So about that bust of Christopher Columbus that stood for 110 years in downtown Detroit?

Past tense.

Executive decision:

The decision by Mayor Mike Duggan to pull the bust from public view in Detroit's downtown comes as several Columbus statues have recently been destroyed, vandalized or removed in America amid public outcry against the Italian explorer during racial justice protests.

John Roach, a mayoral spokesman, said via text message that "the mayor decided it ought to be placed in storage to give us time to evaluate the appropriate long-term disposition of the statue."

The bust's removal from its perch on Randolph, north of East Jefferson, makes it the second visage of a figure this month to be removed from the public eye in Metro Detroit. The statue of late Dearborn Mayor Orville Hubbard was recently pulled from the grounds of the Dearborn Historical Museum.

“I've been bothered for a while by the fact that the statue is occupying such a place of prominence next to City Hall right on Jefferson, and I supported City Council, three years ago, when they voted to eliminate Columbus Day as a holiday in the city of Detroit," Duggan said Monday.

Roach said he was not aware of any group's involvement in the removal of the bust and added there were no other statues planned for removal as of Monday. Duggan, meanwhile, said the city will work with community members to decide the appropriate measures for the bust's future.

No more removals planned “as of Monday.”

But by Friday we will have always been at war with Eastasia. 

By the way, "right on Jefferson" means Jefferson Avenue. 

And Detroit's Jefferson Avenue was named for guess who? 

So how long before we see the street signs sent to the memory hole?

For those of you familiar with Terry Pratchett's "Discworld" series, the forthcoming  community consultations on all of these issues will be Lord Vetinari in full effect:

[Lord Vetinari] was a great believer in letting a thousand voices be heard, because this meant that all he actually needed to do was listen only to the ones that had anything useful to say, ‘useful’ in this case being defined in the classic civil-service way as ‘inclining to my point of view.’ In his experience, it was a number generally smaller than ten.

The people who wanted a thousand, etc., really meant that they wanted their own voice to be heard while the other nine hundred and ninety-nine were ignored, and for this purpose the gods had invented the committee.

Vetinari was very good at committees, especially when Drumknott took the minutes. What the iron maiden was to stupid tyrants, the committee was to Lord Vetinari; it was only slightly more expensive, far less messy, considerably more efficient, and, best of all, you had to *force* people to climb inside the iron maiden.

So those of you--who for some bizarre reason--may be developing a suspicion that the "community members" discussing Columbus will be light on Detroit's Italians, who were instrumental in placing the bust back in 1910, are probably on to something. 

And how much longer will the Knights of Columbus be welcome at City Hall when the bust of their namesake "bothers" the Mayor enough to have it unceremoniously removed?

Year Zero never ends.