Over and over again financial experts and wonkish talking heads endeavor to explain these mysterious 'toxic' financial instruments to us lay folk. Over and over they ignobly fail because we all know that no one understands credit default obligations and derivatives except perhaps Mr. Buffett and the computers who created them.

Divorced men are more likely to meet their car payments than their child support obligations.

My grandfather was a man when he talked about freedom his attitude was really interesting. His view was that you had obligations or you had responsibilities and when you fulfilled those obligations or responsibilities that then gave you the liberty to do other things.

The people who did the collateralized mortgage obligations sold them to pension funds then sold them short then bought credit default swap insurance on them are just amazing. They are a law unto themselves.

I delight in my family obligations but they leave little time for breaks let alone quick trips across the country.