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Tim Bouma 11mo ago

Benjamin Franklin, at age 16, took on the pseudonym of ‘Silence Dogood’, the identity of a 40 year-old (fictional) widow, and wrote an incredibly popular advice column that was published regularly. Nobody knew, including the publisher, who Silence Dogood was. It was Ben.

Ben, a seasoned publisher, tempered many of the words of Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence which gave it its lasting power.

‘We hold these truths to be self-evident’ was a late-night edit by Ben.

In the end, Ben was a badass and rebel: his diplomacy - and his degeneracy - shaped much of the society we have today.

Thanks, Ben nostr:note1ra7tw800m46l97wewv36apqga5z0kfse0qlpdya0tkecsypjzl7sdmav24

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DasFrettchen 11mo ago

I guess we are all nyms anyway

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Tim Bouma 11mo ago

Yup. Even the pope has a nym. Good luck, Spain, outlawing that!

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Cykros 11mo ago

There are curious accusations that he was a British spy. Somewhat damning given how our revolution played out, and eventually fell (somewhat almost in secret) with the advent of the Federal Reserve Act and the presidency of Woodrow Wilson, prior to which Britain was anything but an "ally" with which America had a "special friendship."

As to the veracity of these claims, all I can say is that I'd hope they're not true. But Britain did seem to get the end run around us in the end, even if we kept them at bay both in 1812 and during the Civil War (thanks to our pals the Russians, who they've made sure we've been at enmity with for as long as they've had the influence).

Convenient for sure that all records that would have confirmed this went up in fire. But not exactly off brand for MI-6 to actually be pretty good at keeping secrets.

https://msuweb.montclair.edu/~furrg/fc/deacononfranklin.html