings,” Gillan said. “We have a lot of contentious hearings coming, and I just ask that members of the Senate who have been here a longer time join me in feeling we have a responsibility to help our more junior members, and when they are in difficult situations…all of us need to help people.”

Sen. President Jim Peterson, R-Buffalo, emphasized Gillan’s point. Peterson, along with Republican House Speaker Mike Milburn, have made decorum one of their top priorities this session.

“The decorum of the Senate applies to us senators, but in committee meetings it applies to everybody, including the public,” Peterson said. “For those of you who chair these committee hearings it’s important that you maintain civility and proper decorum in your committee hearings. If things start to step out of order it’s up to us, in the committee meetings, to support each other to maintain civility.”

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Decorum was dealt another blow on Friday when Rep. Carolyn Pease-Lopez, of Billings, told Rep. Derek Skees, one of a handful of Republicans who sat in on a House Democrats’ caucus meeting, that "I felt so much hatred from your caucus."

"I feel like if it was up to you we would all be dead," Pease-Lopez said. "We are going to keep having babies and live and thrive no matter how much you try to oppress us."

Pease-Lopez was upset over a Republican amendment to a bill to move Montana to an all mail-in balloting system. The amendment  stripped special provisions aimed at outreach on reservations where Indian leaders say many residents don’t have mailing addresses.

Republican Majority Leader Tom McGillvray issued a strong rebuke.

"With the increased attention on civility in politics, we are disappointed and disheartened by the shameful comments from Rep. Pease-Lopez and the ensuing applause from the Democrat caucus," McGillvray wrote in an e-mail to reporters. "To claim that the GOP caucus, which includes several Native Americans, would want an entire people killed is entirely untrue and deeply offensive."

Your latest MT Legislature Social Calendar

As promised, here’s the latest iteration of the 2011 Montana Legislature Social Calendar. For previous calendars click here, and here.

Legislators: Show some respect

I  referenced this in a tweet earlier so it probably deserves a little explanation. First a little background…

I come from a small Wisconsin town populated by a lot of Polish, Belgian, German, and Scandinavian decedents. When I was a kid my dad would listen to the local radio station every morning as he got ready for work. The local morning newscasters would recap high school sporting events, read headlines from the local newspaper, read obituaries, etc. It drove my dad nuts every time the morning DJ—who had been broadcasting the local news for decades—would time and time again mispronounce surnames of local residents on-air. It was a huge pet peeve of his that I must have inherited.

I mention this because this pet peeve has surfaced in recent weeks up here at the Capitol as I watch legislators repeatedly butcher the names of people who are testifying before their committees. Maybe it’s not a big deal to some people, but I find it incredibly insulting to Montana citizens who take time away from their jobs or families or businesses to come before the Legislature to testify on issues they care deeply about only to have members of the committee butcher their names on TV and over the Internet.

In some cases the people who continually endure the name-butchering have testified several times throughout the session before the same committee members. Legislators regularly call these people up to the podium to ask them questions. Over and over again certain members of the committee make little-to-no effort to learn how to pronounce these peoples’ names, and they’re really not that difficult to pronounce.

I suggest that if a committee member can’t learn to pronounce the name of a testifier after the second attempt then they should lose their privilege to ask questions.  Write it down. It’s not that hard.

Why am I making such a big deal about this? Because it’s about respect.

If Legislators want citizens to respect the work they are doing up here, then they should show a similar level of respect to the people who go out of their way to take part in the governing process.

Gov. Schweitzer’s State of the State

Tonight, at 7 p.m., Gov. Brian Schweitzer will deliver his fourth and final State of the State address to the full Legislature.

As far as I know the address won’t be streamed live on the Legislature’s website. However, Montana Public Radio, Montana PBS and Yellowstone Public Radio will provide live coverage on their member stations and online.

MTPR News Director Sally Mauk will host the coverage.

University of Montana journalism Professor Dennis Swibold and UM political science Assistant Professor Christopher Muste will join Mauk to provide analysis of the governor’s speech and the Republican response.

This is the first time Schweitzer has delivered the SOTS address to a Republican-controlled Legislature. Should be interesting. Be sure to tune in and to check tomorrow’s Great Falls Tribune for full coverage.

Hacking at the Capitol: the dangers of Bluetooth

Internationally recognized hacker and computer security expert Brad Smith took me on an unusual tour of the Capitol on Thursday. Smith runs the Computer Institute of the Rockies here in Helena and he’s the director of the National Cyber Defense Force (the website is down for upgrades). He’s an ethical hacker, or “white hat,” whose well-known in security circles for his expertise on hacking, social engineering, interview and interrogation techniques, and network security based on Biomimicy.

I’ve wanted to cruise the Capitol with Brad for months now, but I haven’t been able to catch up with him between his travels to security conferences in Las Vegas, Miami, Washington, D.C.,  Egypt, and most recently Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. But on Thursday we were finally able to link up, so to speak. I wrote about our experience in Saturday’s Great Falls Tribune.

With a computer in his briefcase and a USB Bluetooth antenna up his sleeve, Smith wandered around the Capitol demonstrating how a hacker could easily break into smartphones, iPhones and laptops with nothing more than an inexpensive netbook, a $2.99 USB adapter, and free hacking software available online. Think I’m kidding? Click this link.

Smith strolled the hallways as his computer scanned nearby Bluetooth-enabled devices and identified those that could easily be broken into. In about 30 minutes of wandering his computer identified seven smartphones and three Apple MacBooks that had unsecured Bluetooth signals, and eith cell phones that were not as easily hackable.

Now, before you freak out and start wrapping your cell phone in tinfoil, I should say that very few people in Montana have the expertise required to execute a successful Bluetooth attack. Smith estimate there are probably fewer 100 people in the state with necessary know-how. That said, as we continue to advance into this bold new age of near-permanent Internet connectivity, the threat will only continue to increase, Smith says.

After the demonstration Smith sat down to talk to The Lowdown about the risks associated with using Bluetooth and other wireless devices and explained how people can protect themselves from digital attacks.

Hacker and security expert Brad Smith outlines the risks associated with using Bluetooth and wireless devices in places such as the Capitol.

Of course the threat isn’t unique to the Capitol. Basically any Bluetooth-enabled device anywhere is potentially susceptible to attack. As Smith explains, what makes the Capitol a desirable target for unscrupulous hackers, or “black hats” is the sheer volume of opportunities to steal valuable information like address books, account log-in info and even bank account information from lobbyists and lawmakers.

Check out this article from TechRepublica that explains how Bluetooth works, and how you can protect your Bluetooth devices.

This Secure Network whitepaper goes into even greater technical detail about the security vulnerabilities of Bluetooth and offers tips on how not to fall into the Bluetooth trap.

Latest MT Leg social calendar

You can download the latest updated 2011 Montana Legislature Social Calendar here.

The calendar is now in an easy-to-read .pdf file. This should be a piece of cake to post from now on. Whenever I get an updated version I’ll post it here, so be sure to check back regularly.