A large part of Humboldt County chattersphere was consumed today by the (now-disproven) news that a massive experimental aircraft would soon be buzzing the county a few feet above our heads. We heard about it first from LoCO superfriend Kym Kemp, who heard it from the Ferndale Volunteer Fire Department, who (it later turned out) heard it from KIEM-TV weatherstud Jim Bernard.

The Lost Coast Communications staff spent an estimated 17.25 man-hours in tracking down this rumor today. We called the fire department. We reached out to county airport representatives, who reached out to the local air traffic control center in Seattle. We spoke with a representative from the office of Rep. Mike Thompson. We left phone messages with Boeing. All of the above parties either did not return calls (FVFD, Boeing), had not heard anything about this at all (Thompson) or had heard the rumors but, like us, were unable to confirm or deny them (county airport).

So we went back to the source – last night’s KIEM newscast. We found Bernard’s message there at minute marker 21:00. And then we went back to our old friend Google – and finally we struck pay dirt!

The Boeing Co. has a whole Web page devoted to the flight tests of its new 787 Dreamliner, and there we found a link to a particular test flight that took place today.

The plane has already come and gone, folks! Jim Bernard – a pilot and a former air traffic controller, as every Humboldter knows – knew what he was talking about, as usual! Except that it never dropped below 31,000 feet in the skies above Humboldt, so it’s likely that no one even noticed it.

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Hey, have you recently received a survey from the Department of the Interior in the mail? The survey concerns Klamath River restoration. If so, could you get in touch with us? The phone number is 786-5104, and the e-mail address is hank@khum.com.

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Dueling debt-ceiling press releases? That’s redistricting for you, and that is why we are so excited.

Last night, Rep. Mike Thompson issued the following brief statement in the aftermath of the retch-making Congressional compromise on the debt ceiling. Thompson himself could just barely keep his dinner down. Quoth:

I voted for the compromise legislation to avoid defaulting on our nation’s debt. Given that our nation was hours away from defaulting on its obligations, I felt a responsibility to vote yes.

Meanwhile, future First District Representative Norman Solomon (cough) freely hurled all over the damn thing:

This is a very bad deal and a huge mistake. Instead of capitulating to Republican ideologues in Congress, we should stand our ground on behalf of seniors, children and other vulnerable Americans. All the rhetoric about “shared sacrifice” rings hollow when the vast majority of us are being sacrificed to the benefit of big banks and Wall Street.

There are plenty of sensible and effective ways to reduce the deficit — including a transaction tax on Wall Street, an end to the Bush tax cuts for the very wealthy and a major reduction in military spending. But the bipartisan dealmakers in Washington are ripping up the social compact and slashing the safety net that’s essential for vast numbers of Americans.

One of the most dangerous aspects of this deal is that it explicitly sets the stage for future actions to undermine Medicare. This scenario is a betrayal that strikes at the heart of precious values, and it’s among many of the current threats to vital social programs. I am committed to defending Social Security and Medicare on the campaign trail and as a member of Congress.

As a progressive Democrat, I will support the president’s policies when he’s right — and I will oppose his policies when he’s wrong. With this budget deal, he is profoundly wrong.

The people of this congressional district have a right to know how each candidate for Congress would have voted on this budget deal. I would have joined with other progressive House members in voting no.

So, not much detail on the practical Solomon strategy to shove aside the Republican House majority and the filibuster-wielding Senate Republicans. But, hey, we sure know where he stands!