* Forbes magazine is out with its annual ranking of the World’s Most Powerful People, and Donald Trump comes in at a somewhat humbling 72. President Barack Obama is 3rd, Hillary Clinton 58th and Bill Clinton 64th. The top 10: Russian President Vladimir Putin, 1; German Chancellor Angela Merkel, 2; Pope Francis, 4; Chinese General Secretary Xi Jinping, 5; Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, 6; Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, 7; British Prime Minister David Cameron, 8; Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, 9; and Google co-founder Larry Page, 10.
* The most recent economic-impact figure of MacDill Air Force Base is $4.74 billion annually on the Tampa Bay region. That includes the nearly 25,000 jobs created by base activity. Here’s another number: 13,000. That’s the number of Florida jobs expected to result from various plants working on the notoriously overpriced, under-performing F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. That includes about 200 employees to be hired on at the Pinellas Park Lockheed Martin facility.
Three, decidedly non-chamber of commerce words: military industrial complex.
* Speaking of the MIC, only with some Cold War nostalgia, this just in: The U.S. will soon be selling $1.83 billion in arms to Taiwan. Congress has 30 days to review–or rubber stamp–it.
* I know I’ve mentioned this before, but I just can’t help a visceral reaction whenever I see the latest group of inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Where is Chubby Checker?
The Hall has more than 300 members, including disc jockeys, producers and “early influence” performers such as Les Paul and Miles Davis. But there’s no room for the man who is synonymous with “The Twist” and its various permutations?
The Hall is known for an opaque process and backstage lobbying. Thus, gangsta rap pioneer N.W.A. of “Straight Outta Compton” and “F— tha Police” fame are now in–but Chubby Checker is not.
Maybe the Hall never forgave him for covering Hank Ballard and making “The Twist” iconically successful and career creating. Maybe he just came along at the wrong time–after Elvis Presley, Little Richard, Chuck Berry and Buddy Holly went in first in 1983.
By all accounts, the Philadelphia native (real name: Ernest Evans), still performing in his 70s, wants in while he’s still around. But who could blame him if he had a “F— tha Hall” attitude after yet another induction snub? Dr. Dre and Ice Cube would understand.