Grapevine: Tracking students to combat truancy in TX schools

close

Video

Grapevine: Tracking students to combat truancy in TX schools

Does new radio chip program go too far?

And now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine...

Slam Dunked

Not everyone saw last week's presidential debate as a slam dunk for Mitt Romney. The Daily Mail reports President Obama left feeling like he was the winner.

The Mail quotes an anonymous Democrat allegedly close to the Obama campaign saying the President did not prepare seriously and ignored scripted one-liners intended to wound Romney.

Quote -- "President Obama made it clear he wanted to be doing anything else -- anything -- but debate prep."

And speaking of the debate, you may have come across a story suggesting that Governor Romney used a cheat sheet.

This screen-grab from the debate appears to show a neatly folded handkerchief -- which is actually what it was -- Romney later used that handkerchief in the debate.

The Daily Kos, Democratic Underground and Reddit ran the cheat sheet questioning story.

Conservative columnist Charles Hurt thinks he knows why. Quote -- "Nowhere can you find the campaign's fingerprints on that story, and they have long since quit taking my calls...but I know how it works. Stories like that do not move on their own. Under the protection of anonymity, it was most assuredly Obama campaign operatives calling up reporters and pushing them to follow that bogus story."

The Obama campaign told Fox News -– quote -- "No -- we've never casted our lot with the tin foil hat crowd.

Ain't Easy Being Green

Former Vice President Al Gore preaches the benefits of investing in alternative technology. His company seems to be sending a different message.

National Review Online looked at his company's SEC filing -- and noticed public investments in wind, solar, bio-mass and other alternative energy are practically non-existent.

Big Brother Is Watching

And a program to combat truancy that some feel already went too far has gone a bit further.

Media reports say some Texas school districts are requiring students to wear an ID card with a radio-frequency chip that tracks their locations.

Students in San Antonio who have opted to use their old ID's are being told they cannot vote for homecoming king and queen and their school grounds access is restricted.

The program could save the district as much as $175,000 lost daily because of low attendance, which partially determines school funding.