Well, maybe not the end but a giant step forward for mankind (or should I say, humankind). From the annals of health history comes a major historical event–anesthesia. Imagine having surgery without it. I couldn’t even imagine getting a tooth filled without some sort of anesthetic, let alone getting sliced open.

Today in 1846, one of the most monumental events took place. I think it was even more monumental that figuring out handwashing helped prevent infections. American dentist William T.G. Morton (1819-1868) extracted a tooth from a patient named Eben H. Frost, using ether as an anesthesic. I bet Eben was in heaven.

Morton did not invent ether, nor was he the first one to use it during a surgical procedure. But he gets a foothold in medical history because he was the first to publicly demonstrate and document its use. So he brought ether out of the closet, so to speak, and paved the way for the general acceptance of anesthesia.

Not strictly health news, but since Ahnald, better known as governor Schwartzenegger, has declared war on nurses and decent health care, his latest antics are worth mentioning. And some of them do directly affect the health care industry (notice I said industry).

First, Arnold vetoed a bill which would have raised the minimum wage in California. Never mind that Arnold has professed a love for the poor and disenfranchised, and has said that he supports the “concept” of raising wages for the lowest paid. I guess there’s a difference in supporting a concept than in actually doing something constructive about it.

“The minimum wage has not been increased since 2002, and I believe it is now appropriate,” the governor said in his message. “This is a position I made very clear to the author. However, I have also made it clear that I do not support automatic increases to the wage that relieve elected officials of their duty to consider all of the impacts each increase to the wage will have on workers and businesses.”

He also vetoed a bill that would have imposed stiff financial penalties on employers who are found to be paying equally qualified employees at different rates. Well, we know what Arnold thinks of women, who tend to be the employees getting paid less. What a guy. Girls are for groping and they’re also “set dressing.”

And here’s one for the health care industry. Arnold vetoed a bill that would have forced employers and insurers who take injured employees to court before paying out workers’ compensation benefits to pay a penalty. Schwarzenegger said current law already penalizes companies that unreasonably delay or refuse to pay benefits.

It does? Gee, so then why was this even an issue if there is already a law in place. And how are they “penalized?” By getting a smack on the wrist and paying a $20 fine?

Arnold becomes more sickening by the day. I hope he gets his butt whipped come election time. I sure wish he would go off in search of John Connor and leave California alone.

SFGate.com