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Hello and welcome to the Slate Political GabFest for December 28th, 2012, the conundrums edition,

our final episode of the year.

I'm David Plotz, the Eddorf Slate in Washington, D.C. with John Dickerson.

Slate's chief political correspondent, John, you are a year older and two years wiser. Hello.

Hello, David.

And from New Haven, Slate's senior editor, Emily Bazelon, whose New Year's resolution is to renounce Satan and all his minions. Hello, Emily.

Hello.

So this is a very special episode of the Gab Fest, and by that I don't mean that Mr. T will be coming on or that... Mr. T. Michelle Obama will appear. That's like the most 1980s reference ever. I know, but that was a very special episode. You know, it was a very special episode of different strokes where Mr. T is on. That's true. If you really reach back into your cultural treasure chest. Justin Bieber will not be making a guest cameo to demand that all of us spay our cats. To bring on Beaver fever. So we are going to have a special episode by which I mean we are going to talk about conundrums, the questions, dilemmas, moral crises, picking and confusions that plague our lives. And you have given us these conundrums. Thank you. Over the past month, listeners have sent us more than a hundred conundrums. We are going to grapple with as many of them as we can today.

It was a conundrum just to figure out which ones to pick.

It really was. And then also there's a special chatter.

Each of us will pick our favorite political moment of the year. Before we get to the conundrums one bit of business, as you plan your January, make sure to mark your calendar. January 23rd, if you're going to be anywhere near Washington, D.C., we'll be doing a live show at Sixth and I. get your ticket now at our show page, slate.com slash gabfest, our Facebook page,

Facebook.com slash gabfest, or at 6th and I.org.

There's also going to be a pre-show cocktail party, though I fear that may be sold out already,

but there may be a ticket or two available.

We hope we will see you at the show or the party. Conundrums, sometimes life

throws you a curveball such as, would you rather be too hot or too cold? Which is the more important

equality or justice? Would you rather fight 100 duck-sized horses or one-horse-sized duck?

...