Watch any network news show or cable opinion show and you'll be confronted with a range of so-called experts expounding all sorts of opinions.   Who the hell do you believe or even listen to!

While I don't like judging people, in order to determine the credibility of the person, you're going to have to determine the credibility of the person you are listening to.  I have 3 simple steps for doing this:

• Family Values.  There is no doubt that a persons values first develop from their up bringing as a child and the influence of parents, family, friends, and "village".  Obviously, an upbringing with a rural influence is going to be quite different than an urban influence.  Sara Palin exemplifies the strong family values arising from being brought up in a rural environment and President Obama in an urban environment.  Most Americans are brought up somewhere towards the middle, neither totally rural or totally urban.  Neither environment is better or worse than the other, you just have to understand the difference, and it can be large.  I like to cut through the noise by determining if the person values financial gain over ethics or morality.   

• Education. There are basically 2 elements of education; the first if formal education, the second is the person's desire to learn through life.  Unfortunately, as the public school system waivers in its effectiveness so does the ability of its students to learn, think rationally, and generate logical conclusions.  I tend to believe that persons with more education tend to have a more thorough thought process than persons with a lesser education.  There are exceptions.  There are persons, that while they have a limited formal education, they have the desire and curiosity to learn throughout their entire life.  Education, formal or just the desire, tend to add an additional level of credibility to what that person says. 

• Experience.  While more education is usually better, experience can often displace formal education, especially if that person is inquisitive about their surrounding both scientifically and from a world point of view.  That person is most likely to seek out experience wherever they can find it whether it be a new venture, world travel, or just escaping the "box".  Unfortunately, most people don't have the financial ability to seek these kinds of experience.  Worldly experience adds the third level to a person's credibility. 

There are few politicians that demonstrate all three elements of credibility: strong family values, education, and experience.  I use these criteria to determine the credibility of the politician I'm listening to.  Ironically, those politicians with the strongest opinions, typically lack one or more of the criteria above.  That's what makes them so difficult to listen to.  They just lack credibility.  It is very frustrating when a politician cannot adequately articulate his/her point of view.