Suggested New Year's Resolutions for the U.S. Government

It would be nice if our government would have a yearly practice of making some bipartisan resolutions that would be good for the country. Surely there must be some things the nation really needs that don't have to be debated. I came up with a list of what I believe our nation needs that would serve the nation, not just one political party or the other. Perhaps you have some ideas too and would like to list them in your comments.

This 2012 election, there were more reported instances of machines working improperly than ever before. Who made these machines? Why weren't they tested? Were they made tamper-proof? Shouldn't they be investigated to see why they recorded votes for the candidate other than the one voted for? And the voter rolls....why can't they be corrected? Why can't information from death certificates be matched up with voter databases to see if those people show up as registered live voters? And once it's cleaned up, why can't it be checked and double checked and continually checked on a regular basis? And we need a way to verify that our votes were counted and for whom....thus there should be a deadline to vote with several days following to give everyone time to verify their votes and confirm them. We do this with Bill-pay, online orders for products, subscriptions and more. Why not for our votes which are so important and our sacred duty?

Give the nation a truly bipartisan government that works together to make compromises. Isn't it time our leaders stop being enemies and instead become partners? After all, isn't that what they're supposed to be? The ruling parties, elected by the people, should strive to be partners in ironing things out for the people of our nation, instead of stubborn enemies. A government so deeply divided needs some mediation. I think that would speed things up. It's a give and take relationship. Well, it should be. If our leaders were more bipartisan, it would help towards our nation not being so divided. The division in our leadership is breeding division in the nation. We need leaders who can set the example for peace.

Doing things behind closed doors, without input from the other party can really lead to a myriad of problems. Getting a different perspective on things can actually save a lot of time and make the policies even stronger. What's wrong with at least listening to constructive criticism? Perhaps something was overlooked that can be pointed out. That's what bipartisanship and partnership is all about. Both parties can make each other stronger and therefore be better for our nation. Never be afraid of constructive criticism. Some better ideas might come out of it that sit well with both parties. Some mistakes in the drafting of the policy might come to light that can prevent having to rewrite things later.

The election's over now. Can't we all get along? Encouraging supporters to look down on this or that class of citizens or groups is going to give us all ulcers! Do you really want us to be a healthy nation? Then how about encouraging a spirit of comradery among all inhabitants of the United States? Let's work together to make our nation better and truly united. Stop dividing us. Unite us.....no matter our political party, race, sex, nationality, religion, economic class and citizenship status. We all live here. Yes, we need to work on a way for people to become citizens faster, but for right now, we're all here. Our leaders need to encourage tolerance of each other while they work on solutions for immigration and all our social problems. We need a break from the hate. Give us peace. It's time.

This is one practice that has gotten us into the most trouble on both sides. Bills are passed that never should have been and bills that should have been passed don't get passed....all because of this very unprofessional bundling of bills. Yes, we spend millions of dollars on elections and exercise our right to vote for who we want to represent us....and their hands are tied most of the time because of this bundling of bills. Is that any way to run a nation? Every bill should be considered important enough to be voted on individually, even if it does take longer. We the people deserve that and our leaders need to find away to make it happen.