It is impossible to live without failing at something unless you live so cautiously that you might has well not have lived at all in which case you have failed by default.

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.

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.