Author: Stephen Taylor

I was featured in a report by Peter Harris on Global National tonight. The topic was blogging at the Liberal leadership convention. Jason Cherniak is also in the report.

(video)

Garth is holding a press conference tomorrow and the Parliamentary Press Gallery is predictably excited for what Garth might say.

Will he go Green?
Will he sit as an Independent?
Will he sit as a “Progressive Conservative”?
Is this all because he still wants to be PM one day?

Garth will likely provide the answers to 10 questions that his board of directors asked to the Conservative Party. Well, the twenty-four member board received their answers and here they are (in a general sense):

1. [Has Garth] been suspended or expelled from caucus?
Suspended.

2. Is it definite or indefinite?
Indefinite.

3. What was the reason?
Garth has been provided with the reasons.

4. Will [Garth] be formally notified (of the suspension)?
No such formal process. Garth was at the Ontario caucus when the decision was rendered. Garth did not attend the National Caucus where it was ratified.

5. What evidence will the board get to justify [Garth’s] ouster?
None. This is an internal caucus matter.

6. Are there conditions for reentry into caucus?
Garth would have to approach caucus.

7. [Is Garth] still the nominated Conservative candidate (for Halton)?
No.

8. Is [Garth’s] membership (with the Conservative Party of Canada) still valid?
Yes.

9. If [Garth is] stripped of [his] nomination can [he] seek it again?
Not right now.

10. Is [Garth’s] suspension or expulsion a directive of the national party?
No.

The board received these answers in two letters from Don Plett and Rahim Jaffer.

It appears that the Halton Conservative EDA must have a nomination meeting soon since Garth Turner is no longer their candidate. At this time, it appears that Garth is not welcome to seek that nomination.

A few marathon coding and HTML sessions later and I think that we’re able to declare that Blogging Tories has received enough tweaking to declare a full new version of the site.

Blog post thumbnail pictures, AJAX navigation (tabbed navigation without refreshing the page), AJAX-based search, and the fundraising tool are among the new features.

The search feature is particularly exciting. Now you can submit a single query and display results from within the Blogging Tories network, from the whole web, from blogs and now from the Hansard record.

A sample search

To shrink the search bar back up top, just click the blue triangle (that points up). News-based and Blog-based search results on the right can be re-sorted chronologically.

As for the new navigation, you can browse through Blogging Tories mini-sites such as BT-TV, Brookstreet and even the BT-SPY without refreshing the page. You can just click through the tabs. Go ahead and give it a try. (Forums does load a separate page…)

BT AJAX-based navigation

BT-SPY loaded

and again, because it is so very cool, the Blogging Tories Fundraising Tool which is currently raising money for the conservative candidate in London North Centre. At the time of this writing, this blog (as a participant in BTFT program has raised $212.00, and Blogging Tories has raised $393.00. You can put the BTFT on your own blog by clicking here, or if you’re the donating type, please go ahead!

Many thanks to Craig for his help in implementing the new features.

There are plenty of new features coming to Blogging Tories in the future. Stay tuned!