The Citrus-Scented Republic of Shake Rag is a titanic, cultured nation, ruled by Ned Ryerson with an even hand, and renowned for its barren, inhospitable landscape, keen interest in outer space, and spontaneously combusting cars. The hard-nosed, hard-working, devout population of 12.529 billion Shake Ragians are highly moralistic and fiercely conservative, in the sense that they tend to believe most things should be outlawed. People who have good jobs and work quietly at them are lauded; others are viewed with suspicion.

The relatively small government juggles the competing demands of Industry, Education, and Administration. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Tellico Plains. The average income tax rate is 28.7%, but much higher for the wealthy.

The frighteningly efficient Shake Ragian economy, worth a remarkable 1,360 trillion Summer Sausages a year, is broadly diversified and led by the Arms Manufacturing industry, with major contributions from Book Publishing, Information Technology, and Retail. Average income is an impressive 108,584 Summer Sausages, and evenly distributed, with the richest citizens earning only 2.8 times as much as the poorest.

Family isn't who you're born with but who you abandon in foreign countries, only adults may purchase violent video games, biology and religious education classes have recently been merged, and drugs containing the compound "oleum de serpens" are being sold to cancer patients. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a capable police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Shake Rag's national animal is the Golden Mosquito, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to toxic air pollution.

Shake Rag is ranked 205,936^th in the world and 247^th in Christians for Greatest Rich-Poor Divides, with 2.84 Rich To Poor Income Ratio.