Ask Schwall

Ken Schwall has made an art out of asking tough provoking questions to the citizens of East Tennessee.

Here is your chance to Ask Schwall a question and read responses to other WBIR viewer's questions.

Did I hear right? The government is thinking about taxing soda pop? That can't be right. Sarah, Knoxville

Oh yes it can. Never doubt any government's willingness to put another tax on it's citizenry. Last year the city of Philadelphia actually tried to do it. Luckily they failed. I just can't imagine washing down a Philly Cheesesteak with water. Actually for now, it's the researchers at the University of California at San Francisco who are pushing for the sugar tax...one that would double the current price of a can of Coke.. They say it's to discourage people from taking in something that's bad for them. What next??? A tax on watching "Keeping Up with the Kardashians".

	Are you looking forward to Madonna's Super Bowl show? Kevin, Loudon
	I'll probably use that time to go to the kitchen and whip me up some more of my world famous Boiled Pot-Stickers Shwei Jow. I thought the most amusing part of the runup to the big game was when Madonna called a news conference to announce that she would be keeping her clothes on during the halftime show.

	Do you think Donald Trump's endorsement will help or hurt Mitt Romney? Bob, Maryville
	Coming on the heels of Mitt's Mis-statement that he doesn't care about the very poor, the Trump endorsement will probably be used to re-inforce Mitt's image as a filthy rich guy who doesn't care about those who aren't. Those who know him say it couldn't be further from the truth but in politics, truth matters little. But what do I know?

	What was the name of the restaurant where they had the deep fried bacon, burgers between grilled cheese sandwiches and so on. My husband wants to go there and have a heart attack hahaha... Amber, Heiskell
	That's Wave's Cafe in Kingston...we were a little late in getting the info posted on the www. It should be up now, along with the Happy Holler Antiques place and Franks/Cutting Board in Morristown. We had plenty of inquiries about all those places. And tell your husband to check www.lipitor.com for the latest deals.

	How do you decide where you are going every week? or does someone contact you on a place they want to visit. Deborah, heiskell
	Actually we decide every day...and usually we get in the car and drive until we find something. Planning ahead has never been one of our strengths. Once in a while someone'll call us. If you have something in mind, just let us know...

	Newt Gingrich now says that if he's elected, he'll establish a colony on the moon. Would you want to go there to live? Randy, Knoxville
	You gotta wonder what Newt's been smokin'. Not that I'm a cynic or anything but I'm a little dubious about whether it can be done. Or whether it should be done. I'm thinking the U.S. Government can't really afford to set up a colony on the Moon. Romney could afford it but the Government can't.

	We saw that BLT with a pound of bacon in it. Did you eat it all of it? Rene, Loudon
	I didn't eat any of it. I did have a bite or two of those deep-fried bacon strips. According to my calculations, that BLT contained 1,400 calories, 160 grams of fat and 380mg of cholesterol. That's just the bacon. If you go over there, I'd recommend you tell them to hold mayo.

	What's your pick for Best Picture of the year? Carol, Knoxville
	I'm at somewhat of a disadvantage. I've only see one of the movies that have been nominated..."Midnight in Paris". So I'll pick that. I've only seen three Oscar winners since 1995...so I'm not the person to ask.

	I noticed you call your segment "Positively Schwall", are you sure about that?? Lynn, Oak Ridge
	Actually I don't call it that. Management does. We really don't attempt to do "positive" stories...although sometimes it happens. We certainly don't try to be negative, although sometimes that happens. But it's all in fun. We just go for the cheap laughs. Most of the people who've been around here for a while still call it my it's original name..."Schwall's World".

	If you didn't work on TV what would be your ideal job? Kevin, Knoxville
	If I could pick any job it would be a baseball play-by-play announcer. What could be better than traveling around the country, watching baseball games and getting paid for it. Back in school, I studied aports broadcasting under one of the all-time great announcers...Ernie Harwell. He's now in the Baseball Hall of Fame. I'm not.

	Are your segments covered under the Intellectual Property laws? Larry, Knoxville
	That's a great question and one that I had never thought of before. I ran it by our attorney and he said to hang on, he'd check. Then someone in his office must have started to tickle him because I just heard about five minutes of him laughing and then the phone went dead. He hasn't called me back yet.

do you have any hobbies? Karen, Knoxville

No. And this is why I'm still working. The wife says no retirement until I come up with something to keep me out of the house! I've tried golf. I stunk. Tennis, same. Bowling, ditto. I go fishing every once in a while but rarely catch anything. The wife suggested I take a class somewhere. I got a catalogue but the only classes that weren't real early in the morning were belly dancing and kick boxing. I'll just keep on working.

Is the Republican presidential campaign getting disgusting or fascinating? Ronald, Knoxville

People taking the high road will say the former, the rest of us will say the latter. This stuff about Newt's ex-wife appears to be a tad over the line of decency. On the other hand, if a man who wants to be the leader of the free world is a scumbag, we may need to know that. This is a whole new world of politics we're living in. I just can't imagine Ike having to answer such questions. Or JFK, although his answers would no doubt have been more exciting than Ike's. I know that Bill Clinton's sex life became part of the political story, but one hopes that in the future, all the men running for president will be of good character and we won't have to sit though this nonsense. But that ain't gonna happen.

Do you clip coupons before you go shopping? Karen, Lenoir City

I don't go shopping. That's strictly reserved for Mrs. Schwall. Not that I'm unwilling. I'm not allowed to go shopping beyond getting milk, bread and bananas on the way home from work. And if we didn't live so far from civilization she wouldn't even let me do that much. It all stems from a little misunderstanding that happened one time when the Mrs. was sick and she entrusted me to get the groceries for a week's worth of meals. She didn't indicate a preference for any particular food. Apparently frozen pizzas are not on the "approved" list. Nor are frozen White Castle burgers. And who doesn't like SpaghettiOs?

	After a year of marriage there are several things I don't understand. Growing up, I'd often hear about something called the silent treatment. I never really understood what it was until I got married. Whenever we have a disagreement (and it's not often) she clams up. I don't hear a word out of her for a few hours. Can you suggest anything that I can do when this happens? Cliff, Knoxville
	Yea. Count your blessings. There are a million guys who'd gladly trade places with you!

	Your station said that John Edward's trial is postponed because of his heart condition I was not aware that he had one. Geoff, Shelby township, mi
	There are people who are anxious to hear him say the words "This is the big one Elizabeth."

	The Today show had a story about alligator wrestling last week. Is that some thing you'd like to do? Nan, Loudon
	Not really. Although there seems to be something about alligator wrestling that attracts people. It's really become quite a sport. The Freestyle Alligator Wrestling Competitions (FAWC) compares the "sport" to bull riding in a rodeo. I'd rather take my chances with the bull. Check out their website at www.fawconline.com

Who said "nice guys finish last" and do think that it's true? Rick, Knoxville

Leo Durocher, longtime baseball manager, said it back in the 30's. As for it's truth, I think it ties in with something we talked about last week...negative political ads. In recent history, the candidate who unleashes a barrage of negative ads about this opponent seems to do better than a candidate who runs positive ads. Thus--- nice guys finish last. One caviat---as Newt is finding out, even in negative advertising there is a thing called the law of diminishing returns.

Not long ago, they said on tv that they discovered a planet that is just like earth. Do you think there are any people there? Brooke, Knoxville

The planet, Kepler-22b, is said to be very similar to Earth...but bigger. Scientist do say that it has a year round temperature of 72 degrees, and most of it is ocean...which might make it an attractive place to retire. The drawback is that while a guy can retire on a Friday and be living in Tampa by Monday, a space shuttle type moving van would take 22 Million years to get to Kepler-22b. So you'd have to take early retirement to enjoy it.

	Ken: ...Does Chris Christie remind you of Fiorello Laguardia???!!! Steve, K-Town
	Actually he reminds me more of Laguardia Airport.