Be Simone! Houston rocks the Olympics and Kamala Harris’ campaign for president. | Thumbs

Thumbs up: Somewhere in Houston, there’s a little girl worried about getting a solid meal. She’s more concerned with surviving than becoming the closest thing to a real- life super hero and inspiring the world. But that kid has extraordinary potential and deserves to be supported and nurtured. We know this to be true because of Simone Biles. Each gravity-defying performance by the Houston-area native is a testament to every human being’s right to live out their full potential. Her mother struggled with addiction, and after being placed in foster care with her siblings, Biles was adopted by her grandparents. With that loving family support, and with mentorship from nonprofit groups like Friends of the Children, she thrived. The floor routine that launches her 4- foot-8 body 12 feet in the air, and that helped propel the U.S. Gymnastics team to gold at the Paris Olympics — it all started as a glimmer of ambition during a school trip Biles took to a gym at age 6. Speaking to the press in Paris about her “goat” necklace, which is a “greatest of all time” reference, she said: “I just still think I’m Simone Biles from Spring, Texas, that loves to flip.” Yes she is. And she’s the woman who boldly testified before the U.S. Senate about sexual abuse by the USA Gymnastics doctor, the athlete who mentored other gold medal gymnasts like Jordan Chiles and who listened to the warning signs her body gave her at the Tokyo Olympics and then found renewed strength by seeking therapy. So if you felt a jolt going through your body when you watched her stick a “Biles II” Yurchenko double pike in her closely fought victory over.

Thumbs down: Then again, we’ve got real shark infested waters down here. Official Texas tallies show that the number of baby bull sharks in Galveston Bay has increased by 600% in the last 40 years as climate change has warmed the waters. The good news is that you’re more likely to die of a bee sting than a shark attack, and those baby bull sharks don’t even have the skills to go after large prey. Maybe that’ll get the famously shark-fearing Trump to give global warming its due. Or maybe not, because we do know if he’s faced with a choice between dying by electrocution in a sinking electric boat and being eaten by sharks, he’ll choose ending subsidies for electric vehicles so he’s never in that situation.

Thumbs twiddled: Maybe all that attention from Harris made an impact on Mayor
John Whitmire. A Democrat who prides himself on getting along with Republicans in his new nonpartisan gig, Whitmire generally avoids weighing in on national and
international politics that have little to do with the city, but finally, this week, he became what seems like the last Democrat to officially endorse Harris. We hope Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick will still take his calls.

Thumbs up: Of course, plenty of the coolest kids in Texas aren’t jumping on the Kamala Harris train. Two seniors at Keller High School, near Dallas-Fort Worth, found themselves in a free speech battle after they painted their school parking spots with images in support of former President Donald Trump. One painted Trump wearing American flag sunglasses and a star-spangled bandana. The other drew “45/47” on his spot, presumably a prediction that Trump, who was the 45th president, would return as the 47th. Keller ISD forced the seniors to remove their art but, after a public uproar this week, reversed course and will reimburse them for the costs to repaint. Who were the dastardly liberals behind the initial attempt to quash the students’ First Amendment

Thumbs down: Then again, we’ve got real shark infested waters down here. Official Texas tallies show that the number of baby bull sharks in Galveston Bay has increased by 600% in the last 40 years as climate change has warmed the waters. The good news is that you’re more likely to die of a bee sting than a shark attack, and those baby bull sharks don’t even have the skills to go after large prey. Maybe that’ll get the famously shark-fearing Trump to give global warming its due. Or maybe not, because we do know if he’s faced with a choice between dying by electrocution in a sinking electric boat and being eaten by sharks, he’ll choose ending subsidies for electric vehicles so he’s never in that situation.