By Debbie Schlussel
There are a few conservative talk show hosts, like Rush Limbaugh, who actually know something. And then there are plenty of others who are virtual colleagues of Paris Hilton.
Here’s a pop quiz for airhead “conservative” radio talk show hosts who lecture us on economic policy and pretend to know what they’re talking about:
Who is John Maynard Keynes?
If you answered, “The Father of Modern Economics”, or “The economist well known for pushing government intervention in the economy as policy”, then you got it right AND Your Name is NOT Frank Beckmann. (And you, perhaps, at least know how to use Google.)

Don’t Know Much About History:
Frank Beckmann Knows a Lot About Kermit The Frog,
Not Much About John Maynard KEEENZZZ, Economics, or Jihad
Beckmann is the faux-conservative talk show host, ignoramus, and frequent Islamo-panderer on Detroit’s Rush Limbaugh-Sean Hannity affiliate, WJR-AM 760. I try not to mention this aging airhead and blog talking points regurgitator’s name on this site because 1) it elevates him and increases the few listeners he has under age 70; and 2) I’m not in his Depends demographic and in no hurry to get there.
I never listen to his inane show, but was called on Thursday by a friend who was laughing at Beckmann’s ignorance. I turned on the radio farce to get a laugh, too. Beckmann had as a guest a liberal economist and author who supported government intervention in the mortgage crisis.
Beckmann discussed the author’s book and said,

You refer to a man named John Maynard KEEEENZZZ. I’m not familiar with him. What does KEEENZZZ say?

The clueless Beckmann continued to ask about “KEEENZZZ” throughout the interview. It was hilarious, Beckmann’s ignorance stunning, especially since he was too ill-informed to argue with the author’s liberal, interventionist positions.
I waited until today to write about this, in the hope that Beckmann would post the audio of this stunningly ignorant interview on the net. But apparently he got a whiff of his ignorance and wisely–not the usual adverb in his case–chose not to expose himself further for being the complete ignoramus he is.
For the record, it’s pronounced “KAYNZ”. I don’t expect the average American Gen-Y member to know who Keynes is. Most “gradyooated” from today’s “publick skoolzz.”
But this guy, Beckmann–who is obsessed with me, likes to use his show as a forum to attack me, and is too wimpy to actually face me on his show (he took the day off when I was brought on to respond to one of his attacks)–should know. He’s about 60 (though he sounds like 80), and if you’re going to pretend to be a know-it-all and have a talk show focused on politics, repeatedly lecturing us on the economy, you should actually know who John Maynard Keynes is. I bet–pre-McCain tutoring week–six-colleges-in-six-years journalism grad Sarah Palin didn’t know who KEEENZZZ was either (and she should know, too).
Keynes was one of the first and foremost liberal, statist economists. His interventionist policy–known as Keynesian [“KAYNZEE-EN”] economics–would support bail-outs of mortgages, the auto industry (Detroit . . .Frank Beckmann . . . Hello . . .?), etc. I learned about Keynes–who supported rampant government spending, even deficit-spending–in a seventh grade economics class in private school, in public high school, and again, in college.
Beckmann–a sportscaster recently dumped by the Detroit Lions from its pre-season football TV announcing team–frequently trolls this site for show prep. His even more airheaded producer Shelly Dyrda told me so in writing, and he frequently discusses news broken on this site before anyone else reports on it, including the Muslim foot baths at the University of Michigan-Dearborn.
But this is one of those many instances in which ripping off others just doesn’t provide cover for lack of basic knowledge.
In case you were wondering, Beckmann thinks that supporting Hezbollah–a terrorist group that murdered over 300 U.S. Marines and civilians and continues to train terrorists to blow up our troops in Iraq–is not such a big deal. And he frequently gushes over Hezbollah and HAMAS agents and supporters as guests on his show–like Osama Siblani (whose brother works for Hezbo TV a/k/a Al Manar) and “former” Islamic terrorist, FBI award and marriage fraud perpetrator Imad Hamad.
When I got the John McCain campaign to dump open Hezbollah supporter, key U.S. Hezbollah agent, and federally-convicted insurance defrauder Ali Jawad, Frank Beckmann gave Jawad a half-hour of gushing and pandering to do “clean up” and rehabilitation. Beckmann sat by as Jawad denied that Hezbollah was the group that murdered over 300 U.S. Marines and civilians in Beirut–something which even Hezbollah acknowledges.
Then, Beckmann said about Jawad’s insurance fraud, “That’s very common in the Arabic community isn’t it?”–as if that makes it okay. The interview was ridiculous, but it was done as a favor (perhaps a paid favor) to Jawad’s hired PR agent, the shameless John Truscott. It’s just another of the many issues on which this faux-conservative is jaw-droppingly ignorant, and in that case, it’s dangerous. Sadly, he was played like a violin by Islamist propagandists on a major radio station in a major market.
When the Dubai Ports deal–for a government-owned entity of Dubai to control our major U.S. ports–was canceled, Beckmann whined that we shouldn’t treat Dubai this way because it’s the “sister city of Detroit.” Yeah, that’s a valid argument–because the corrupt (and now deposed) Mayor of Detroit, Kwame Kilpatrick, and his crazy Third World Republic City Council accepted free trips by Arabs to be whined and dined in the Gulf States, then made Dubai their “sister city” in a BS proclamation, we should give up security and control of our major ports.
Many people believe Frank Beckmann is on the take from Muslim and Arab groups in the Detroit area and their foreign benefactors. And I’m among them.
Two groups, though, that he certainly is not on the take from are rocket scientists and brain surgeons.
And probably not the “KEEENZZZZIAN Economists,” either.
Again, I don’t expect the average American to know who Keynes is. But it’s a basic for a political and news talk show host. Not to know, in that profession, is to be an ignoramus.
Keep Frank Beckmann’s ignorance on economics in mind when he talks about everything else. The guy doesn’t know much (except how to read a paper and rip-off and parrot websites like mine). There’s not much there.
Frank Beckmann isn’t the only uninformed and ridiculously ignorant faux-conservative talk show host. As you’ll remember, I recently told you about this bozo, Kevin James, who made a total fool of himself because he claimed to know about Neville Chamberlain and didn’t know what he was talking about.
With James, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, Vannity, and now, Beckmann, we have enough hot air parading as conservatism to field a team for Miss Teen South Carolina.
“U.S. Americans, The Iraq . . . Such as.” Hezbollah, The John Maynard KEEENZZ, Such as.
I hear President Camacho is looking for someone to fix the economy.
Quick, Frank: Google “John Kenneth Galbraith.”
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For the record, today, I ran into another WJR talk show host and asked him who Keynes is. He hadn’t heard of him either. The host was NOT liberal Mitch Albom, who does know who Keynes is. Even Mitch’s producer, Rosey, knew about Keynes.
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Here’s a very appropriate music video accompaniment: