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 Climate Change/Energy Bill, Health Care Reform, Massachusetts Health Care, School Nutrition, Evangelicals and Republicans, Pope on Markets and Morality, Honduras Coup, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Israel, and Select Op-eds.
Honduras coup. “Soldiers stormed the presidential palace in the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa at dawn Sunday and forced President Manuel Zelaya into exile in Costa Rica.”
School nutrition. “It didn't seem like a radical idea at the time. First, Ginger Gray, the food service director for Kenton County, Ky., schools, took away fried potato chips, offering students baked versions instead. Next, she phased out fruit drinks such as Kool-Aid in favor of 100 percent juices.”
Iran. “More than 2,000 Iranians have been arrested and hundreds more have disappeared since the regime decided to crush dissent after the disputed presidential election, a leading human rights organization said yesterday.”
Quote of the day. “There are so many competing interests at work now, 24-7 — whether it’s the people who want the governor to stay, or people who want him to go. It’s as rough as I’ve ever seen it — it’s mean, the long knives come out at night.” Katon Dawson, former chairman of the South Carolina Republican Party, on the political jockeying over the future of Gov. Mark Sanford. (New York Times)
The latest news on the Supreme Court, Health Care, Climage Change, Immigration, Mountaintop Removal, Spiritual Haven, Iran, Israel-Palestine, Iraq, U.S.-Venezuela, and Select Op-eds.
Iran. “Defying an official ban, hundreds of people held a graveside tribute Thursday for the woman who's become a symbol of the Iranian opposition after she was killed while protesting the country's disputed election.”
Iraq. “Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki has taken to calling the withdrawal of American combat troops from Iraq’s cities by next Tuesday a 'great victory,' a repulsion of foreign occupiers he compares to the rebellion against British troops in 1920.”
Mountaintop removal. “Coal industry advocates and environmentalists converged on Capitol Hill Thursday at a congressional hearing on the impact of mountaintop removal mining on Appalachian streams and rivers.”
Quote of the day. “God and guns were part of the foundation of this country. I don’t see any contradiction in this. Not every Christian denomination is pacifist.” Ken Pagano, pastor of the New Bethel Church in Louisville, KY, explaining why he is inviting his congregation and others to wear or carry their firearms into the sanctuary. (New York Times)
The latest news on the Climate Change Bill, Health Care Reform, Immigration Reform, Hard Times, Children of Soldiers, South Carolina Governor, Global Economic Crisis, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, and Senate Chaplain.
Children of soldiers. “After seven years of war, most children of combat troops are showing more fear, anxiety and behavioral problems, according to the Pentagon's most sweeping survey of the effects of war on military children.”
South Carolina governor. “Mark Sanford's extramarital excursion to Latin America is just the latest -- albeit the most lurid -- in a series of setbacks that have plagued Republicans as they struggle to recast the party and promote a new generation of national leaders.”
Tanzania. “Africa is full of at least 50 million orphans, the legacy of AIDS and other diseases, war and high rates of death in pregnancy and childbirth. With the numbers increasing every day, Africans are struggling to care for them, often in ways that differ strikingly from the traditional concept of an orphanage in the developed world.”
Quote of the day. "We are flexible. But we don't trust the government. It has shown it's ready to settle disputes by force and not through dialogue. And we have shown we will stand up for our rights." Peruvian tribal leader Luis Pizango in opposition to plans to open the Amazon to development. (Los Angeles Times)
The latest news on Climate Change, Health Insurance, Puerto Rico, Foreclosures, Global Unemployment, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Mideast, Afghanistan, Sudan, and Select Op-eds.
Pakistan. “Up to 80 people have been killed after missiles were fired from a U.S. 'drone' at the funeral of a suspected Taliban commander of the Pakistani Taliban in South Waziristan.”
Mideast. “Right under the nose of the right-wing government of Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israel Defense Forces has lifted some of the main, permanent roadblocks in the West Bank, which have played a central role in restricting the movement of Palestinians, mostly between the main Palestinian cities.”
Health insurance. “The 'public option' has emerged as the crux of the unfolding debate over health-care reform on Capitol Hill, an ideological flash point that has become perhaps the greatest challenge for the Senate negotiators attempting to reach a compromise that could actually become law.”
Quote of the day. "The United States and the international community have been appalled and outraged by the threats, the beatings and imprisonments of the last few days. I strongly condemn these unjust actions, and I join with the American people in mourning each and every innocent life that is lost." President Barack Obama on Iran. (Washington Post)
The latest news on the Voting Rights Act, Hard Times, Energy Bill, Military Strategy, Iran, Martyr of Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Palestine.
Martyr of Iran. “Her name was Neda Salehi Agha Soltan and she was a philosophy student. But the manner of her death has turned her into an instant, global symbol of the Iranian regime’s brutality.”
Energy bill. “Climate-change legislation would cost the average household $175 a year by 2020, according to the Congressional Budget Office, far below the figure commonly used by GOP critics of the House bill.”
Voting Rights Act. “A key part of the landmark Voting Rights Act survived a constitutional challenge yesterday in the Supreme Court, but justices made it clear that a law forged in the darkest days of the nation's civil rights struggles may no longer be appropriate in a new era of American racial politics.”
Quote of the day. "[There was an] enormous crashing jolt. You could hear all this crashing and glass breaking, I didn't hear any brakes at all. When the dust settled, the entire front of the train was gone." Tom Baker, 47, a District resident, on the crash of two Metro trains in Washington, D.C. At least 9 people are dead and more than 70 injured. (Washington Post)
The latest news on Health Care, Hard Times, Immigration, Charter Schools, Southern Baptists, Global Poverty, Iran, Pakistan, NYT Reporter Escapes, Afghanistan, Iraq, Sudan, North Korea, and Select Op-eds.
Iran. “Iranian riot police have reportedly fired tear gas to break up a new opposition rally in central Tehran hours after a warning to protesters.”
NYT reporter escapes. “David Rohde, a New York Times reporter who was kidnapped by the Taliban, escaped Friday night and made his way to freedom after more than seven months of captivity in the mountains of Afghanistan and Pakistan.”
Immigration. “Lawmakers will gather at the White House next week for a working session on immigration reform, a meeting that has been highly anticipated by Latino leaders eager for President Obama to honor his campaign promise to put millions of undocumented workers on a 'pathway to citizenship.'"
Quotes of the day. "Years ago, there's no way we could do this. It brings to mind Big Brother, George Orwell, and '1984.' It's just funny how Americans have softened on these issues." Keith Sadler, police chief.
"No one has the right to know who goes in and out my front door. That's my business. That's not what America is about." David Mowrer, a local laborer.
Both commenting on the 165 closed-circuit TV cameras that “will provide live, round-the-clock scrutiny of nearly every street, park and other public space” in Lancaster, PA. (Los Angeles Times)
The latest news on Health Care Reform, Hard Times for Children, Financial Regulation, Older Army Recruits, Guns to Mexico, Iran, Darfur, Pakistan, Zimbabwe, Profile, and Select Op-eds.
Financial regulation. “President Barack Obama's proposed overhaul of financial regulations aims to eliminate a number of the loopholes that contributed to the recession. Here's a summary of what went wrong and how his proposals would try to fix it.”
Guns to Mexico. “The United States lacks a coordinated strategy to stem the flow of weapons smuggled across its southern border, a failure that has fueled the rise of powerful criminal cartels and violence in Mexico, a government watchdog agency report has found.”
Iran. “Iran's government sought today to decapitate the opposition movement by rounding up hundreds of activists, journalists and intellectuals. A total of 500 were reported to have been detained across the country, including well-known political figures from the 1979 Islamic revolution.”
Quote of the day. "It's cool now to be an active, involved father. Overall, men being more active fathers is starting to become more of the norm and less of the anomaly." Aaron Rochlen, associate professor of psychology at the University of Texas-Austin, on new attitudes in 21st century fatherhood. (USA Today)
The latest news on Iran, Health Care Cost, War Funding Approved, Immigration, Human Traffiking, Detainee Report, Anglican Church, Job Benefits For Same-Sex Partners, North Korea, Pakistan, Zimbabwe, and Select Op-eds.
War funding approved. “A divided House of Representatives Tuesday approved by 226 to 202 a $105.9 billion emergency spending bill to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and help curb flu outbreaks. However, many lawmakers in both parties were uneasy.”
Human trafficking. “The Obama administration yesterday expanded the U.S. watch list of countries suspected of not doing enough to combat human trafficking, putting more than four dozen nations on notice that they might face sanctions unless their records improve.”
Job benefits for same-sex partners. “His action is a significant advance for gay rights and comes days after the Obama administration sparked outrage by filing a legal brief defending the law forbidding federal recognition of same-sex marriage.”
Quote of the day. “This was just a call to say: ‘It appears Twitter is playing an important role at a crucial time in Iran. Could you keep it going?’” P.J. Crowley, assistant secretary of state for public affairs, explaining why State Department staff called Twitter asking for a delay in scheduled maintenance, which would have cut off service while Iranians were using Twitter to swap information and inform the outside world about the protests around Tehran. (New York Times)
The latest news on Iran Elections, Obama Health Plan, Gaza, Afghanistan, India and Pakistan, Swine Flu Shots, Housing Data, North Korea, Britain and Iraq, and Sotomayor.
Iran elections. “Social media sites are challenging levers of state media control and allowing Iranians to find novel ways around restrictions.”
North Korea. “Two American journalists sentenced by North Korea last week to 12 years of hard labor were caught shooting video for what the North said was a politically motivated 'smear campaign,' state-run media said Tuesday.”
Sotomayor. “Judge Sonia Sotomayor defended her membership in an all-female networking club, telling senators that the group did not discriminate in an inappropriate way.”
The latest news on Health Care, Climate Change, Joan Kroc & Salvation Army, Hard Times, Vegetable Gardens, Iran Election, Netanyahu & Palestinian State, Pakistan, and Editorials.
Iran election. Tens of thousands of Iranian opposition activists have taken to the streets of Iran for a third day protesting against the disputed presidential election, defying a ban by the Interior Ministry.
Health care. The White House is caught in a battle within its own party over how to finance a comprehensive overhaul of America's health-care system , as key Democrats advocate a tax plan that could require President Obama to break his campaign pledge not to raise taxes on the middle class.
Netanyahu & Palestinian state. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday said he would agree to the establishment of a Palestinian state, on condition that it be demilitarized and that its leaders recognize Israel as a Jewish nation-state.
Quote of the day. "Today, I have submitted my official formal request to the council to cancel the election result. I urge you, Iranian nation, to continue your nationwide protests in a peaceful and legal way." Mir Hossein Mousavi, a defeated candidate in Iran's presidential election, on the disputed election results. (Al Jazeera)
Save the Birds
The latest news on Health Care, Hard Times, Domestic Extremism, Faith in the Streets, Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Israel, Peru, Sudan, Zimbabwe, India-Gandhi Tour, and Select Op-eds.
Peru. “Faced with a simmering crisis over dozens of deaths in the quelling of indigenous protests last week, Peru’s Congress this week suspended the decrees that had set off the protests over plans to open large parts of the Peruvian Amazon to investment.”
Zimbabwe. “Growing numbers of children in Zimbabwe are turning to prostitution to survive, the charity Save the Children says.”
Editorial - Voting Rights Act. “The Supreme Court is expected to rule shortly on a challenge to the Voting Rights Act. There is a real danger that it could strike down Section 5. That would be a radical reversal for the court, which has repeatedly upheld the act since its passage in 1965. It would cripple the power of Congress and the Justice Department to protect voters from discriminatory state rules.” (New York Times)
Quote of the day. "Had we gone ahead in February, we would have had a consumer backlash of considerable magnitude. Now there will still be some level of disruption, there's no question about that, but it's a lot better than it would have been." Acting FCC Chairman Michael J. Copps, speaking of today's switch to all-digital broadcast television. (Los Angeles Times)
The latest news on Violence at the Holocaust Museum, Health Care, School Lunches, Service Organizations Struggle, California Budget, North Korea, Aid to Africa, Afghanistan, Iran, Mideast, South Africa, Canada Carbon Plan, Green Guatemalan, and Select Op-
Iran. “The political chief of Iran's Revolutionary Guard has warned reformists in the country against seeking what he called a 'velvet revolution,' vowing that it would be 'nipped in the bud.'”
Health care. “For a Canadian facing emergency surgery in the United States, a ride on a privately chartered Lear jet back to Canada is a whole lot cheaper than having the operation in a U.S. hospital.”
Violence at Holocaust Museum. “An elderly Maryland man with a long history of ties to neo-Nazi organizations walked into the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum on Wednesday and opened fire, killing a security guard and sending visitors scrambling for cover.”
Quote of the day. "I am more concerned with the threat from the Christian-identity groups than the homegrown Islamic terrorists. It's a disaster waiting to happen. The fact that this guy did what he did may be symptomatic of things to come." Maria Haberfeld, a professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, on yesterday’s shooting at the Holocaust Museum. (Washington Times)
The latest news on Health Care, War Funding, Supreme Court, D.C. Voting, Budget Deficits, Donations Fall, Abortion Clinic Stays Closed, Mideast, Iran, Pakistan, Iraq, North Korea, and Select Op-eds.
Health care. “President Barack Obama is moving quickly to head off opposition to major health care legislation from fiscal conservatives in Congress by vowing to follow strict rules for paying for it without further driving up the already huge deficit.”
War funding. “The White House’s ever-expanding wartime spending bill could soon exceed $105 billion even as President Barack Obama remains stymied by divisions in Congress and a set of terrorism-related issues that have strained relations in his own party.”
Supreme Court. “The Senate Judiciary Committee is to begin hearings on the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court on July 13, a victory for the White House, which has been pushing for early consideration of President Obama's nominee.”
Quote of the day. “Compared to any other time in the last 30 or 40 years, there's a better chance of success than ever before. But this is going to be like an Indiana Jones movie, where we kind of slip through a lot of narrow escapes." Geoff Garin, a Democratic pollster, on the prospects for health care reform. (Washington Post)
The latest news on Health Care, Economy, Employee Free Choice Act, Boston Globe, North Korea, U.K.-Brown Leadership, Middle East, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Al Qaeda, and Iran.
Economy. “President Obama today promised to deliver more than 600,000 new jobs this summer with accelerated spending of some of the $787-billion economic stimulus that Congress approved at his urging earlier this year.”
Iran. “Hundreds of thousands of Iranians have taken to the streets of Tehran in a mass show of support for their candidates in the upcoming presidential election.”
Afghanistan. “Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has given the new U.S. commander in Afghanistan 60 days to conduct another review of the American strategy there, the fifth since President Barack Obama took office less than five months ago.”
Quote of the day. “Globe workers and the New England community understand that the quality of The Boston Globe, an institution so vital to the life and culture of the region, depends on the fair treatment of the men and women who work so hard to produce it." Daniel Totten, president of the Boston Globe Newspaper Guild, commenting on the union voting down proposed pay and benefit cuts. (Boston Globe)
The latest news on Immigration, State Budgets, Abortion, Violence in Churches, D-Day Commemoration, Climate Change, Arms Trade, U.K. Government, Lebanon Election, Iran Election, Iran Nuclear Program, North Korea, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Select Op-eds.
Arms trade. “Though the U.S. accounts for more than half the total increase, China and Russia nearly tripled their military expenditure over the decade, with China now second only to the U.S. in the military expenditure league table.”
Lebanon election. “Official results released a day after Lebanon's hotly-contested parliamentary election have confirmed the pro-Western coalition has held on to its majority.”
North Korea. “North Korea has sentenced two U.S. journalists to 12 years hard labor after finding them guilty of entering the country illegally, according to state media."
Quote of the day. "Our society has deteriorated to the point where people will take the battle right into the church. People see it as a soft target rather than see it as a place of reverence anymore." Jeffrey Hawkins, executive director of the Christian Security Network, a national organization focused on helping churches plan for emergencies. (Chicago Tribune)
The latest news on Unemployment Rises, State Budget Crises, President in Germany, Judge Sotomayor, Health Care Reform, Abortion, Tiananmen, U.K. Government, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Burma - Aung San Suu Kyi, and Select Op-eds.
Unemployment rises. “The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the nationwide unemployment rate now stands at 9.4%, the worst it has been in more than 25 years. If workers abandoned their job searches or settled for part-time employment were factored in, the rate would have been 16.4%.”
Abortion. “Tiller's death has focused attention on abortions late in pregnancy. While it is clear that they account for a tiny fraction of the 1.2 million U.S. abortions each year, much about the procedures is unclear, including exactly how many are done, by whom and under what circumstances.”
Burma - Aung San Suu Kyi. “The spray-painted demands appear overnight -- 'Free Aung San Suu Kyi' read the scrawls on walls across this city -- only to be whitewashed by security forces as soon as they are discovered.”
Quote of the day. "For the first time a woman member has been elected Speaker - and that too a woman from the Dalit community. In electing you ... we members of parliament pay tribute to the women of our country and the great contribution that they have made." Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the election of Meira Kumar, 64, a former lawyer and diplomat, as Speaker of India’s Parliament. (BBC)
The latest news on Obama Speech in Cairo, Speech Reaction, Health Insurance, Benefits Soar, Employee Free Choice Act, Katrina Housing, Same-Sex Marriage, Progressive Think Tanks, Tiananmen Anniversary, Israeli Settlements, U.K.-Brown Government, Cuba, Afg
Obama speech in Cairo. “President Obama pledged on Thursday to 'seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world,' imploring America and the Islamic world to drop their suspicions of one another and forge new alliances to confront violent extremism and heal religious divides.”
Katrina housing. "Hurricane Katrina victims around the Gulf Coast who were told to vacate their temporary trailers by the end of May will instead be allowed to buy them for $5 or less, White House officials announced on Wednesday.”
Tiananmen anniversary. “Chinese police have ringed Tiananmen Square, to prevent people marking the 20th anniversary of the massacre.”
Quote of the day. “You can raise pigs to be very strong and very fat. But a pig is still a pig. And a pig has no rights.” Liu Suli, who served 20 months in prison for his role in the pro-democracy Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, on the idea that “his fellow Chinese have made a devil’s bargain, trading the freedom that he and his fellow protesters sought for a chance at a car and a bigger apartment.” (New York Times)
The latest news on Obama in the Middle East, Air France Crash, Health Insurance, Republican Secretary of the Army, Supreme Court, Abortion, Plea in Soldier Killing, Death Penalty, Employed and Homeless, Afghanistan, Iraq, China, South Africa, and Select O
Obama in Middle East. “Osama bin Laden, the leader of al-Qaeda leader, has accused Barack Obama … of following the policy of his predecessor George Bush in 'antagonizing Muslims.'"
Afghanistan. "A military investigation has concluded that American personnel made significant errors in carrying out some of the airstrikes in western Afghanistan on May 4 that killed dozens of Afghan civilians, a military investigation has concluded.”
China. “In a crackdown apparently timed to the 20th anniversary Thursday of the crushing of pro-democracy demonstrations, the Chinese government has pulled the plug on the social networking site Twitter and dozens of other Internet sites and blogs.”
Quote of the day. "It's good to have some money in my pocket. I can buy my own meals every so often or get on the bus rather than doing so much walking. [But] It's not going to pay enough money for me to get out of homelessness." Eric Sheptock, currently homeless, but working in a janitorial job. (Washington Times)
The latest news on Jet Down in Ocean, General Motors, Doctor Killed, Health Care Reform, Climate Change, Minnesota Senate, Peace Corps, Afghanistan, Nuclear Material, Detainee Torture Photos, Mid-East Peace, North Korea, Somalia, Sri Lanka, El Salvador, I
Detainee torture photos. “President Barack Obama reversed his decision to release detainee abuse photos from Iraq and Afghanistan after Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki warned that Iraq would erupt into violence and that Iraqis would demand that U.S. troops withdraw from Iraq a year earlier than planned.”
Doctor killed. “The 51-year-old man held on suspicion of killing prominent abortion provider Dr. George Tiller belonged to anti-government militia groups, had been convicted of carrying explosives in his car and was outraged by the doctor's speedy acquittal on abortion-related charges.”
El Salvador. “Mauricio Funes, a television journalist whose party once fought a bloody guerrilla war in El Salvador, on Monday became the country's first leftist president amid emotional symbols of landmark change.”
Quote of the day. “Part of being a good friend is being honest. And I think there have been times where we are not as honest as we should be about the fact that the current direction, the current trajectory, in the region is profoundly negative, not only for Israeli interests but also U.S. interests.” President Obama on U.S.-Israel relations. (New York Times)