August 12, 2026

Could the proliferation of laws by state legislatures lead to overcriminalization?

Are we legislating too much? What might be the effect of passing a law each time we find a problem? I was struck by a photo posted by Utah state legislator Dan McCay recently. It was a shot of the voting screen in the Utah House of Representatives during a vote on something called “Dumb […]

With Public Polls Favoring His Resignation, Swallow’s Case is Murky

The news about John Swallow seems to get progressively worse.  His behavior may not have been illegal, but it skirts the line of what the public expects from elected officials enough that a plurality supports his resignation. Though none of the headlines this week has landed with the bombshell effect of that first story in […]

Could Senator Lee’s stand on immigration take a hint from Thomas Jefferson?

This week, invited to join in a bipartisan group of Senators in developing some guidelines for repairing America’s long dysfunctional immigration system, Senator Mike Lee opted not to sign the group’s Statement of Principles. “Although I am encouraged by the process and continue to support efforts to make real progress on immigration reform,” said Utah’s […]

Where is the investigation John Swallow requested?

It’s been almost two weeks since a Salt Lake Tribune’s article showed connections between indicted businessman Jeremy Johnson and Utah’s new Attorney General John Swallow.  Despite calls for an investigation from almost everyone–including Swallow himself–we have yet to see one. Accusing Swallow of offering to bribe US Senator Harry Reid, Johnson provided emails, photos, financial records and […]

Publius Online on Utah Political Capitol’s podcast

On Monday, I was a guest on Utah Political Capitol’s weekly podcast. A new venture in the Utah political landscape, my conversation was with Eric Ethington and Curtis Haring, by their description two “long-time Utah politicos.” They are friends, and though we often disagree on public policy (I met Curtis during his time in leadership at the […]

Review | Lost in Shangri-la by Mitchell Zuckoff

In the closing months of World War II, twenty-four serviceman and WACs climbed aboard a military transport plane for a day of sightseeing over a recently discovered “hidden valley” deep in the interior of Dutch New Guinea. Surrounded by high, jungle covered mountains and far from civilization, the valley was home to natives undiscovered by […]

Where there’s smoke: a brief history of John Swallow in headlines

John Swallow has a habit of making newspaper headlines, but for all the wrong reasons. If it’s true that where there is smoke there’s usually fire, then the headlines that have followed Swallow’s career indicate a lot of fire. Only time will tell how much or if it will catch up to Swallow this time around.