At the Vicksburg bridge, looking west into Louisiana. | Photo by Justin Wilkens on Unsplash
Part XXXIV of the “United States 2024 Election
The OMR is the acronym for “Old Man River,” the historic but colloquial and beloved name of the Mississippi River. The “Renaissance” is a new 21st-century proposed version of an “Age of Renaissance.” The first “Age of Renaissance” started in Italy after the end of the Middle Ages. And lasted from 1280 to 1400. It is considered the bridge to the Modern Era, which transformed Medieval Europe into a continent of socioeconomic progress. To read the articles in the series, please click this link.
This columnist has also written about his proposal that the United States lead the rebirth of North America’s socioeconomic fabric.
On January 5, 2022, this column discussed — in the 20th article of the series — “The OMRR Ventures Must Include the Rivers Traversed by the Lewis-Clark Expedition.” The “OMRR” is the acronym for “Old Man River Renaissance.” https://www.philippinedailymirror.com/the-omrr-ventures-must-include-the-rivers-traversed-by-the-lewis-clark-expedition/
The Mississippi (Old Man) River waters come from tributaries in 33 states. It begins in Minnesota. Lake Itasca is a small glacial lake that is approximately 1.8 square miles in area. It is located in Itasca State Park, in south-eastern Clearwater County, in the Headwaters area of north-central Minnesota. It is recognized as the headwaters of the Mississippi River.
On November 24, 2021, this columnist wrote, From the Engineering Viewpoint: Taming the ‘Old Man River’ Is Now Feasible; it discussed ways to develop this tremendous American waterway as it courses through 10 states—Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana. American policy and decision-makers must act soon. Climate Change is compounding the depletion of aquifers in many states due to increasing use brought about by population growth and the increasing needs of businesses and industries.
The “Old Man River” gets its waters from river tributaries of 31 states. (Some reference sites say “from 33 states”.) Water from parts or all 31 (or 33) states and their river tributaries drains into the Mississippi River. It creates a drainage basin over 1,245,000 square miles in size. Therefore, the people in the said states need to become stakeholders of the proposed “taming of the Mississippi River.” More data are available at The Mississippi/Atchafalaya River Basin (MARB) | US EPA. It is public knowledge that the Mississippi River rises in Lake Itasca in Minnesota and ends in the Gulf of Mexico, where its water becomes part of the ocean. It covers a total distance of 2,340 miles (3,766 kilometers) from its source. The Mississippi River is the longest in North America.
“President Biden can issue an executive order to create a presidential commission. And invite all concerned governors to be commission members. Imagine all governors of states that are part of the proposed “OMR Renaissance Ventures” will turn it into a bipartisan initiative.”
And wonderfully, five prospective nominees for running mate of presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris are from five Great States with tributary rivers flowing into the Mississippi River. They are (in alphabetical order) Illinois’ Gov. J. B. Pritzker, Kentucky’s Gov. Andy Beshear, Minnesota’s Gov. Tim Walz, North Carolina’s Gov. Roy Cooper, and Pennsylvania’s Gov. Josh Shapiro.
President Biden can issue an executive order to create a presidential commission. And invite all concerned governors to be commission members. Imagine all governors of states that are part of the proposed “OMR Renaissance Ventures” will turn it into a bipartisan initiative. Perhaps include the states that have rivers traversed by the Lewis-Clark Expedition. All those invited will be considered co-founders of a “New Age of Renaissance.”
President Biden also has the authority to deploy contingents of the U.S. Army’s Corps of Engineers and start finalizing blueprints for the total socioeconomic development of the Old Man River and its tributaries. He can field Army engineers before the end of August 2024. It will add another feather to his successful cap of back-to-basics infrastructural projects. And who knows late-night comedians may re-baptize the Mississippi River as “Old Man Biden’s River”? But certainly, it will add meaning to what this columnist now calls Mr. Biden as “President Emeritus.”
The 2024 Democratic presidential slate can then sign a “Covenant with the American People.” It may be counter-signed by the states’ willing governors, who will make the “OMR Renaissance Ventures” Federal Priority Number One. A new Administration’s top priority in socioeconomic development will be from 2025 to 2028.
This columnist has written a long series about why the Old Man River (OMR) could prevent America’s aquifers and rivers in the Midwest and West from running completely dry, supply water for massive reforestation in the rivers’ watershed areas to combat Global Warming, and forest fires; and mitigate flooding when tropical storms or hurricanes happen — while generating so-much electricity from mini-hydropower plants. It is believed that only Democratic governors in said states (that are part of the OMR’s basins) are willing and able to provide leadership to push the suggested national use of river waters instead of simply flowing to the Gulf of Mexico. It can also make American deserts turn green. Three of the desert areas are shared with Mexico. But political miracles never cease to happen, right?
Unfortunately, the MAGA-Republican presidential and many other down-the-ballot slates in the said 33-plus states follow the Climate Change belief of their presidential nominee and idol. The GOP mantra is that “Global Warming is just a hoax invented by the Chinese.” So, they may belittle this column’s proposals and throw them into the waste basket. But if indeed it happens, the MAGA Republicans will literally and figuratively grab defeat from the jaws of political victory.
