Bucks County Herald – May 20, 2010

Dick Rosenberger Immigration Tango Lessons

Dear Friends,

Good morning. Before I get to Bucks County Coroner Dr. Joseph Campbell comment about Arizona’s new immigration law, I have two items…one sad and one happy.

Richard Rosenberger, the former owner of Clover Leaf Mill in Milford Square, died last week at age 79. Dick was a charming person. With his dry wit and laughing blue eyes, it was always fun to be in his company.

Whenever I think about Dick, his wife Seena, and their four children, I recall the western trip we made with our three kids 30 years ago. Driving through Missouri, Mighty Betsy and I stopped at the President Truman Library and Museum. Unexpectedly, we bumped into the Rosenbergers. A day later in Kansas, we found them at the President Eisenhower Library and Museum. And whom did we meet on the cog railroad on our way up to Pike’s Peak in Colorado? The Rosenbergers, of course. They were introducing history and geography to their children as we were.

Dick loved the outdoors and was an avid hunter and fisherman. Recently, he and Seena gave nearly 100 acres to the Bucks county Open Space program. He wanted future generations to enjoy the flora and fauna.

After his army service, Dick tried barber school in Philadelphia. Each day, he and Charlie Brader, the proprietor of the Palace Barber Shop, got on the steam train from Quakertown to Philadelphia. But barbering wasn’t for Dick.

When Charlie Brader opened the Palace Barber Shop in Quakertown on August 20, 1955, Dick was sitting by the front door waiting for the shop to open. He was Charlie’s first customer. Framed and hanging on the barbershop wall, you can see Charlie’s first dollar with Dick’s name inscribed on it.

Dick was a special person. We’ll miss him.

And now to some happy news.

Grass doesn’t grow under Benita Ryan’s feet. Anyone in the land of Bucks County culture knows Benita Ryan. Believe it or not, the Solebury Township resident has taken up the tango and wants to share the experience with you. Benita traveled to Argentina just to learn it. From May 22 to June 16, Julio Galletti, Argentina’s master tango professor will give private and group tango lessons.

Galletti will be in New Hope, Chestnut Hill (Philadelphia) and New York City. A one-hour lesson for a single person costs $65. Group lessons are available too. Call Benita at 267-303-3571 or use her email address Benita@voicenet.com I was fascinated with the website. You’ll find a fountain of information at www.newhopetango.com

“The Argentine Tango’s nostalgic lyrics and staccato rhythms, combined with the sensuous movements of the dance partners make this dance style like no other,” she says.

I believe her.

And now to immigration. Last week, MB and I attended the national AAA convention in Phoenix, Arizona. As you’d expect, there was plenty of conversation about Arizona’s new immigration law.

It’s detractors claim that the law is unconstitutional. Supporters believe that the federal government is failing to protect America’s borders from illegal immigration. Both sides are probably right. So what should we do?

Dr. Joseph Cambell is our family podiatrist. He’s also Bucks County’s Coroner. I like Joe Campbell but I want our relationship to stay on this side of the grass. A fellow Republican, he’s more conservative than I so it’s always fun to spar with him. I gave him a New York Times article (May 1), which outlined Senator Charles Schumer’s solution to the immigration dilemma.

Schumer proposes that every worker including American citizens would have to present a new Social Security card containing a biometric chip when being hired. “Conservatives, while supporting stronger enforcement, have long opposed national identity cards, or making the Social Security card a de facto one,” the NYT reported.

(I hope one of you readers will explain to me why anyone would be opposed to a national identity card? After all, we must carry a license to drive an automobile.)

“The proposal opens the door wider than ever before to high skilled immigrants,” the article continued. “It would offer permanent-resident status with a document known as a green card, to every foreigner with an advanced degree in science or technology from an American university. It would make it much easier for foreign students in the sciences to stay in the United States after they graduate, and eliminate numerical restrictions that have kept highly educated immigrants from India and China waiting for many years before becoming residents.

“The outline would make it possible for the spouses and other close relatives of legal green-card holders to come immediately to the United States, reuniting many thousands of families and eliminating a wait that now stretches to eight years. It would create a commission to monitor labor markets and determine when the supply of foreign workers should be raised or lowered.

“Also for the first time, the Democrat’s proposal would recognize same-sex relationships in allowing immigration.

“In exchange for more enforcement, the proposal offers a relatively simple path to legal status for an estimated 11 million illegal immigrants. They would register, admit their legal violation and pay penalties and back taxes up front. Then they would remain on provisional status for eight years.”

Friends, what do you think about this proposal?

Personally, I’m not a fan of Schumer. The Democrat is so far left of center that he falls off the chart. But I think that he’s right about immigration.

Next week, I’ll tell you about the Coroner’s and my conversation about President Obama’s U. S. Supreme Court nominee, Elena Kagan. Here’s a hint. If the senate confirms her, she won’t be the first justice to serve without prior judicial experience. My Google search revealed that 66 justices (14 Chief Justices and 52 Associate Justices) were not judges prior to their appointment to the U. S. Supreme Court. In fact, 23 of them have served during my lifetime. Stay tuned.

Sincerely,

Charles Meredith