Duane Shank was Associate Editor for Sojourners magazine and was on the staff from 1995 to 2014.
Duane has been active as an organizer and administrator in the peace and justice movement for 35 years, beginning as a draft resistance and antiwar organizer during the Vietnam war. He has worked as a community organizer in the rural south, in interfaith coalitions, and in the nuclear weapons freeze and Central America solidarity movements of the 1980s. His positions have included Associate for the National Inter-religious Service Board for Conscientious Objectors; National Coordinator for the Committee Against Registration and the Draft; Deputy Director and Acting Executive Director for SANE/Freeze; and Research Fellow for the Institute for Policy Studies.
Duane attended Eastern Mennonite University. He is a Anabaptist/Mennonite, and currently an active member and serves on the worship leadership team of the Community of Christ ecumenical congregation in the Mt. Pleasant neighborhood of Washington, D.C. His views on faith and politics have been shaped by (among others), John Howard Yoder, Abraham Joshua Heschel, Martin Luther King, Jr., Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and Oscar Romero.
Duane is married to Ellen Kennel. They have a daughter, Celeste, a graduate of Goshen College, IN, the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University, and the University of Chicago Divinity School.
In addition to family, church, and work; his passions are baseball (Washington Nationals), blues (Buddy Guy and Stevie Ray Vaughan) and bluegrass music (Ralph Stanley), and barbecue.
Posts By This Author
The latest news on Corporate campaign funding, War funding, Income gap shrinking, French carbon tax, Many women targeted by faith leaders, Afghanistan, Iran, Al Qaeda, Somalia, Darfur, and Select op-eds.
Health care. President Obama confronted a critical Congress and a skeptical nation on Wednesday, decrying the "scare tactics" of his opponents and presenting his most forceful case yet for a sweeping health care overhaul that has eluded Washington for generations.
Child mortality rate drops. The number of children dying before their fifth birthdays each year has fallen below nine million for the first time on record, a significant milestone in the global effort to improve children’s chances of survival, particularly in the developing world, according to data that Unicef will release on Thursday.
Anti-Muslim bias persists. Eight years after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the general public thinks Muslims are second only to homosexuals in being discriminated against, a new survey shows. Nearly six in 10 Americans -- 58 percent -- think Muslims are subject to 'a lot' of discrimination.
Quote of the day. "The introduction of the books is a rather good way to decrease the popularity of the Communists among the young people." Lev Ponomaryov, who campaigns for Russia to repudiate Stalinism, on a decision by the Russian Education Ministry that excerpts of Alexander Solzhenitsyn's "The Gulag Archipelago," are to be required reading for students. (Associated Press)
The latest news on Obama school speech, Climate Change, Employee free choice act, Economic crisis, Nuclear weapons, Afghanistan, Gaza, Iran, Sudan, East Timor, Zimbabwe, and Select op-eds.
Health Care. While the month of August clearly knocked the White House back on its heels, as Congressional town hall-style meetings exposed Americans’ unease with an overhaul, the uproar does not seem to have greatly altered public opinion or substantially weakened Democrats’ resolve.
Sotomayor Officially Takes Court Seat. Justice Sonia Sotomayor officially took her seat as the Supreme Court's 111th member Tuesday in a tradition-filled ceremony witnessed by President Obama, Vice President Biden, and scores of lawmakers, judges, family members and friends.
Global hunger. Eliminating the millions of tons of food thrown away annually in the U.S. and U.K. could lift more than a billion people out of hunger worldwide, experts claim.
Quote of the day. “What comes out of my blog is the experiences of a soldier right in the middle of all of this. I think that people need to hear from us, more than they need to hear from the big whigs. War has a cost, and that cost is paid by soldiers.” An Army specialist nicknamed "Mud Puppy" explaining his blog from the 10 months he spent in Afghanistan. (New York Times)
The latest news on Religious groups face financial crisis, Congress returns, Education speech, Economy and education, Van Jones resigns, Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Kenya, Congo, and Select op-eds.
Islam Goes to Bat for America. Tens of thousands of Muslims plan to pray "for the soul of America" outside the U.S. Capitol this month in what is being described as a first-of-its-kind event.
Health Care. A new Democratic proposal on health care slims down costs and benefits, but whether it's enough to get the measure through the Senate isn't known. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., who made the proposal, is facing a Sept. 15 deadline to produce legislation.
Iran. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Monday invited representatives from a group of six world powers, including the United States, to Tehran, but he said negotiations over his country's right to a nuclear program would be off the table.
Quote of the day. “I wanted to create a music-driven station where music gets heard that would never be played on a commercial radio station.” Scott Johnston of Creston MT describing the low-power radio station he runs from his front porch. (New York Times).
The latest news on Cardinal Sean O'Malley, Integrated worship, Home-schooling, Health-Care Politics, Health Care (Local), Economy, Climate Change, Afghanistan, Afghanistan-UK, Middle East, Burma, Honduras, North Korea, Iran, Zimbabwe, Japan, and Select Op
Moral standards in policy. Susan Pace Hamill, law professor at the University of Alabama Law School, is running for a house seat in the state of Alabama. ... "I believe the process through which government makes all policy should be premised on central moral and ethical standards," said Hamill in a press release.
Unemployment. The pace of U.S. job losses hit a one-year low last month but the unemployment rate jumped to a 26-year high of 9.7 percent, the government said on Friday in a report showing a slowly improving labor market.
Health care politics. With President Obama poised to give a health-care address Wednesday before a joint session of Congress, administration officials promised that he will deliver a detailed prescription for reform despite the risks of spelling out exactly where he stands.
Quote of the day. "We all die, and we want to do so with the most dignity and most control. It seemed a no-brainer. And it spares our children from making those decisions." Barbara Frank, a retired teacher in LaCrosse WI, where nearly everyone of a certain age has an advance-care directive, a pioneering program that became the impetus for the “end-of-life-provision” in health care legislation now infamously called “death panels.” (Washington Post)
The latest news on Health Clinics, Child Welfare, Faith news, Developing countries and energy, Afghanistan, Iran, and Sudan.
Health care. Aides to President Barack Obama are putting the final touches on a new strategy to help Democrats recover from a brutal August recess by specifying what Obama wants to see in a compromise health care deal and directly confronting other trouble spots.
Unemployment. These long-term jobless workers now make up more than a third of the nation's 14.5 million unemployed workers, and their plight has become a signature trait of this recession.
Food aid. The combined punch of drought, water restrictions and recession has created an ironic situation in California's Central Valley: Officials are handing out tons of food in the heart of one of the nation's most productive agricultural regions.
Quote of the day. "Libraries are really the first responder in this economic crisis, and particularly for job seekers." Larra Clark, who managed a study for the American Library Association showing that libraries are filling up with people waiting to get online to fill out applications, write résumés or look for job openings. (USA Today)
The latest news on Climate Legislation, Economy, Abortion, UN General Secretary, Iran, South Africa, and Select Op-Eds.
Health care. Recent town-hall uproars weren't just about health care. They were also eruptions of concern that the government is taking on too much at once.
Civil Rights. Seven months after taking office, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. is reshaping the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division by pushing it back into some of the most important areas of American political life, including voting rights, housing, employment, bank lending practices and redistricting after the 2010 census.
Afghanistan. The top U.S. commander for Afghanistan called the situation there "serious" but salvageable, in a sobering assessment issued Monday that is expected to pave the way for a request for more American troops, funds for Afghan forces and other resources.
Quote of the day. "It was one of the primary reasons I moved here. I couldn't afford health care in the United States. … To me, this is the best system that there is." Judy Harvey of Prescott Valley, who now lives in Alamos, Sonora, on why American retirees are moving to Mexico. (USA Today)
The latest news on Ted Kennedy, Health care, Climate bill, New Orleans, Unemployment, CIA interrogation, Afghanistan, Iran, Japan, Egypt, and select opinion articles
Health care. “Yet other factors suggest that President Obama still has stronger prospects for achieving his health policy goals than surface impressions of the Congressional recess indicate. He lags behind his own timetable for action, but remains ahead of presidential predecessors who pursued the same objective.”
New Orleans. “This once-ravaged city is finally mending from Hurricane Katrina after years of administrative delays and political disputes that choked the flow of millions of dollars in federal aid.”
CIA interrogation. “Their transformations took place in a sensory cocoon: aboard a CIA aircraft, shackled in place, deprived of sight and sound by blindfolds, headsets and hoods.”
Quote of the day. “For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die.” Sen. Ted Kennedy (1932-2009), speech at the 1980 Democratic National Convention. (American Rhetoric)
The latest news on Egyptians-Somali Pirates, Lockerbie Bomber, Afghanistan, Missing Ship, Iran, Shriver Funeral, Town Hall Meetings, Honduras, Clinton in Africa, Death Panels, Taiwan Typhoon, and Burma.
Burma. "Jim Webb, who arrived on Friday, will be the highest ranking U.S. official to meet the [Prime Minister] in a decade."
Egyptians-Somali Pirates. "Fishermen held in Puntland since April break free in boats after overpowering their captors."
Death Panels. "Rumors that President Obama’s health care plans would create 'death panels' began with some of the same media outlets that helped defeat President Clinton’s health care plan."
The latest news on Health Care, Foreclosures, United Nations, Iraqi Immigrants, Green Churches, Afghanistan-Election, Afghanistan-War, Pakistan, Iran, Honduras, Colombia, Select Op-eds, and a Personal Note.
Health care. “The sound and fury at U.S. 'town hall' meetings on healthcare reform have revealed as much about conservative fears of President Barack Obama as about health issues -- and in the end might have little significance in the broader debate.”
Afghanistan-election. “They have learned a lot about politics and advocacy in the past seven years. And though some are hesitant to call the nascent efforts a full-blown women's movement, few doubt that women have come a great distance when it comes to knowing and advocating for their own rights.”
United Nations. “The Obama administration will work with the United Nations to fight terrorism and other major world challenges, U.S. envoy Susan Rice said on Wednesday, marking a clear shift from the Bush administration's disregard for the world body.”
Quote of the day. "I wanted to make a point that humanitarianism is not a crime, and water's not littering." Walt Staton, of “No More Death,” convicted in Tucson, AZ, for littering after leaving water bottles for immigrants along trails in the desert. (Los Angeles Times)
The latest news on Health Care, Health Care in the UK, Immigration, Firing U.S. Attorneys, Death Penalty, Afghanistan, Burma-Suu Kyi, Pakistan, Iraq, Iran, Palestine, and Israel.
Health care. “President Obama began a personal effort Tuesday to reclaim momentum for his health-care initiative with a direct rebuttal of what he called 'scare tactics,' rumors, and misrepresentations.”
Death penalty. “North Carolina on Tuesday became only the second state — the other is Kentucky — with a law that allows murder suspects and death-row inmates to try to prove racial bias was behind a prosecutor's decision to seek the death penalty or a jury's decision to impose it.”
Pakistan. “Pakistan’s nuclear facilities have come under attack from the Taliban and other groups, and there is a 'genuine' risk that militants could seize weapons or bomb-making material, an article published in a West Point research group’s newsletter said.”
Quote of the day. "If you don't have an idea that materializes and changes a person's life, then what have you got? You have talk, you have research, you have telephone calls, you have meetings, but you don't have a change in the community." Eunice Kennedy Shriver, founder of Special Olympics, 1921-2009. (USA Today)
The latest news on Immigration Reform, Immigrants and Health Care, Health Care, Economy, Religion, Suu Kyi-Burma, Buy American, Afghanistan, Zimbabwe, Palestine, Congo, North Korea, and Select Op-eds.
Health care. “The White House on Monday started a new Web site to fight questionable but potentially damaging charges that President Obama’s proposed overhaul of the nation’s health care system would inevitably lead to 'socialized medicine,' 'rationed care' and even forced euthanasia for the elderly.”
Suu Kyi-Burma. “Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar's detained opposition leader, has been sentenced to another 18 months under house arrest after being found guilty of violating an internal security law.”
Congo. “For the women of eastern Congo, a U.S.-backed Congolese military operation meant to save them from abusive rebels has turned into a nightmare of its own.”
Quote of the day. “To me, the worst thing would be that out of naiveté, or out of stupidity, or out of fear, you didn't know when to speak or you didn't know what to say. What I ask from God is that He illuminate me so that I can do what I need to do." Father Miguel Lopez, on his ministry in Michoacan, Mexico, a state where the violence of the narcotics trade leads to assassinations, kidnappings, and extortion. (Washington Post)
The latest news on Sotomayor's Swearing-In, Health Care, North American Summit, Attacks Against Homeless People, Climate Change, Congo, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Venezuela-Colombia, Somalia, and Select Op-eds.
Attacks against homeless people. “With economic troubles pushing more people onto the streets in the last few years, law enforcement officials and researchers are seeing a surge in unprovoked attacks against the homeless, and a number of states are considering legislation to treat such assaults as hate crimes.”
Afghanistan. “In the first ever unauthorized dispatch from an officer on the frontline, one young [British] Captain offers a brutally honest account of life in Afghanistan, revealing the pain of losing comrades, the frustration at the lack of equipment, and the sense that the conflict seems unending and, at times, unwinnable.”
Iran. “Iran's police chief admitted yesterday that protesters who were arrested after June's disputed presidential election had been tortured while in custody in a prison in southwest Tehran. But he denied that any of the detainees had died as a result.”
Quote of the day. "My best guess is that increasingly in these rich countries, the benefits of greater development are flowing more to women. Women have more education, and because they have more education and skills they probably find it easier to take a year off and have a baby and pay for the additional costs, and then get back into the labor force." Shripad Tuljapurkar, a biology and population studies professor at Stanford University, on new research that economic prosperity may not be linked to an inexorable decline in fertility. (Washington Post)
The latest news on Justice Sotomayor, Unemployment Falls, Health Care, Global Warming, U.S. Anti-Terror Strategy, Afghanistan, Iran, Hamas War Crimes, Somalia, Honduras, and Select Op-eds.
Justice Sotomayor. “The scene was fitting for the occasion: A group of Colombians, Nicaraguans and Cubans meeting at a Peruvian restaurant in Miami to toast a Puerto Rican woman's ascent to the highest court in the land. The story of her life resonates with the nation's 45 million Hispanics.”
Global warming. “The federal government must take decisive action to avoid 'a potentially catastrophic loss of animal and plant life' in national parks, according to a new report that details the effects of global warming on the nation's most treasured public lands.”
Hamas war crimes. “A prominent human rights group said there is 'strong evidence' that Gaza’s Hamas rulers committed war crimes by allowing militants to fire rockets from the territory that killed civilians in Israel, according to a report released yesterday.”
Quote of the day. “It’s the recession. Children are the most expensive item in every family’s budget, especially given all the gear kids expect today. So it’s a good place to cut back when you’re uncertain about the future.” Andrew Hacker, a sociologist at Queens College of the City University of New York, explaining falling birth rates in the U.S. (New York Times)
The latest news on Health Care in Senate, Health Care Opposition, Immigration, Sotomayor Nomination, Faith & Technology, North Korea, United Nations, Kenya, Afghanistan, Darfur, South Africa, and Select Op-eds.
Darfur. “The Obama administration's Sudan envoy is facing growing resistance to a suggestion he made recently to civilians displaced from Darfur that they should start planning to go back to their villages.”
Kenya. “Hillary Rodham Clinton began a major trip to Africa on Wednesday by publicly urging Kenya, a strategic U.S. ally, to move faster to resolve tensions lingering from a disputed 2007 election that precipitated the country's worst crisis since it gained independence.”
Immigration. “The Obama administration intends to announce an ambitious plan on Thursday to overhaul the much-criticized way the nation detains immigration violators, trying to transform it from a patchwork of jail and prison cells to what its new chief called a 'truly civil detention system.'”
Quote of the day. "I call on humanity to support this sensible and achievable goal. Let us each do our part in this common journey, and thereby ensure that there will be no more victims such as those we honor today." U.N. secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, calling for complete nuclear disarmament on today’s 64th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima. (Guardian)
The latest news on North Korea–Reporters Freed, Health Care, Sotomayor Nomination, Elkhart County, Faith, California Prisons, Palestine, Iran, India, South Africa, Honduras, Feature–Reporter in Iraq, and Select Op-eds.
North Korea-reporters freed. “North Korea pardoned and released two detained American journalists after former president Bill Clinton met in Pyongyang on Tuesday with the country's ailing dictator."
Faith. “As soldiers return home from Iraq and Afghanistan, congregations are discovering how spirituality can help veterans afflicted with postwar stress. But many pastors remain unsure how to help when veterans contend with chronic nightmares, outbursts and panic attacks.”
Palestine. “Palestinians have a legitimate right to engage in 'resistance' against Israel, but 'we must not stain our legitimate struggle with terror,' Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said at the opening of his Fatah movement's sixth convention yesterday.”
Quote of the day. "In the USAID budget, every dollar has three purposes: help build an Air Force base, support the University of Mississippi, get some country to vote our way." Rev. David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World, describing the confusion and political goals around U.S. foreign assistance programs. (Washington Post)
The latest news on Health Care, Economic Policy, Immigration, GI Bill, Climate Change, Bill Clinton in North Korea, Iran, Palestine, Afghanistan, Darfur-Sudan, Brazil, and Select Op-eds.
Bill Clinton in North Korea. “Former President Bill Clinton arrived in North Korea Tuesday, state media reported, in an effort to gain the release of two American journalists who were arrested in March and have been in the North's custody ever since.”
Afghanistan. “Little more than three weeks before the presidential election, problems that include insecurity and fears of fraud are raising concerns about the credibility of the race, which President Obama has called the most important event in Afghanistan this year.”
Darfur-Sudan. “After years of worldwide outrage over suffering in Darfur, the Obama administration will soon launch a new policy that could soften some longtime U.S. sanctions against the Sudanese government implicated in the large-scale killings and displacement of African tribespeople.”
Quote of the day. "Cyclists need to be treated with respect and not surprise." Dan Grunig, executive director of Bicycle Colorado, on a new state law requiring cars to give at least a 3-foot buffer when passing cyclists. Several other states have passed similar laws. (USA Today)
The latest news on Health Care, Recession Effects, Economy, Army Suicides, India & Green Power, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Israel House Evictions, Iran, and Select Op-eds.
Recession effects. “Over the coming months, as many as 1.5 million jobless Americans will exhaust their unemployment insurance benefits, ending what for some has been a last bulwark against foreclosures and destitution.”
Israel house evictions. “The United States and the United Nations sharply condemned the eviction of two Palestinian families from their homes in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah and their replacement with Jewish families on Sunday.”
Pakistan. “Eight Christians have been killed in religious unrest in Pakistan's central Punjab, after days of tension sparked by the rumored desecration of a Koran.”
Quote of the day. "Students are really savvy shoppers these days, so they're realizing, with a changing economy and green jobs looking to take a leap within the next couple of years, that they want to be armed with those types of skills.” David Soto of The Princeton Review explaining why colleges are increasingly offering “green” degree programs leading to jobs in sustainability. (USA Today)
The latest news on Health Care, Gates & Crowley at White House, Food Safety, Recession Effects, Banker's Bonuses, Rove & U.S. Attorney Firings, Sudan, Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Israel-Iran, Burma, India, Palestine, and Select Op-eds.
Gates & Crowley at White House. “They did not link arms, and there were no public apologies. But a subdued meeting over beers on the White House patio last evening appeared to achieve President Obama’s goal of encouraging a deeper dialogue on race between Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Cambridge police Sergeant James Crowley.”
Food safety. “The House approved the first major changes to food-safety laws in 70 years Thursday, giving sweeping new authority to the Food and Drug Administration to regulate the way food is grown, harvested and processed.”
Afghanistan. “Afghanistan is notorious as the world's leading producer of opium and heroin, most of it shipped to Europe. Less well-documented is the country's own addiction epidemic. As many as a million Afghans, mostly men but increasing numbers of women, are addicted to heroin or opium.”
Quote of the day. "We're not going to just be chanting, 'Yes we can! Yes we can!' We are going to put the pressure on discussing the details." Jorge Mujica, an immigration advocate in Chicago, on efforts to move forward with efforts for immigration reform. (Associated Press)
The latest news on Health Care, Food Pantries, Conscientious Objection, Foreign Aid & Religion, Responsibility to Protect, Tanzania, Canada, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, India-Pakistan, Pakistan, Nigeria, South Africa, Honduras, Chinese Abortions, and Climate
Foreign aid & religion. “The role of religion in overseas assistance has long been highly sensitive for a country founded on the principle that state and religion should be separate. But as U.S. policymakers seek to curtail the influence of radical Islam, they are being increasingly hamstrung by legal barriers, some experts say.”
Responsibility to protect. “The Obama administration is supporting moves to implement a U.N. doctrine calling for collective military action to halt genocide. The next step is to see if the countries in favor of implementing the policy will act when a new genocide is brewing if all other diplomatic actions fail.”
Iran. “Iranian riot police have used sticks and batons in an attempt to disperse hundreds of opposition supporters gathering to mourn protesters killed in unrest after a disputed presidential election.”
Quote of the day. “The president will drink Bud Light. As I understand it -- I have not heard this, I've read this, so I'll just repeat what I've read, that Professor Gates said he liked Red Stripe, and I believe Sergeant Crowley mentioned to the president that he liked Blue Moon. So we'll have the gamut covered tomorrow afternoon.” Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, on today’s “beer summit” at the White House. (White House press office)
The latest news on Health Care, Sotomayor Nomination, California Budget, Immigration, Housing Market, Food Stamps, Feature-Walking With God, Iran, Israel, Iraq, Afghanistan, Executions in China, and Syria.
Sotomayor nomination. “President Obama’s nominee to the Supreme Court, Judge Sonia Sotomayor, moved closer to taking her seat on Tuesday as the Senate Judiciary Committee overwhelmingly approved her nomination and sent it on to the full Senate.”
Food stamps. “More retailers are accepting food stamps, as a record number of consumers are turning to government aid to pay for groceries. Nearly 39 million people received food stamps — now known as Electronic Benefit Transfers — in April 2009.”
Executions in China. “China plans to reduce the number of death sentences it hands out each year to 'an extremely small number' and to reserve executions for only the most serious offenders.”
Quote of the day. "Our takeaway is that even going into the recession, the economic outlook for a lot of families was dire. There was a flattening of the median income, and the poverty level was creeping up year after year." Laura Beavers, national coordinator of the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s “Kids Count” annual assessment of children from low-income families, on this year’s report. (Washington Post)