Reason Morning Links: The Deaths of One Writer, Two Banks, 31 Boys, and Countless Newspapers

Jesse Walker | April 20, 2009

• J.G. Ballard, RIP.

• The U.S. threatens war with Eritrea.

• A record fine for the Rev. Al Sharpton.

• Two more banks close down.

• Three visits from George Orwell.

• A history of abuses at the Florida School for Boys.

• Modern trends in the therapeutic state.

• A farewell to dying newspapers—in 1918.

• And from Face the Nation, here's senior presidential advisor David Axelrod on the tea party movement: "I think any time that you have severe economic conditions, there is always an element of disaffection that can mutate into something that's unhealthy." A roundup of reactions to Axelrod here. A leftist offers a semi-endorsement of the tea parties here.