Tim Walz's attempt to woo men with hunting-themed photo op backfires



Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, have major issues with red-blooded American men and the Second Amendment. In a desperate effort to gain the support of the former and simulate support for the latter, Walz donned an orange hat and participated in a hunting-themed photo op on Saturday near Sleepy Eye, Minnesota.

This attempt to rehabilitate Walz's public image backfired — especially after footage circulated online showing the Democratic governor struggle with his firearm.

On Oct. 3, Trump campaign strategist Chris LaCivita noted on X, "Word on the street is Tampon Tim will be staging a Pheasant hunt soon ... manicured hands and all to prove that he is in fact not really a 'Beta' ... this will be fun to watch."

Sure enough, following days of mockery — during which Elmer Fudd memes and AI-generated images of Walz loading a shotgun with feminine hygiene products figured prominently — the Democratic governor participated in the 12th annual Minnesota Governor's Pheasant Hunting Opening in Sleepy Eye, then promptly shared a video documenting his failure to shoot a bird.

'This is just embarrassing.'

The proud gun-control supporter can be seen in the video walking around with a shotgun, chugging a diet Mountain Dew, and telling the tale of the time he allegedly "got a double."

While birds safely fluttered in the distance, Walz shared a few one-liners, including, "That's why it's hunting, not shooting, right?" and "There's good days and there's great days pheasant hunting."

After his not-so-great day pheasant hunting, critics seized upon a clip showing the governor struggle to load his shotgun.

Former Spartanburg Police Officer Cody Garrett, writing as Donut Operator, noted on X, "For a lifelong hunter, you sure were having trouble loading your own gun."

Another user wrote, "Bruh.. come on. This is just embarrassing. It's a good thing you defected before your deployment."

"Tim Walz claimed he carried 'weapons of war in combat' but he can’t load a shotgun? This guy is beyond weak. My little sister could beat him up," tweeted country music singer John Rich.

Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.) was among the many who had some fun at Walz's expense, tweeting, "SLING AND A MISS."

"My prediction was in fact accurate," wrote LaCivita. "Staged ..and watching him bumbling around trying to load his shot gun was fun."

Referring to cable news footage of the outing, the Trump War Room noted, "MSNBC implies that Tim Walz going pheasant hunting is nothing more than a desperate attempt to make up ground with male voters. Sorry Tim, men aren't voting for a gun grabber."

The Harris-Walz campaign has significant ground to make up with male voters in the final weeks before the election.

A recent New York Times/Siena College poll revealed that 51% of likely male voters said they would vote for Trump. Only 40% of men said they would vote for Kamala Harris. This gendered skew is pronounced in swing states such as Arizona and Nevada, where a recent Suffolk University/USA TODAY survey indicated Hispanic men are majoritively keen to vote for Trump.

Although immigration appears to be a top concern for many likely male voters who are now supporting Trump, Harris and Walz may also have alienated men with their records on gun rights.

'The hunting community, in my opinion, will vote for someone that puts America first.'

The Harris campaign website indicates that if elected, she would "ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, require universal background checks, and support red flag laws that keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people."

Harris previously threatened to storm the homes of law-abiding Americans for surprise gun inspections; endorsed a handgun ban without buybacks; and signed an amicus curiae brief both justifying a total handgun ban and suggesting that the Second Amendment does not secure an individual right but rather a "collective" or "militia-related" right.

The Washington Post noted that unlike Harris, Walz was not always hostile to the Second Amendment, having once earned an "A" rating from the National Rifle Association. However, in recent years, he has become a zealous anti-gun activist, proudly earning nothing but straight "F" ratings and publicly blasting the NRA as "the biggest single obstacle to passing the most basic measures to prevent gun violence in America."

Walz has since boasted of his efforts to ban bump stocks and assault rifles, as well as his fight to prevent concealed-carry reciprocity. In June, Walz ratified legislation banning the use of binary triggers. Last year, he ratified a raft of gun-control measures, including universal background checks and a red-flag law.

Walz's photo op is unlikely to make critics forget about his record or Harris', just as it appears to have done little to win over hunters and conservationists.

Gabriella Hoffman, director of the Center for Energy and Conservation at the Independent Women's Forum, told the Spectator, "No $40 camo hat will convince most sportsmen and women that Harris-Walz represents them."

"Vice President Harris has been an active partner with President Biden in being the most hostile administration to shooting sports, hunting, and fishing access. Her name is co-signed on closing millions of acres of public hunting lands in Alaska, forbidding lead tackle on national wildlife refuges, and recently shutting down shooting sports opportunities in the entirety of Bears Ears National Monument — 1.3 million acres," said Hoffman. "Hunters and anglers don’t trust Harris-Walz."

Derek Wolfe, host of the outdoorsman podcast "Wolfe Untamed," said, "They have made it clear that they are coming for guns, fracking, gas-powered vehicles, just to name a few. They know that 10 million hunters didn't vote in the last election, so they are reaching out, but it's a waste of their time because the hunting community, in my opinion, will vote for someone that puts America first. And I believe that man is Donald J. Trump."

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'Be comfortable without the lights': this chef wants you to hunt, cook, and be ready for an EMP



Chef Jean-Paul Bourgeois is ready to bring conservation, food, and southern hospitality to the next generation.

The outdoorsman has traded in his chef's hat for a rifle and waders in his show "Duck Camp Dinners," which chronicles the Louisiana native's epic adventures in the south.

In his recent interview with Align, the gregarious southern Louisiana native was eager to tout the Cajun cuisine he grew up on, sharing recipes as practical as they are delicious.

"Boudin is so easy to make!" he said of the classic dish made with meat, rice, onions, and peppers.

Bourgeois has been known to forgo the traditional pork filling in favor of the geese he hunts. In both cases, boudin calls for parts of the animal that are typically discarded.

Whether it's gizzards and innards, breasts and bones, Bourgeois makes sure nothing goes to waste.

"I try to make sure I can make as many meals is possible," he affirmed.

'Some people just have an aversion to seeing dead animals.'

The authentic, practical know-how that Bourgeois brings to "Duck Camp Dinners" helps explain why the show is so popular. It also lets Bourgeois tackle larger issues.

For example, last season's final episode closed with lessons about natural and un-natural conservation in Louisiana.

Bourgeois shared stories about the wetlands along the Gulf coast, explaining how some families literally pick up and move their home depending on the season.

"When it's hurricane season, some families will just drop a concrete slab on the ground — if they have the land — then put their trailer on top of it," he explained. "Or, they may just move out of the area entirely and come back when the seasons change."

"If they don't have that option, some of the homes you see in the video will be built 15-20 feet in the air to avoid floods."

Shockingly, this effort to relocate on a seasonal basis has become routine for a number of families that face consistent natural disasters.

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Confronting activists

Bourgeois also stressed the importance of practicing what he preaches in terms of utilizing an entire animal. He expressed that he felt a strong sense of responsibility to not only represent hunters and chefs honorably but also a sense of responsibility to provide for his family and not be wasteful.

"We know exactly how that fish was caught or that bird was shot or how that venison was harvested," he explained. "[But] we don't know that about what we get out of the grocery store."

"It also saves money, it saves me money at least!" he joked.

That attitude has helped the chef come to terms with some of the activism he has faced over the years.

"Some people just have an aversion to seeing dead animals on social media, and I get that," he noted. However, it isn't Bourgeois' hunting that has drawn complaints from social media users.

"Animal rights activists [came] after me when I was working as a commercial chef; pork, cattle, and chickens ... and came at me more when I played more of a role in that space," he recalled.

"I think it's a lot easier for folks that are on the side of animal activists to support somebody that's hunting and fishing his own meat and game out of the wild, as opposed to somebody who is using the large commercial farming operations of America to feed a restaurant."

To that extent, Bourgeois said he understood why a vegan or an animal activist might speak out if they thought animals were being mistreated.


Passing on the knowledge

Bourgeois knows his idea of fun can be a hard sell to screen-addicted digital natives.

"I don't know how to relate to this generation!" Bourgeois laughed. "Maybe I'm kind of glad I don't!"

All joking aside, the soon-to-be father of two said a lot of the responsibility falls on the parent to make sure their child has an understanding of the outdoors and is capable of surviving if the lights go out.

"A lot of this is on the parents to get out there and be an example. It doesn't mean you have to be a duck hunter, [and] it doesn't mean you have to be a fisherman."

'There's only so long that people can go with running on generators.'

The father pointed to simply letting kids be kids — letting them dig in the backyard and find earthworms or providing them with books that nurture a desire to want to be in the outdoors.

"That should start at a young age," he continued. "It's hard to pull a 15-year-old away from a PlayStation and put them into the wild for duck hunting."

Bourgeois explained that most of the youngsters featured in his videos didn't become nature lovers overnight.

"Those kids were born and raised in the outdoors in Louisiana," Bourgeois explained. "Whether it was an aunt, an uncle, or someone else in the family, someone took them out and gave them that experience."

In conclusion, the longer a person waits, the more they can expect to become overly attached to their "indoor" luxuries.

When the EMP drops

Could a love of outdoors also come in handy in the event of some society-disrupting event like an EMP attack?

"That's a fun thought experiment!" Bourgeois laughed.

He quickly proceeded to offer a list of necessities for when SHTF, including fuel to get out of town, firearms, ammunition, as well as canned vegetables and meat.

When asked about generators, Bourgeois offered a unique perspective.

"When you look at all the history that Louisiana has with hurricanes, there's only so long that people can go with running on generators. That's about two weeks."

Being "comfortable without the lights" and without air conditioning is something that will actually go a long way, he added.

Don't count on always having a refrigerator either, Bourgeois warned. He suggested researching ways that food has been preserved in the past

As much as he sounded mentally prepared for disaster, the food expert said he was still keeping "positive vibes" toward the idea that humanity will get along and be able to avoid any apocalyptic scenarios.

"I do love my amenities, too!" he clarified.

Whether it's Florida where he currently resides, his home state of Louisiana, or elsewhere, Bourgeois asserted he hoped his content would inspire people to try new things, and carry on the traditions of the outdoors for generations.

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Season three of "Duck Camp Dinners" premieres August 18, 2024. For more information on Chef Bourgeois, head to his website.

- YouTube

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Destructive deer-eating 'super pigs' invade northern US from Canada



Destructive "super pigs" from Canada are beginning to invade the U.S., threatening to add to the billions of dollars in damage already inflicted annually upon the nation by feral swine.

Canadian bacon

Dr. Ryan Brook, lead on the University of Saskatchewan's Canadian Wild Pig Research Project, told Field and Stream earlier this year, "The U.S. has a 400-plus year history with invasive wild pigs, but we didn't have any here until the early 1980s."

"There was a big push to diversify agriculture with species like wild [boars] and ostriches. Wild boars were brought in from Europe to be raised on farms across Canada," said Brook.

The swinish imports from Eurasia, kept both on meat farms and in hunting preserves, were crossbred with domestic pigs, resulting in "super pigs." These monstrosities were not only larger, but hardier and capable of surviving in cold climates.

"For surviving in cold winters, one of the rules of ecology is the bigger the better," said Brook. "Larger-body animals survive the cold better and have better reproduction in those conditions."

After decades of farmers supersizing their bacon, the market for farmed boars crashed in Canada. In the aftermath, some farmers freed their unprofitable hybrids. Other hogs simply escaped.

It didn't take long for the population of feral pigs to skyrocket. After all, they have a short gestation period of only 114 days, an average litter of 4-12 piglets, and their females can get pregnant at 6 months of age.

The wild pigs spread like locusts across the Canadian prairie provinces, covering some 620,000 square miles of territory. The University of Saskatchewan indicated a male hybrid wild pig's territory can be as large as 115.8 square miles in the summer.

These creatures usually weigh between 120 and 250 pounds but can grow up to 400 pounds. They can also run 30 mph.

Brutal Canadian winters toughened up the pigs, which Brook stressed will "feed on anything. They gobble up tons and tons of goslings and ducklings in the spring. They can take down a whitetail deer, even an adult."

"Originally, it was like 'wow, this is something we can hunt.' But it's become clear that they're threatening our whitetail deer, elk, and especially waterfowl. Not to mention the crop damage."

Brook said in a university report, "Wild pigs are so widespread that they are a major challenge to control in Canada, and eradication is only possible with a comprehensive plan to deal with this highly efficient invasive species. In Saskatchewan they are already posing significant risks to agriculture and livestock production. Our mapping of their expanding territory shows just how quickly they are spreading. This is a rapidly emerging crisis."

Extra to devouring crops and anything with a pulse, the wild pigs are also known to carry diseases like African swine fever.

In January, Brook said the hybrid pigs were about to become an American problem, noting pigs had been sighted less than 10 miles away from the border, along which there was nothing to stop them from stampeding in.

A meaty invasion

The Associated Press reported that aerial surveys recently spotted the hybrid pigs on both sides of the Canada-North Dakota border and more making their way from Manitoba to Minnesota.

Gary Nohrenberg, the Minnesota director of Wildlife Services, indicated that he is not yet aware of any wild pigs stealing into Minnesota.

Brook indicated Canada missed its window to eradicate the beasts. For starters, officials would have had to slaughter at least 65% of the population every year just to prevent the population from growing. Even then, there are indications from previous American efforts that such culling efforts simply prompt the hybrid pigs to adapt and hunt at night.

"Nobody should be surprised when pigs start walking across that border if they haven't already," said Brook. "The question is: What will be done about it?"

The U.S. doesn't need more feral hogs, given that it has an estimated 9 million roaming about 36 states already. They reportedly cause $2.5 billion in agricultural losses every year, with a sounder of pigs capable of devouring 10 acres of corn in a single night.

The pigs also release more greenhouse gases than 1 million cars a year, meaning they pose a threat to climate alarmists' anxiety levels as well.

The East Bay Times reported that the Minnesota legislature has asked the state's Department of Natural Resources to prepare to a plan to tackle the invading forces.

It's unclear what this plan will ultimately entail. There are multiple approaches Minnesota could take.

The Duluth News Tribune noted that in Missouri, hunters once were able to go hog wild, shooting as many feral pigs as they could. Now the practice is prohibited. In Wisconsin, residents are asked to report sightings to the state Department of Natural Resources. Texas allows hunters to turn hogs into furry confetti from hot air balloons.

"The only path forward is you have to be really aggressive and you have to use all the tools in the toolbox," said Brook.

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MLB pitcher reveals 'life lesson' for his young son after critics hate on him for photo of successful hunting trip



Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Erik Swanson is defending his decision to take his son on a hunting trip.

Over the weekend, Swanson posted a photo to Instagram showing him and his son posing in front of a successful hunt of more than a dozen geese they had killed in Minnesota.

For Swanson, the picture depicted a moment of jubilation and father-son bonding. But others were not so happy about Swanson's hunting.

Critics called the picture "disturbing and disgusting," saying that hunting is "so cruel." At least one person warned the picture would sink his MLB career because he plays for a Canadian team and hunted geese. One critic even said Swanson's hunting disqualifies him from being a parent, claiming he is teaching his son to kill innocent animals.

On Tuesday, Swanson posted a statement to X defending the hunting trip.

According to the Blue Jays relief pitcher, the hunting trip was not just about spending quality time with his son. Rather, he hoped the trip would teach his son a valuable life lesson.

"I am an avid hunter/fisherman and I will always be," Swanson said.

"For the people who are asking me why I have my son with me, I am teaching him a very important life lesson," he explained, "the beef, venison, poultry, fish, fruits and vegetables all come from somewhere, not just the grocery store. Now when he hunts and he harvests his own food, he knows exactly where his food is coming from and what is in it."

— (@)

"Next time you go to the grocery store or restaurant and order something, remember that it had to come from somewhere. Know what you are eating! Safe hunting to all!" he added.

Fortunately, the negative attention attracted supporters who celebrated Swanson and drowned out his haters.

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