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“Get up for the down stroke”

The People's Republic of The Crooked Beat is a gargantuan, socially progressive nation, ruled by The Hitcher with a fair hand, and remarkable for its restrictive gun laws. Its compassionate, intelligent population of 11.004 billion hold their civil and political rights very dear, although the wealthy and those in business tend to be viewed with suspicion.

It is difficult to tell where the omnipresent, corrupt government stops and the rest of society begins, but it juggles the competing demands of Education, Social Equality, and Social Welfare. The average income tax rate is 100%. A powerhouse of a private sector is dominated by the Book Publishing industry.

The latest Harry Potter book is a bestseller, elections have become procedural nightmares due to voters persistently rejecting candidates, crowds of flag-burning protesters tend to accidentally become crowds of burning protesters, and all recreational drugs are legal. Crime -- especially youth-related -- is a problem, probably because of the country's utter lack of prisons. The Crooked Beat's national animal is the Defenestrating Eagle, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests, and its currency is the reggae vibration.

The Crooked Beat is ranked 7th in the region and 3,060th in the world for Most Godforsaken.