Today is Columbus Day, a holiday commemorating the “discovery” of the New World by Christopher Columbus in 1492. A federal holiday that I never got. Today, with the government shutdown still droning on, now for almost two weeks, fewer people still get it off this year as a paid holiday. In truth, observation of Columbus Day has been declining for some years now. A dozen states do not observe it anymore. Even Columbus, Ohio doesn’t. Saint Louis has removed its Columbus statue, but it’s empty pedestal remains.