Motor vehicle sales at record 12-month high. Further confirmation that there is one thing consumers are prepared to spend their money on. The Australian Bureau of Statistics figures for new motor vehicles show that sales in the year to November at 1,099,064 were the highest on record.

Gutless wonders. Liberals not commenting on the judge’s decision in the Peter Slipper case are gutless wonders. They ran away in fear yesterday, as well they might. A truly disgraceful episode. I just hope Labor avoids the temptation to prolong the sorry episode with an inquiry into the opposition’s role. The verdict does not change the truth that he was not a suitable person to occupy the post of House of Representatives Speaker in the first place.

The lack of response from the Liberals was not as bad as the response that was made by Sydney’s Daily Telegraph. The paper that aided and abetted the anti-Slipper campaign with page one shock-horror pieces hid the judge’s finding away at the back of the book.

If the f-word offends please don’t click to play the video below. That politics can be fun was confirmed overnight when stars of The Thick of It took out the awards for best actor and best actress at the British Comedy Awards in London.

Peter Capaldi took home best TV actor for his portrayal of political spin-doctor Malcolm Tucker.

And Rebecca Front, shown below in a lovely scene where the spin master asks her as the leader of the opposition how hungry for power she really is, won her first British Comedy prize as best TV actress for her role as Nicola Murray.

Politicians and the press. We have had a fair whack of exposure of late to examples of the press barons influencing politicians, so if you are in the mood for another side of the story make volume four of Robert Caro’s biography of US President Lyndon Baines Johnson part of your holiday reading. The Passage of Power contains some really staggering examples of how a politician can influence the media rather than the conventional wisdom that it happens the other way around. Believe me, it will change your view of democracy forever.

For those of you who, like me, are into audiobooks rather than the written word, go to around the four-hour mark of part four. Brutally revealing stuff.

P-ssy Riot still streaking ahead. Another batch of votes yesterday in our little Pick Time’s Person of the Year contest and those Russian lasses are maintaining a big lead. Here’s the video that made them famous worldwide:

News and views noted along the way.