Heartland Patriots hold February meeting

VW independent staff/submitted information

Why pursue Greenland and the Panama Canal?     

This is the question the Heartland Patriots examined at their February meeting. They used the Glenn Beck podcast as their main source of information. Greenland is the largest island in the world, home of 56,000 people, mostly Inuits. It has many untapped resources, including some rare earth minerals. It is still owned by Denmark, but has been seeking its independence. The United States has troops there, making it the U.S.’s northernmost air base. According to Beck and the Heartland Patriots, the U.S. needs it for national security reasons, and cannot allow it to fall into the hands of either China or Russia.

 The U.S. took over the Panama Canal project in 1904, and opened the canal in 1914. It took 10 years to build and cost $375 million, the most expensive construction project ever at the time. It is 51 miles long. The U.S. continued to control it until 1977, when President Jimmy Carter signed it over to Panama. It took the Panamanian government 22 years to completely take it over. 40 percent of the world’s cargo ship traffic goes through the canal, avoiding sailing all the way around the tip of South America. It turns days into eight hours. The U.S. is Panama’s biggest trade partner, although China has a huge influence there.  There is currently a bill, the Panama Canal Repurchase Act of 2025, to authorize President Donald Trump to negotiate with the Panamanian government.

The Heartland Patriots invite the public to attend their next meeting at 7 p.m.Tuesday March 25, at Wesley Methodist Church in Van Wert.  The group plans to have a speaker address some of the possible new health regulations.