North Carolina will play a critical role in the 2012 presidential election. John Locke Foundation President John Hood explains why, and he analyzes top contenders for the Republican presidential nomination. Hood also discusses the likely rematch in the N.C. gubernatorial election. Then we turn to efficiency in government. State lawmakers voted in 2011 to place North Carolina’s Employment Security Commission under the control of the state Commerce Department. Legislators recently heard an update on the progress of that consolidation. Legislative staffer Kristin Walker offered an overview of the changes, and Commerce Secretary Keith Crisco explained his goals. You’ll hear their comments, along with analysis from Carolina Journal Managing Editor Rick Henderson.ESC’s move to Commerce already has hit one speed bump. When the commission’s top official, Lynn Holmes, declined to attend a meeting of the General Assembly’s Revenue Laws Study Committee, Sen. Bob Rucho, R-Mecklenburg, responded with a subpoena. You’ll hear Rucho explain why legislators decided to make use of their subpoena power to hear Holmes’ plans for helping North Carolina repay $2.5 billion borrowed from the federal government for unemployment benefits. That’s followed by a fascinating look at history. When you hear the word “pirate,” you might think of thieving, gambling, drinking, or walking the plank. It’s not likely that you think of economics. But Peter Leeson, BB&T professor of the study of capitalism at George Mason University, says pirates made critical economic calculations that dispel some of the myths about their wild, rowdy ways. Leeson discusses the economics of pirates in the book titled The Invisible Hook. And finally, more emails have been released that show some of the world’s most influential climate change alarmists were, behind the scenes, questioning the science they tell the public is “settled” and trying to limit debate and dissent from those seeking evidence of claims. John Locke Foundation Vice President for Research Roy Cordato explains what’s in the leaked communications and what it means for the alarmist movement heading into 2012.