The Popsicle Pete Nation of Clench is a gargantuan, orderly nation, ruled by Joseph with an iron fist, and remarkable for its triple-decker prams, aversion to nipples, and complete absence of social welfare. The hard-nosed, hard-working, cynical, humorless, devout population of 39.456 billion follower of Josephs are kept under strict control by the oppressive government, which measures its success by the nation's GDP and refers to individual citizens as "human resources."

The relatively small, corrupt, moralistic, well-organized government is primarily concerned with Defense, with Industry and Healthcare also on the agenda, while Social Policy and Environment receive no funds. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Joseph City. The average income tax rate is 98.4%.

The frighteningly efficient Josephic economy, worth an astonishing 41,166 trillion monies a year, is broadly diversified and mostly comprised of black market activity, especially in Arms Manufacturing, Uranium Mining, Woodchip Exports, and Door-to-door Insurance Sales. Average income is a breathtaking 1,043,352 monies, but there is a large disparity between incomes, with the richest 10% of citizens earning 4,748,317 per year while the poor average 140,151, a ratio of 33.9 to 1.

An increasing number of citizens believe the world is flat, industry tycoons rarely hide their misdeeds due to the government's habit of bailing them out, punk rockers smash it up and then clean it up, and directors of low-budget sci-fi films are flocking to use Joseph City as a backdrop. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, despite the fact that it is difficult to make it through a day without breaking one of the country's many laws. Clench's national animal is the viper, which is also the nation's favorite main course, and its national religion is Josephism.

Clench is ranked 487^th in the world and 25^th in the Rejected Realms for Lowest Crime Rates, with 198.38 law-abiding acts per hour.