Reason.com - Free Minds and Free Markets
Reason logo Reason logo
  • Latest
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Subscribe
    • Crossword
  • Video
    • Reason TV
    • The Reason Roundtable
    • Just Asking Questions
    • Free Media
    • The Reason Interview
  • Podcasts
    • All Shows
    • The Reason Roundtable
    • The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie
    • The Soho Forum Debates
    • Just Asking Questions
  • Volokh
  • Newsletters
  • Donate
    • Donate Online
    • Donate Crypto
    • Ways To Give To Reason Foundation
    • Torchbearer Society
    • Planned Giving
  • Subscribe
    • Reason Plus Subscription
    • Gift Subscriptions
    • Print Subscription
    • Subscriber Support

Login Form

Create new account
Forgot password

Politics

Jay Carney, Communist Propaganda Connoisseur

Zenon Evans | 4.14.2014 11:39 AM

Share on FacebookShare on XShare on RedditShare by emailPrint friendly versionCopy page URL Add Reason to Google
Media Contact & Reprint Requests
Large image on homepages | cc
(cc)

White House press secretary and occasional beard grower Jay Carney likes political art. Particularly, he likes Soviet military propaganda.

This fact was accidentally revealed in, of all places, the latest issue of Washingtonian MOM magazine. The journal did a profile on Carney's wife, Claire Shipman. There's a lot of fun facts about Carney's preferred brand of $275 sneakers (Hugo Boss) and how the family's Portuguese water dog is related to Obama's (cousins!).

A few sources picked up on some non-sequiturs, though. Can you spot the strangest thing about this totally candid picture? Hint: It's not that each member of the Carney clan eats a pyramid's worth of food for breakfast.

Washingtonian Mom

Rather, it's the World War II-era Soviet poster pointing over Shipman's shoulder, which asks if you've enlisted in the Red Army yet (because you're going to get drafted anyway), and the other one beyond the sink, which asks if you've gotten a factory job to fill in for your husband (who has probably been shot on the front lines).

Washingtonian MOM, Twitter

In another picture, the family has what appears to be a bust of the U.S.S.R.'s last leader, Mikhail Gorbachev. As a bonus, whoever poorly photoshopped the Carney library for added girth accidentally cloned his son's finger.

Why does Carney decorate with reminders of one of the most murderous governments in history? In case you've been slacking off on your White House personnel trivia, prior to dodging questions for the Obama administration, Carney worked as a journalist in Moscow. He and Shipman met there.

Start your day with Reason. Get a daily brief of the most important stories and trends every weekday morning when you subscribe to Reason Roundup.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

NEXT: The Next Time Anybody Insists California Has Recovered, Read This

Zenon Evans is a former Reason staff writer and editor.

PoliticsCultureRussiaObama AdministrationArtCommunism
Share on FacebookShare on XShare on RedditShare by emailPrint friendly versionCopy page URL Add Reason to Google
Media Contact & Reprint Requests

Show Comments (243)

Latest

Federal Judge Orders Over 600 ICE Detainees To Be Released From Custody

Autumn Billings | 11.12.2025 5:22 PM

Oregon Woman Says ICE Broke Out Her Car Windows and Detained Her for Filming Them

C.J. Ciaramella | 11.12.2025 3:49 PM

College Graduates Put Socialism Back on the Ballot

Connor Boyack | 11.12.2025 2:55 PM

A Senate-Approved Bill Would Ban the Hemp-Derived THC Products That Congress Legalized in 2018

Jacob Sullum | 11.12.2025 2:40 PM

The Trump Administration's Latest Housing 'Fix' Could Inflate Another Bubble

Jack Nicastro | 11.12.2025 2:03 PM

Recommended

  • About
  • Browse Topics
  • Events
  • Staff
  • Jobs
  • Donate
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • Media
  • Shop
  • Amazon
Reason Facebook@reason on XReason InstagramReason TikTokReason YoutubeApple PodcastsReason on FlipboardReason RSS Add Reason to Google

© 2025 Reason Foundation | Accessibility | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Take Reason's short survey for a chance to win $300
Take Reason's short survey for a chance to win $300
Take Reason's short survey for a chance to win $300