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
Daily News Digest
The latest news on Happy Birthday, Nelson Mandela, Economy, Global warming, Presidential campaign, Death penalty, Darfur Israel, Mideast diplomacy, Iran, India, North Korea, Latin America, Human Rights, Anglicans, Pope in Australia, Interfaith conference, Passing-Tony Snow, and Opinion.
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Happy Birthday, Nelson Mandela. On his birthday, Madiba remembers the poor "Nelson Mandela celebrated his 90th birthday on Friday by urging the wealthy to share their prosperity with the less fortunate, and by saying he wished he had been able to spend more time with his family during the anti-apartheid struggle."
Daily News Digest
AIDS plan, Life expectancy and inequality, Children and war, Iran, Israel-Hezbollah swap, Nation-building Afghanistan, Iraq, Food crisis, Oil, Interfaith summit, Pope in Australia, Anglican conference, Editorial, and Opinion.
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AIDS plan. Senate Agrees to $50 Billion AIDS Plan "The Senate approved legislation that would triple funding to fight AIDS and other diseases around the globe, rejecting efforts to pare down the bill's $50 billion price tag."
Daily News Digest
The latest news on Bipartisan friendship, Economy, Medicare, Militarized foreign policy, Afghanistan, War resister deported, Guantanamo video, Iran, Iraq Israel, and Sudan.
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Bipartisan friendship. Across the aisle, a ballad to Kennedy "[Senator Orrin] Hatch said he was asked by several colleagues to put down his feelings about a very close friend who is facing a serious illness. The friend is the legendary liberal Ted Kennedy, and the colleagues are Democrats who envision having the song played as a tribute to Kennedy at next month's Democratic convention - and as a living example of a ...
Daily News Digest
The latest news on Economy, Jobs, Offshore drilling, Presidential campaign, War resisters in Canada, Zimbabwe, Sudan, Iran, Afghanistan, Church of England, and Editorial.
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Economy. Banking Stocks Take a Lashing "Banking stocks suffered some of their worst losses in a generation yesterday as investors' confidence in the U.S. financial system continued to erode despite the dramatic initiative by the federal government Sunday evening to bolster mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac."
Covering SCOTUS
As a confirmed newspaper addict, I've learned to pay attention to the bylines on stories, and over the years have learned which ones to look for on particular topics. In Sunday morning's New York Times, I see that one of my favorites is retiring. For nearly 30 years, Linda Greenhouse has covered the Supreme Court and I've come to trust her reporting - always well-researched and well-written. If I want to understand a complicated Court decision, I go to her story first. When the new [...]
Daily News Digest
The latest news on Mortgages, AIDS relief, Measuring poverty, Church & immigration, Afghanistan, Sudan-Darfur, Iraq, Mideast WMDs, North Korea, India, Supreme Court, Opinion.
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Mortgages. Government May Aid Mortgage Giants "The federal government unveiled a broad program yesterday evening to bolster troubled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, extending unprecedented support to the companies and proposing new authority to lend them money and even buy their stock."
Daily News Digest
The latest news on Immigration, Rove subpoena, Housing bill, Capital punishment, McCain, Zimbabwe, British troops, Iran, Serenity prayer, and Opinion.
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Immigration. Number of Mexicans gaining citizenship soars in 2007 "The number of Mexican-born immigrants who became U.S. citizens swelled by nearly 50% last year amid a massive campaign by Spanish-language media and immigrant advocacy groups to help eligible residents apply for citizenship," Citizenship surges for Mexican immigrants ...
Daily News Digest
The latest news on Wiretap bill, Kennedy & Medicare, Ohio poverty taskforce Census, Immigration, G-8, Darfur, Iran, Attack in Istanbul, Zimbabwe, Mideast, Pakistan, and Op-Ed.
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Wiretap bill. Senate Approves Bill to Broaden Wiretap Powers"The Senate gave final approval on to a major expansion of the government's surveillance powers, handing President Bush one more victory in a series of hard-fought clashes with Democrats over national security issues."
Daily News Digest
The latest news in Economy, Veterans' education, Immigration, War powers, G-8 & global warming, Iraq, Iran, Darfur India, Zimbabwe, US-Czech missile defense, and Editorial.
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Economy. Layoff burden takes toll on families "Job loss is hitting employees of all kinds, and it's delivering a profound blow to family stability. The latest U.S. Labor Department report says employers cut payrolls by 62,000 in June -- the sixth straight month of nationwide job losses." Paulson: Many foreclosures can't be prevented ...
Daily News Digest
The latest news on the Mortgage Plan, Iraq-US troops, Anglican women bishops, Immigration, Veterans and alcoholism, G-8 and Zimbawbwe, G-8 and Global Warming, Iran and Israel, and select op-eds.
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Mortgage plan.
Mortgage rescue plan draws Senate support "A mortgage rescue
plan to save hundreds of thousands of homeowners from foreclosure
drew overwhelming Senate support, inching toward passage despite
Republican objections."
Daily News Digest
The latest reports on the G-8 summit, immigration, Zimbabwe, Medicare, senior services cut, unemployment, conventions, serving the poor, the wars go on, Egyptian Christians, and select editorials and op-eds
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Immigration. Employers Fight Tough Measures on Immigration "Under pressure from the toughest crackdown on illegal immigration in two decades, employers across the country are fighting back in state legislatures, the federal courts and city halls."
A Nation for All
Politics in the United States, especially in an election year, often seems to be a contest of competing special interests.
Baseball, Football, and George Carlin
Comedian George Carlin died this week. While his humor could often be profane, there was one of his standard pieces that I loved the first time I heard it and have ever since. It was titled [...]
Daily News Digest
The latest news on Gun ban overturned, Campaign finance, War funding, McCain and social conservatives, Midwest floods, African-American survey, Zimbabwe, North Korea, Gaza, Climate change, Editorials, and Commentary.
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Gun ban overturned. Justices Reject D.C. Ban On Handgun Ownership "The Supreme Court struck down the District of Columbia's ban on handgun possession and decided for the first time in the nation's history that the Second Amendment guarantees an individual's right to own a gun for self-defense."
Daily News Digest
Second amendment, Child prostitution arrests, Zimbabwe, Second amendment, Child prostitution arrests, Death penalty, Immigration raid, Homeless, Southern Baptists, Zimbabwe, Climate change, Israel politics, Iraq, Pakistan, Iran-nuclear, North Korea-nuclear, U.S.-U.K. nuclear, Syria-nuclear, HIV-AIDS, and Comentary.
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Second amendment. "The Court's 5-4 ruling struck down the District of Columbia's 32-year-old ban on handguns as incompatible with gun rights under the Second Amendment."
Child prostitution arrests. "Hundreds of people have been arrested and 21 children rescued in what the FBI is calling a five-day roundup of networks of pimps who force children into prostitution."
Zimbabwe. "Former South African leader Nelson Mandela joined a growing ...
Daily News Digest
Saving the Everglades, Midwest floods, Dobson-Obama, Climate change, Immigration, Housing crisis, Education Religion and military, Biofuel & poverty, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan, Darfur, Israel-politics, Gaza, Iraq, and India.
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Saving the Everglades. U.S. Sugar sale called turning point in Glades cleanup "The state of Florida and the nation's biggest sugar grower unveiled the details of what would become the largest environmental acquisition in state history, a $1.7 billion buyout of 187,000 acres of farmland that Gov. Charlie Crist called the ''missing link'' in the stalled effort to restore the Everglades."
Daily News Digest
The latest news on Religion in America, Dobson-Obama, Economy, Midwest floods, Border fence upheld, Zimbabwe, Iraq, Iran, Arab nuclear race, Israeli government, Pakistan, and Commentary.
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Religion in America. Believers OK with MANY PATHS "Religion today in the USA is a salad bar where people heap on upbeat beliefs they like and often leave the veggies - like strict doctrines - behind. ... And the wide-ranging ways people construct their spiritual lives could make the so-called religious vote unpredictable in the 2008 elections."
Daily News Digest
The latest news on Midwest floods, Immigration, Food stamps, Public financing, Congress, Iran, Afghanistan, Gaza, Darfur, Christianity in China, Editorial and Commentary.
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Midwest floods. Forecaster: End is near to Mississippi River rise "The water is still well above the banks of the upper Mississippi River, but residents of both flooded towns and those protected by levees and sandbags can see an ending: The river is cresting."
Daily News Digest
The latest news on Midwest floods, War funding, Economy, Education, Climate change, Israel-Gaza Torture, Oil companies in Iraq, Afghanistan, Colombia, Burma, Aid for Africa, and Commentary.
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Midwest floods. Missouri towns defenseless against crumbling levees "On the Missouri side of the Mississippi, the fate of towns in harm's way is heavily influenced by levees. At least seven levees broke Wednesday between St. Louis and the border with Iowa, creating havoc in small towns and shutting down roads up and down the river."
Daily News Digest
The latest news on Iowa floods, Testing drugs on vets, Same-sex marriage, Economic pinch, Afghanistan, Bush in UK-Iran, Zimbabwe, Global female leaders, Mideast, Climate change refugees, and Commentary.
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Iowa floods. Southeast Iowa shores up as floodwaters roll south "The news moves as fast as the floodwater across Iowa. Some is good, some is worse - from businesses reopening in Cedar Falls to tiny Oakville standing underwater."