There's a lot of information out there. Some of it is junk, some of it is frame-worthy. For every dozen foam-spewing-from-mouth rants, there's a well-thought-out, factual, logical piece of work that deserves your attention.

Here are five you might enjoy: 

John Taylor on the Economy and Monetary Policy (Big Think)
Stanford economist John Taylor, whose name gets thrown around as a contender for Ben Bernanke's job, gives an easy-to-understand 38-minute talk on the Federal Reserve's missteps, what they've meant for the economy, and what should be done going forward. I interviewed professor Taylor last year; he's one of the brightest, most logical economic thinkers who can explain things in ways that don't make your head explode.

Charlie Munger on Booms, Busts, and Berkshire (BBC)
Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK-B) co-chairman Charlie Munger shares his thoughts on the decline of Berkshire's share price, investor psychology, financial regulation, bankers, checklists, and Berkshire's success in investing in Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO). More on Munger can be found here and here.

Thoughts on the Budget Deficit (Baseline Scenario)
James Kwak gives a clear explanation, with a helpful chart, of the factors influencing budget deficits over the next several decades. Hint: "If politicians were actually serious about deficits, they would vote for health care reform 100-0 in the Senate. And pigs would fly."

Restricting Bank Activities (Brookings Institute)
Easy-to-read paper on pros and cons of the proposed banking overhauls. One great point addresses the difficulty in distinguishing between normal banking activity and proprietary trading."[I]t is somewhat difficult to draw a bright line between 'proprietary investments' and traditional liquidity management activities. It is also hard to distinguish between investment and trading, since a significant amount of transactional activity can make sense even in a book that is essentially held for liquidity management purposes." (Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) and JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) nod vigorously.)

Where are the Original Dividend Aristocrats Now? (Dividend Growth Investor)
A nice rundown of how some big-name dividend payers have performed over the past many years. Breaks out the 20-year dividend returns of companies like Pfizer (NYSE:PFE), Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL), and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ).

Got any of your own to share? Post away in the comments section below.