Lots of change is needed in the US these days. No question about it. President Obama ran in 2008 on a slogan that called for change. Yet, the changes haven't happened. Why? Is it President Obama's fault? Does the fault lie elsewhere? Every change has a pathway leading to it. If the pathway is impassable, the change doesn't happen. Here are a just a few of the things that need to be changed and the problems with the pathways leading to them:

Single Payer Healthcare - This one never had a chance. There was never nearly enough support in Congress for Single Payer Healthcare. There still isn't. So, we got a weak sister HCR bill passed, which doesn't fully come into effect until 2014. Congress could repeal the whole thing, if we're not careful. The pathway to Single Payer Healthcare is blocked by rubble in the Congress that got elected. The way to clear that blockage is clear.

Universal Marriage Equality - A few states have made this happen, but that's far from universal marriage equality. The pathway to this is blocked by barricades set up by Congress on a federal level and by state legislatures on a local level. The first path towards it is the repeal of DOMA. That's in the works and has broad support from the public and the President, but may not succeed in this Congress. The way to remove the barricades is clear.

Break up Big Banking & Wall Street - YES! However, Congressional action is the first step, and that pathway is completely out of commission and there's no sign of construction crews coming to make repairs.

Nationalize Industries - At the present time, no pathway exists leading to this change. The fundamentals of our system of government prevent that change from happening. A Constitutional Amendment, at the very least would be needed, and that doesn't even appear on the horizon. Eminent Domain won't work in this change.

Create Jobs - This is desperately needed. As with almost everything, though, it requires Congressional Action, and Congress is standing around the pathway looking in a hole and leaning on shovels. Nobody's working in the hole.

And on and on it goes. We need change, but the pathways are blocked. It seems to me like we'd better get busy on the 2012 election and regain control of Congress, which seems to be the primary player in blocking the paths to change.