Karl Halverson Pierson, the 18-year-old killer who entered Arapahoe High School in Centennial, Colorado with a shotgun last Friday, shooting two classmates, and ultimately taking his own life — has been described in news reports as outspoken about politics, and a gifted debater. A fellow student who had an economics class with Pierson, referred to him as “very opinionated.”
Two other seniors who knew Pierson said he had political views that were “outside the mainstream.” One described him as an “outspoken kid about what he believed and a good political thinker.” Another added, “He had very strong beliefs about gun laws and stuff.”
Drew Zahn writing for WND provides yet another dimension to the reports as he makes comparisons to the Newtown, Connecticut elementary school shooter.
He writes “…. almost one year to the date after the Sandy Hook shooting, on Dec. 13, 2013, at the Arapahoe High School in Centennial, Colo., another school shooter opened fire, and this time, the gunman’s background was all too quickly swept under the rug.
Most notoriously, the Denver Post discovered in its profiling of the shooter that fellow students described the 18-year-old gunman as “a very opinionated socialist.” Yet by the next day, the Post’s editors had scrubbed the word “socialist” from the article, replacing it with merely “very opinionated.”
According to this account in the Denver Post, Pierson appeared to mock Republicans on a Facebook post, writing “you republicans are so cute” and posting an image that reads: “The Republican Party: Health Care: Let ’em Die, Climate Change: Let ’em Die, Gun Violence: Let ’em Die, Women’s Rights: Let ’em Die, More War: Let ’em Die. Is this really the side you want to be on?”
Zahn’s search for online news articles published the Monday following the Friday shooting revealed more than 2,600 articles profiling one of Pierson’s shooting victims, but only two that still sought to dig up information about the shooter’s motivations. Neither article, however, mentions Pierson’s socialist politics, nor other details revealed by a Wall Street Journal interview with a fellow student who said Pierson “once wore a shirt emblazoned with the letters U.S.S.R. and described himself as a communist.”
Thank you for the clarity, Drew Zahn.
Seeing Red AZ 
Thr Blaze has this article in which Tucson shooter Jared Loughner was finally and correctly described as “left wing and quite liberal” AFTER he was originally described as a right wing radical.
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2011/01/08/report-giffords-gunman-left-wing-quite-liberal/
Yep! And remember when Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik attempted to blame the shooting on (right wing) talk radio “vitriol.” That may be free speech, but it’s not without consequences,” he said. That’s why he’s known as Dumb-nik around here.
The American media has evolved into a agenda-driven propagandist’s vehicle on local and national scales. The irony is that while the left’s attacks on alleged “conservative” FOX News has fueled its lead in “trust factor”, their transition to MSM tactics has gone relatively unnoticed – almost. The George Soros connected Media Matters is apparently quite happy with the transition to the point of standing down, declaring victory, and labeling FOX as a non-threat:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/dec/16/george-soros-group-calls-fox-news-attack-we-won/
That’s quite an article, ZOO, and one we‘d missed. Good catch!
SRAZ wrote this post in June 2013 regarding the dramatic political shift of Fox News:
Fox News: “Fair and Balanced” credibility tanks
https://seeingredaz.wordpress.com/2013/06/04/fox-news-fair-and-balanced-credibility-tanks/
In July, Rush Limbaugh acknowledged a caller‘s exasperation at the lineup of apologists venting his frustration over the deferential coverage accorded Barack Obama and the array of paid liberals on the “Fair and Balanced” network.
Limbaugh said, “They’d be all over a Republican president. But that isn’t going to change. So your blood pressure is going to suffer if you keep watching these people. I mean, they’re designed to get you ticked off. They’re designed to make sure you question your sanity.
Rush Limbaugh tells caller “stop watching” Fox News:
https://seeingredaz.wordpress.com/2013/07/10/rush-limbaugh-tells-caller-stop-watching-fox-news/
What does this say about ‘conservatives’ who are still boosting FOX’s viewership to the top – while the extreme left publicly acknowledges they are a kicked and muzzled dog. I don’t buy cable so I do not monitor FNC. But the ‘trickle down’ of FOX’s metamorphosis could not be any clearer than on their Phoenix affiliate KSAZ FOX 10. Here is my rather long-winded opinion of that trickle down and shocking indiscretions as I saw them vomiting locally from the FOX 10 back in June 2011:
FOX News: from conservative to malignant
Launched in October 1996, the Fox News Channel was almost immediately under fire from the liberal left, which intensified as the programming slowly increased its market share of TV viewers.
Over the years, Rupert Murdoch’s network has agitated “progressive” organizations such as Media Matters and others with an array of store front “conservatives” such as Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity, Mike Huckabee, and Glenn Beck, to name a few.
Early on the News Corporation felt the need to defend its conservative programming with its trademarked phrase “fair and balanced.”
Accusations have ranged over the past decade of “conservative bias” and misrepresentation of facts, beginning with the 2000 Gore vs. Bush presidential race.
The monitoring and scrutiny of the network has only increased with time, spawning more defensive slogans such as the ever popular “we report – you decide”. Perhaps the growing criticism peaked in 2009, with the much publicized report of the News Corporation being on an Obama white house “enemies list”.
While the network has continued to feature on again – off again conservative “personalities” who appear to be for the most part, GOP shills, the constant pressure and brow beating by the homicidal left seems to be grabbing a foothold.
In what appears to be a slow-motion metamorphosis from FNC’s conservative ideals and values, there have been signs of change ranging from slight compromise to an all out cave-in to the screaming mimis in the progressive infirmary.
It was just last year that FNC owner Rupert Murdoch called for amnesty for illegal aliens, sending shock waves throughout the conservative community. This would raise questions on just how much influence Murdoch’s personal political views have, not only on the network, but its affiliates as well.
In a corporate game of musical chairs, Fox acquired its current Phoenix affiliate KSAZ channel 10 in 1994 when four local broadcast stations traded network affiliations. Formerly KOOL TV, which was founded in 1953 and touted cowboy star Gene Autry as an owner, the station has presented a seemingly “conservative” aura well before the association with FOX.
The station’s news anchors in the 1970s, particularly Dave Nichols – whose reputation for “no nonsense news reporting” was well known, presented an honorable and reliable source for local and national news to Phoenix viewers. And who could forget that memorable KOOL slogan “blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord?”
The recent cracks in the News Corporation’s conservative foundation seem to be spilling over to its long arms that reach into millions of homes – the affiliates. For the past several weeks, KSAZ Fox 10 in Phoenix has been on a terror to smear the one man in America who has done more that anyone on the continent to stop illegal immigration and amnesty for the invaders, Arizona’s Senate President Russell Pearce.
Beginning back on May 19th, Fox 10 aired a pro-illegal immigration segment aimed at Pearce that left no stone unturned. The bulk of the segment featured a spokes-mouth from the Southern Poverty Law Center, who pulled the race card so many times in the interview that it became an obvious “hit piece”, intended as fuel to the fire for the Pearce recall movement whose signature deadline was eleven days away.
Fox 10 was out for blood, even pulling out the 2006 “email controversy” that open-border thugs used back then to stop Pearce’s progress in protecting Arizona from the Bush-sanctioned invasion from Mexico. They then moved on to comment that certain Arizona state Republican senators (who would remain anonymous) had told them that Pearce was pushing his agenda to vigorously, to which they objected.
One would have to guess that at least one of those unnamed senators was immigration lawyer and invasion profiteer Adam Driggs, who helped eight other “Republicans” kill five illegal immigration bills back in March.
KSAZ polished off their assassination attempt desperately trying to tie Pearce with a self-proclaimed “neo-Nazi,” and a little snot blowing from Bill Straus of the Anti-Defamation League. I personally could not believe what I was seeing and hearing.
Fox 10 has continued their pro-illegal, smear Russell Pearce marathon into June by interviewing the gloating Pearce recall campaign chairman, Chad Snow, fresh from submitting an alleged sufficient number of valid signatures to force a special election for the District 18 senate seat.
Snow claims huge support from Pearce’s voter base including “elderly people, Republicans, members of the LDS church” and pukes out the standard you’re-a-racist fare: “we want to send a message to Sen. Pearce, to every legislator down here at the Arizona Legislature that this kind of extreme, ideologically driven policies will no longer be tolerated in our state”.
Fox 10 acclaims and validates Chad Snow by pointing out he is a member of the LDS church and a “long time Republican leader.” I suppose that is why he frequents the wading pool of liberal vomit at the Phoenix New Times.
What Fox 10 conveniently does NOT disclose is that Chad Snow runs “Snow & Carpio,” a law firm specializing in filing workers’ compensation claims for “immigrants” and “undocumented workers.” I actually called the news room at KSAZ and quizzed them on why THIS was not in their report. The smear lemming [John Hook] on the line told me Snow’s livelihood was “not news,” and did not meet my demand of “fair and balanced.”
It is frighteningly apparent that something has changed at KSAZ Fox 10 and they are hell bent on destroying Arizona’s greatest defender of state finances, safety, and sovereignty. Has this Fox News Corporation affiliate been handed down the command to derail Arizona’s leader in the fight against illegal immigration?
Has Rupert Murdock himself passed the word that KSAZ Fox 10 will join other Phoenix broadcasters in hijacking, ridiculing, and vilifying the state’s progress in fighting a corrupt federal government which allows a foreign country to eat Arizona one block at a time like a cancerous tumor?
They malign – you decide.
ZOO,
Thank you for this excellent analysis. I read every word and fully agree with each point you make. We are being duped by a supposedly conservative media that has as many (if not more) paid liberals on each evening as actual conservatives. The trio of O’Reilly, Hannity and Greta Van Sustern can’t give enough face time to RINO McCain. They practically salivate over his idiotic ramblings The latest in the lineup of Fox’ far left political consultants giving the concept of “fair” a bad name is longtime strategist Joe Trippi.
You’re right Night Owl. Anything “FOX News” now needs to be watched as closely as the Daily Kos, but most of the country doesn’t know that. You can fool most of the people all of the time. The local ‘Foxette’ accomplished their goal and now as a state we are sliding backwards under the onslaught from the outhouse to the south, while McCain racketeers attempt to infiltrate positions of power.
Look carefully and don’t overlook the McSame sycophant Jan Brewer. Are you watching the LD races in which the Progressive wing of the Republican Party is running Primaries against conservative incumbents? Or how the local media ignores the sponsorship of several AZ legislators in the Progressive States Network?