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‘Go Topless’ arrests not what name suggests; political blood sport; Rockets’ Twitter ban.
The Thumbs are usually pretty straitlaced, but when you dangle a headline like “Over 100 arrests made during ‘Go Topless’ weekend in Galveston” it’s hard not to go from prudish to prurient faster than you can say, “That’s a travesty!” and “Are there pictures?” So, pardon our chagrin when it turned out those arrests were mostly for public drunkenness, driving while intoxicated and vehicle burglary, and that the toplessness in question was that of a Jeep’s detachable upper body. Galveston County deputies responded to almost 600 service calls during the four-day event for Jeep enthusiasts and made 125 arrests, something that didn’t go unnoticed by area residents. A petition on Change.org to put an end to the topless weekend had gathered more than 19,000 signatures by Friday. We hope that neighbors and organizers can work things out — if not for the sake of the event, at least for next year’s clickbait headlines.
They say politics is a blood sport, but Bob Nowak didn’t think it would get so literal. The longtime city employee, who is running for City Council in District C, was block walking recently when a dog ran out and bit him on the elbow. The dog’s owners were mortified at what happened, but Nowak took it in stride. “My arm’s bleeding, and I’m still talking about running for City Council,” he told the Thumbs. His dedication and good humor netted him some new supporters (including the dog’s owners) to go along with the antibiotics and a tetanus shot. “I don’t recommend getting votes that way, though,” he said. Polo, Nowak’s Shetland sheepdog who appears on campaign flyers, was not available for comment. Although he’s been quoted as saying that campaigning can be ruff.
It’s been a tough month for the Rockets. On the heels of their loss to the Golden State Warriors, Twitter suspended the team’s account Monday due to “social media posts with copyrighted music,” according to a statement. Wags had their fun, wondering if it was a premature use of Queen’s “We Are the Champions” that got the account in trouble. The Rockets had the last laugh, though. They were back up by Thursday tweeting that James Harden was named to the All-NBA first team and he was the first player in league history to average at least 35 points and 7 assists per game in a season. Maybe it’s worth risking another suspension to play “Respect” while The Beard dunks on the haters.
Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson was on Capitol Hill this week defending an abominable policy proposal that would evict families from government-subsidized housing if any members were in the country illegally. Then he had to go and mess with Texas by name. Carson tweeted at U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia, a Houston Democrat, that “there are more than 100,000 American citizens waiting for public housing in Houston, TX. Do you think they should continue to wait while people here illegally are taking their space?” Unsurprisingly the HUD secretary — who earlier that day had trouble telling the difference between the term “REO” (as in real estate owned) and Oreo (as in dunkable cookie) — was wrong in blaming undocumented immigrants, who can’t receive federal benefits. Not only that, but mixed-status families account for less than 1 percent of those who live in Houston’s public housing or receive vouchers, officials told the Chronicle. To avoid future embarrassment, Carson should stick to things he knows (sandwich cookies and neurosurgery) and leave the rest to experts.