Top 5 best exercises to lose belly fat

Who doesn't want flat abs? People desperate to lose weight will willingly starve themselves, take expensive supplements or do the latest fad diet that promises to give them that flawless figure in 30 days. Thankfully, belly fat is metabolically active and easier to lose. However, if proper nutrition is not observed and the resort is made to low calorie diets, weight loss may not happen within the desired time frame. Hunger and calorie deprivation will eventually kick in and dieters confronted with that favorite food they have been avoiding will have the tendency to binge at the first opportunity. The likelihood of gaining more weight than they originally lost is not far-fetched.

According to Christine Rosenbloom, a nutrition professor at Georgia State University, eating a calorie-controlled diet and 60 minutes of daily moderate exercise activity will result to weight loss and can even help with the desired weight maintenance. In fact, according to Professor Michael Jensen of the Mayo Clinic, intense aerobic exercise will result to being leaner around the abdomen.

It is important to remember that keeping the body's metabolism up and running so that the body continuously burns calories prevents it from going into the fat-storing mode that causes unnecessary weight gain.

Why exercise is necessary

Most people involved in weight loss believe that it's all about the calories. If you burn calories more than you take in, you lose weight. If you take in more calories than you can burn, the body gains fat. While this piece of logic may make sense, it is only partly true. What burns calories nonstop is actually the lean muscle mass underneath body fat that allows more intake of calories withoutweight gain.

The body actually adapts to the changes it undergoes. Losing weight without exercising increases the risk of losing lean body mass, slowing the metabolism and putting the body into fat-storing mode. People who have lost body fat and muscle mass may notice that they don't have the muscle mass they once had. Worse yet, once they overeat even a little bit, they start filling up on body fat once again.

Building up muscle mass

An important thing to remember when undergoing a weight loss program is to understand what needs to be done. Realistic and achievable goals can help in building the confidence needed to make the necessary leap for the achievement of a desired weight.

Researchers at the Biomechanics Lab at San Diego State University took a look at some popular abdominal exercises and ranked them. Results of the study revealed that exercises that require constant abdominal stabilization and body rotation resulted in the most muscle activity in the abdomen.

Below are the top five belly exercises as ranked by the study:

1. The Bicycle Exercise - best for targeting the six pack muscles and the obliques. To do this exercise, get into a supine position with hands at the back of your head. Bring knees to the chest while lifting shoulders off the floor. Slowly bring your right elbow towards your left knee as you straighten your right leg. Switch sides and continue in a pedaling motion. Do 1 to 3 sets with 12 to 16 repetitions.

2. The Captain's Chair Leg Raise - This exercise requires a captain's chair, a rack with padded arms allowing for the legs to hang free that is commonly found in gyms or health clubs. To do this exercise, stand on the chair and grip hand holds. Press back against the pad then raise knees to the chest to contract the abs then lower them back down. Do 1 to 3 sets with 12 to 16 repetitions.

3. Exercise Ball Crunch - For this exercise, an exercise ball is necessary. In this routine, the abdomen does more exerting but will still need the entire body to stabilize it throughout the routine. To do this exercise, lie on the ball with your lower back fully supported. Place hands behind the head. To lift the torso off the ball, contract the abs to pull the bottom of the rib cage towards the hips. Keep ball stable as you curl up, then lower back down to stretch the abs. Do 1 to 3 sets with 12 to 16 repetitions.

4. Vertical Leg Crunch - Performing this exercise is similar to doing a leg crunch except that the legs are straight up, forcing the abs to work and adding intensity to the routine. To do this, lie on the floor with the legs straight up, knees crossed, and place the hands beneath the head for support. Contract abs lifting the shoulders off the floor and keep legs in a fixed position to crunch. Do 1 to 3 sets with 12 to 16 repetitions.

5. Long Arm Crunch - This is a variant of the traditional floor crunch where the arms are held straight behind you, adding a lever to the move and making for a challenging exercise. To do this, lie on the floor or a mat then extend arms straight behind, keeping them clasped and next to the ears. Slowly contract abs and lift shoulders off the floor carefully to keep the arms straight. Do 1 to 3 sets with 12 to 16 repetitions.

The best strategy to weight loss is to observe a healthy diet coupled with exercise of at least an hour a day. Although there is no sure fire way to deal with belly fat, there are a number of activities from which to choose and enjoy. As long as you're having fun, you can lose weight without realizing it. It is important to look for an exercise you enjoy. If the suggested exercises above do not suit your taste, taking a hike, swimming or biking are just as effective in burning fat and toning muscles.

What vitamins to buy; stop throwing your money away

Do you currently buy your vitamins at the local grocery store, bulk club store, pharmacy, etc? More than likely, you are not getting what you paid for and are doing more harm than good. Getting your daily dose of vitamins and minerals should come from food, and only then should you supplement with high quality products when necessary. Many store bought vitamins contain harmful ingredients and chemicals. Synthetic vitamins are cheaply made and are in non-absorbable forms so your body does not get any nutritional benefits. Stop wasting your money and harming your body.

What to avoid

Beware of the term "other ingredients," these can include: talc, dyes, sodium benzoate, methylcellulose, carnauba wax, silicon/titanium dioxide, animal parts, and artificial ingredients. Why does something that is supposed to benefit you contain such toxic chemicals while you, the consumer, think you are doing the right thing by supplementing.

Gummy or kids' fruit-flavored chewable vitamins, designed to be colorful and taste like candy, are loaded with possible carcinogenic, artificial ingredients and food dyes. The first ingredient in many of these children's vitamins is: glucose syrup. Other ingredients include: Blue #2, Red #40, Yellow #6 and aspartame, the known neurotoxin. Voluntarily feeding children these "vitamins" is doing more harm than good; stop poisoning your kids. Several published studies discuss the link between food additives/dyes and ADHD in children. In a double-blind study, children that were fed a diet that included food additives and dyes had worsening ADHD symptoms, while children that had additive-free diets had improved symptomology.

Centrum vitamins, owned by the drug company Pfizer, have a long list of toxic ingredients, including: Yellow #6, hydrogenated palm oil, pregelatinized corn starch, silicon dioxide, maltodextrin, modified food starch, and the list goes on. Please stop willingly ingesting these chemicals and causing damage to your body, instead of helping it. These vitamins do anything but promote health.

Remember, quality over quantity

Ask yourself, what are the ingredients? Where do the ingredients come from? Are the vitamins/minerals in absorbable forms? Is the product organic? How long has it been sitting on the shelf for? If you do not know what an ingredient is, research it. Companies such as, Standard Process, offer several whole food supplements. "Whole food supplements are made by concentrating foods for use in supplements" (Standard Process). Metagenics, Douglas Labs and several other supplements sold through healthcare practitioners are also of high quality, safe ingredients. Whole food supplements help to close the nutritional gap caused by over-processed, nutrient-deficient food in today's society. Eat more fruits and vegetables, organic whenever possible, and supplement with high quality products when necessary.

How many of these vaccine facts do you know?

In 1988, I was researching my first book, AIDS INC. Interested in the subject of vaccines, I delved into published accounts of vaccination gone wrong.

The following series of quotes from authors only begins to cover the territory of vaccine damage, deception, and failure. It is nevertheless the start of a history which has been hidden from the public by corporate media, whose ties to pharmaceutical interests are infamous.

In 1988, I knew nothing about mercury in vaccines, or about the numerous chemicals and contaminating germs in vaccines that cause human illness and damage. I was merely looking for evidence that past vaccination campaigns had backfired.

What I found was shocking.

Here are the statements I uncovered:

"The combined death rate from scarlet fever, diphtheria, whooping cough and measles among children up to fifteen shows that nearly 90 percent of the total decline in mortality between 1860 and 1965 had occurred before the introduction of antibiotics and widespread immunization. In part, this recession may be attributed to improved housing and to a decrease in the virulence of micro-organisms, but by far the most important factor was a higher host-resistance due to better nutrition." (Ivan Illich, Medical Nemesis, Bantam Books, 1977)

"In a recent British outbreak of whooping cough, for example, even fully immunized children contracted the disease in fairly large numbers; and the rates of serious complications and death were reduced only slightly. In another recent outbreak of pertussis, 46 of the 85 fully immunized children studied eventually contracted the disease." (Richard Moskowitz, MD, The Case Against Immunizations, 1983, American Institute of Homeopathy)

"In 1977, 34 new cases of measles were reported on the campus of UCLA, in a population that was supposedly 91% immune, according to careful serological testing. Another 20 cases of measles were reported in the Pecos, New Mexico, area within a period of a few months in 1981, and 75% of them had been fully immunized, some of them quite recently. A survey of sixth-graders in a well-immunized urban community revealed that about 15% of this age group are still susceptible to rubella, a figure essentially identical with that of the pre-vaccine era. (Moskowitz, The Case Against Immunizations)

"Of all reported whooping cough cases between 1979 and 1984 in children over 7 months of age - that is, old enough to have received the primary course of the DPT shots (diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus) - 41% occurred in children who had received three or more shots and 22% in children who had one or two immunizations.

"Among children under 7 months of age who had whooping cough, 34% had been immunized between one and three times...

"... Based on the only U.S. findings on adverse DPT reactions, an FDA-financed study at the University of California, Los Angeles, one out of every 350 children will have a convulsion; one in 180 children will experience high-pitched screaming; and one in 66 will have a fever of 105 degrees or more." [Note: All these symptoms can indicate serious neurological damage.] (Jennifer Hyman, Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester, New York, special supplement on DPT, dated April, 1987)

"A study undertaken in 1979 at the University of California, Los Angeles, under the sponsorship of the Food and Drug Administration, and which has been confirmed by other studies, indicates that in the U.S.A. approximately 1,000 infants die annually as a direct result of DPT vaccinations, and these are classified as SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) deaths. These represent about 10 to 15% of the total number of SIDS deaths occurring annually in the U.S.A. (between 8,000 and 10,000 depending on which statistics are used)." (Leon Chaitow, Vaccination and Immunization, CW Daniel Company Limited, Saffron Walden, Essex, England, 1987.)

"Assistant Secretary of Health Edward Brandt, Jr., MD, testifying before the U.S. Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources, rounded... figures off to 9,000 cases of convulsions, 9,000 cases of collapse, and 17,000 cases of high-pitched screaming for a total of 35,000 acute neurological reactions occurring within forty-eight hours of a DPT shot among America's children every year." (DPT: A Shot in the Dark, by Harris L. Coulter and Barbara Loe Fischer, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich)

"While 70-80% of British children were immunized against pertussis in 1970-71, the rate is now 39%. The committee predicts that the next pertussis epidemic will probably turn out to be more severe than the one in 1974/75. However, they do not explain why, in 1970/71, there were more than 33,000 cases of pertussis with 41 fatal cases among the very well immunized British childpopulation; whereas in 1974/75, with a declining rate of vaccination, a pertussis epidemic caused only 25,000 cases with 25 fatalities." (Wolfgang Ehrengut, Lancet, Feb. 18, 1978, p. 370)

"... Barker and Pichichero, in a prospective study of 1232 children in Denver, Colorado, found after DTP that only 7% of those vaccinated were free from untoward reactions, which included pyrexia (53%), acute behavioral changes (82%), prolonged screaming (13%), and listlessness, anorexia and vomiting. 71% of those receiving second injections of DTP experienced two or more of the reactions monitored." (Lancet, May 28, 1983, p. 1217)

"Publications by the World Health Organization show that diphtheria is steadily declining in most European countries, including those in which there has been no immunization. The decline began long before vaccination was developed. There is certainly no guarantee that vaccination will protect a child against the disease; in fact, over 30,000 cases of diphtheria have been recorded in the United Kingdom in fully immunized children." (Leon Chaitow, Vaccination and Immunization, p. 58)

"Pertussis (whooping cough) immunization is controversial, as the side effects have received a great deal of publicity. The counter claim is that the effectiveness and protection offered by the procedure far outweigh the possible ill effects... annual deaths, per million children, from this disease over the period from 1900 to the mid-nineteen seventies, shows that from a high point of just under 900 deaths per million children (under age 15) in 1905, the decline has been consistent and dramatic. There had been a lowering of mortality rates of approximately 80% by the time immunization was introduced on a mass scale, in the mid-nineteen fifties. The decline has continued, albeit at a slower rate, ever since. No credit can be given to vaccination for the major part of the decline since it was not in use." (Chaitow, Vaccination and Immunization, p. 63)

"... the swine-flu vaccination program was one of its (CDC's) greatest blunders. It all began in 1976 when CDC scientists saw that a virus involved in a flu attack outbreak at Fort Dix, N.J., was similar to the swine-flu virus that killed 500,000 Americans in 1918. Health officials immediately launched a 100-million dollar program to immunize every American. But the expected epidemic never materialized, and the vaccine led to partial paralysis in 532 people. There were 32 deaths." (U.S. News and World Report, Joseph Carey, October 14, 1985, p. 70, "How Medical Sleuths Track Killer Diseases")

"Despite (cases) in which (smallpox) vaccination plainly failed to protect the population, and despite the rampant side-effects of the methods, the proponents of vaccination continued their attempts to justify the methods by claims that the disease had declined in Europe as a whole during the period of its compulsory use. If the decline could be correlated with the use of the vaccination, then all else could be set aside, and the advantage between its current low incidence could be shown to outweigh the periodic failures of the method, and to favour the continued use of vaccination. However, the credit for the decline in the incidence of smallpox could not be given to vaccination. The fact is that its incidence declined in all parts of Europe, whether or not vaccination was employed." (Chaitow, Vaccination and Immunization, pp. 6-7)

"Smallpox, like typhus, has been dying out (in England) since 1780. Vaccination in this country has largely fallen into disuse since people began to realize how its value was discredited by the great smallpox epidemic of 1871-2 (which occurred after extensive vaccination)." (W. Scott Webb, A Century of Vaccination, Swan Sonnenschein, 1898)

"In this incident (Kyoto, Japan, 1948) - the most serious of its kind - a toxic (vaccine) batch of alum-precipitated toxoid (APT) was responsible for illness in over 600 infants and for no fewer than 68 deaths.

"On 20 and 22 October, 1948, a large number of babies and children in the city of Kyoto received their first injection of APT. On the 4th and 5th of November, 15,561 babies and children aged some months to 13 years received their second dose. One to two days later, 606 of those who had been injected fell ill. Of these, 9 died of acute diphtheritic paralysis in seven to fourteen days, and 59 of late paralysis mainly in four to seven weeks." (Sir Graham Wilson, Hazards of Immunization, Athone Press, University of London, 1967)

"Accidents may, however, follow the use of this so-called killed (rabies) vaccine owing to inadequate processing. A very serious occurrence of this sort occurred at Fortaleza, Ceara, Brazil, in 1960. No fewer than 18 out of 66 persons vaccinated with Fermi's carbolized (rabies) vaccine suffered from encephalomyelitis and every one of the eighteen died." (Sir Graham Wilson, Hazards of Immunization)

"At a press conference in Washington on 24 July, 1942, the Secretary of War reported that 28,585 cases of jaundice had been observed in the (American) Army between 1 January and 4 July after yellow fever vaccination, and of these 62 proved fatal." (Wilson, Hazards of Immunization)

"The world's biggest trial (conducted in south India) to assess the value of BCG tuberculosis vaccine has made the startling revelation that the vaccine 'does not give any protection against bacillary forms of tuberculosis.' The study said to be 'most exhaustive and meticulous,' was launched in 1968 by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) with assistance from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, Georgia.

"The incidence of new cases among the BCG vaccinated group was slightly (but statistically insignificantly) higher than in the control group, a finding that led to the conclusion that BCG's protective effect 'was zero.'" (New Scientist, November 15, 1979, as quoted by Hans Ruesch in Naked Empress, Civis Publishers, Switzerland, 1982)

"Between 10 December 1929 and 30 April 1930, 251 of 412 infants born in Lubeck received three doses of BCG vaccine by the mouth during the first ten days of life. Of these 251, 72 died of tuberculosis, most of them in two to five months and all but one before the end of the first year. In addition, 135 suffered from clinical tuberculosis but eventually recovered; and 44 became tuberculin-positive but remained well. None of the 161 unvaccinated infants born at the time was affected in this way and none of these died of tuberculosis within the following three years." (Hazards of Immunization, Wilson)

"We conducted a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial to test the efficacy of the 14-valent pneumococcal capsular polysaccharide vaccine in 2295 high-risk patients... Seventy-one episodes of proved or probable pneumococcal pneumonia or bronchitis occurred among 63 of the patients (27 placebo recipients and 36 vaccine recipients)... We were unable to demonstrate any efficacy of the pneumococcal vaccine in preventing pneumonia or bronchitis in this population." (New England Journal of Medicine, November 20, 1986, p. 1318, Michael Simberkoff et al)

"But already before Salk developed his vaccine, polio had been constantly regressing; the 39 cases out of every 100,000 inhabitants registered in 1942 had gradually diminished from year to year until they were reduced to only 15 cases in 1952... according to M. Beddow Baylay, the English surgeon and medical historian." (Slaughter of the Innocent, Hans Reusch, Civitas Publish ers, Switzerland, and Swain, New York, 1983)

"Many published stories and reports have stated, implied and otherwise led professional people and the public to believe that the sharp reduction of cases (and of deaths) from poliomyelitis in 1955 as compared to 1954 is attributable to the Salk vaccine... That it is a misconception follows from these considerations. The number of children inoculated has been too small to account for the decrease. The sharp decrease was apparent before the inoculations began or could take effect and was of the same order as the decrease following the immediate post-inoculation period." (Dr. Herbert Ratner, Child and Family, vol. 20, no. 1, 1987)

"So far it is hardly possible to gain insight into the extent of the immunization catastrophe of 1955 in the United States. It may be considered certain that the officially ascertained 200 cases (of polio) which were caused directly or indirectly by the (polio) vaccination constitute minimum figures... It can hardly be estimated how many of the 1359 (polio) cases among vaccinated persons must be regarded as failures of the vaccine and how many of them were infected by the vaccine. A careful study of the epidemiologic course of polio in the United States yields indications of grave significance. In numerous states of the U.S.A., typical early epidemics developed with the immunizations in the spring of 1955... The vaccination incidents of the year 1955 cannot be exclusively traced back to the failure of one manufacturing firm." (Dr. Herbert Ratner, Child and Family, 1980, vol. 19, no. 4, "Story of the Salk Vaccine," Part 2)

"Suffice it to say that most of the large (polio) epidemics that have occurred in this country since the introduction of the Salk vaccine have followed the wide-scale use of the vaccine and have been characterized by an uncommon early seasonal onset. To name a few, there is the Massachusetts epidemic of 1955; the Chicago epidemic of 1956; and the Des Moines epidemic of 1959." (Dr. Herbert Ratner, Child and Family, 1980 vol. 19, no. 4)

"The live (Sabin) poliovirus vaccine has been the predominant cause of domestically arising cases of paralytic poliomyelitis in the United States since 1972. To avoid the occurrence of such cases, it would be necessary to discontinue the routine use of live poliovirus vaccine." (Jonas Salk, Science, March 4, 1977, p. 845)

"By the (U.S.) government's own admission, there has been a 41% failure rate in persons who were previously vaccinated against the (measles) virus." [In other words, these persons were vaccinated and then contracted measles.] (Dr. Anthony Morris, John Chriss, BG Young, "Occurrence of Measles in Previously Vaccinated Individuals," 1979; presented at a meeting of the American Society for Microbiology at Fort Detrick, Maryland, April 27, 1979)

"Prior to the time doctors began giving rubella (German Measles) vaccinations, an estimated 85% of adults were naturally immune to the disease (for life). Because of immunization, the vast majority of women never acquire natural immunity (or lifetime protection)." (Dr. Robert Mendelsohn, Let's Live, December 1983, as quoted by Carolyn Reuben in the LA WEEKLY, June 28, 1985)

"Administration of KMV (killed measles vaccine) apparently set in motion an aberrant immunologic response that not only failed to protect children against natural measles, but resulted in heightened susceptibility." (JAMA Aug. 22, 1980, vol. 244, p. 804, Vincent Fulginiti and Ray Helfer. The authors indicate that such falsely protected children can come down with "an often severe, atypical form of measles. Atypical measles is characterized by fever, headache... and a diverse rash (which)... may consist of a mixture of macules, papules, vesicles, and pustules... ")

The above quotes reflect only a mere fraction of an available literature which shows the public has been kept in the dark about vaccination. It is certain that undisclosed, unlooked for illness occurs as a result of vaccines, or as a result of infection after protective immunity should have been conferred but wasn't.

A certain amount of this sort of illness is immunosuppressive in the widest sense, and some in a narrower sense (depression of T-cell numbers, etc.). When looking for causes of unusual illness and immune suppression, vaccines are one of those areas which remain partially hidden from investigation. That is a mistake. It is not adequate to say, "Vaccines are simple; they stimulate the immune system and confer immunity against specific germ agents." That is the glossy presentation.

What vaccines often do is something else. They engage some aspect of the body's immune-response, but to what effect over the long term? Why, for example, do children who have measles vaccine develop a susceptibility to another more severe, atypical measles? Is that virulent form of the disease the result of reactivation of the virus in the vaccine?

Official reports on adverse vaccine reactions are often at odds with unofficial estimates because of the method of analysis used. If vaccine-reaction is defined as a small set of possible effects experienced within 72 hours of an inoculation, then figures will be smaller. But doctors like G.T. Stewart, of the University of Glasgow, have found through meticulous investigation, including visits to hospitals and interviews with parents of vaccinated children, that reactions as severe as brain-damage (e.g., from the DPT vaccine) can be overlooked, go unreported, and can be assumed mistakenly to have come from other causes.

Jon Rappoport
The author of an explosive collection, THE MATRIX REVEALED, Jon was a candidate for a US Congressional seat in the 29th District of California. Nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, he has worked as an investigative reporter for 30 years, writing articles on politics, medicine, and health for CBS Healthwatch, LA Weekly, Spin Magazine, Stern, and other newspapers and magazines in the US and Europe. Jon has delivered lectures and seminars on global politics, health, logic, and creative power to audiences around the world.

AMA: Health insurance companies botch up to 20 percent of claims

(NaturalNews) Many NaturalNews readers have likely experienced, if even just once, the hassle of having their health insurance company improperly file a insurance claim, which can result in filing disputes, delayed payments, and other administrative problems. According to the American Medical Association (AMA), as many as 20 percent of health insurance claims are improperly filed, which reportedly adds an additional $17 billion a year to the overall healthcare burden.

The new AMA report explains that insurance company filing errors have increased two percent over last year's figures, now topping 19.3 percent. Among the top insurers, UnitedHealth had the lowest error rate of 9.77 percent. Regence Group Blue Cross Blue Shield was next at 11.59 percent, followed by Health Care Service Corp. at 12.96 percent. Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield had the worst error rate at 38.95 percent.

"A 20 percent error rate among health insurers represents an intolerable level of inefficiency that wastes $17 billion annually," said Dr. Barbara McAneny, an AMA board member and medical oncologist from New Mexico, to the Chicago Tribune. "Health insurers must put more effort into paying claims correctly the first time to save precious health care dollars and reduce unnecessary administrative tasks that take time and resources away from patient care."

On the positive side, the report explains that insurance companies are doing a better job of reducing "denial rates" these days, and it also notes an improvement in insurance company response time to claims. But many doctors still do not submit claims electronically, which the AMA claims may be responsible for delaying some claims.

Meanwhile, the AMA's expressed support for the provisions in last year's health care overhaul is likely responsible for the group's loss of 12,000 members last year (http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/feed/ct-biz-0620-ama-meeting-2...). Many former AMA members oppose the group's endorsement of the health care bill's individual mandate, which requires individuals to purchase health coverage.

Almost one in ten employers to drop health insurance coverage under Obamacare

NaturalNews) One of the elements of Obamacare critics have been most vocal about is the so-called government-sponsored "insurance pools" the law creates. Now that it's largely been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, these pools will soon become a reality.

So what? That's the basis of the law, to provide insurance for everyone, correct?

Yes, but not necessarily the type of insurance you want. Or that you have now, say, through your employer.

One of the law's selling points uttered by everyone in the administration paid to defend it, especially the president himself, promised Americans they could keep their current health insurance.

In his Weekly Address on August 15, 2009, Obama said of his health care proposal, "First, no matter what you've heard, if you like your doctor or healthcare plan, you can keep it."

That was then. By July 2012, the administration was singing a different tune, admitting that, "as a practical matter, a majority of group health plans will lose their grandfather status by 2013."

That includes, of course, that employer plan you love so much.

Wait - Weren't you supposed to be able to keep employer insurance?

The Federal Register, dated Thursday, June 17, 2010, notes that the "mid-range estimate is that 66 percent of small employer plans and 45 percent of large employer plans will relinquish their grandfather status by the end of 2013."

Essentially, the administration put employer health plans in a box. As the Heritage Foundation explains, if employers "make changes to their plans to control increasing costs, they will lose their grandfathered status. Alternatively, if they keep grandfathered status by not making changes, their plans will eventually become unaffordable, forcing them to give them up. Either way, their employees will eventually lose their current coverage."

That is, in fact, already happening.

According to consulting company Deloitte, one in ten employers have said they will drop health coverage when key elements of the high court-upheld law take effect in fewer than two years.

In a report by The Wall Street Journal, nine percent of companies expect to drop coverage within one to three years. 10 percent weren't sure. And while 81 percent said they would continue to offer health insurance benefits, remember that many companies a) may still be planning on a repeal of the law if enough Obamacare critics are elected to Congress; and b) have yet to see the exact costs of offering that coverage (remember Nancy Pelosi's now infamous line: "We have to pass the bill to see what's in it.").

According to Deloitte, one in three employers said they could stop offering coverage if the law requires them to provide more generous benefits than they already do, if taxes on high-cost plans kick in around 2018, as they are currently scheduled to do, or if they decide it would be cheaper for them to pay the penalty (or is it a tax?) for not providing health insurance.

Small businesses won't be fined, but those with 50 or more employees will have to pay $2,000 for each one if they don't provide them with coverage.

The bottom line is this: Obamacare, by its very design, aims to diminish private-sector health coverage so as to channel you into a government-run system.

Gaggle of 'penalties,' taxes

Overall, health care costs, even the most optimistic analysts note, are not likely to decrease much because of the so-called Affordable Care Act. Many, in fact, expect costs to continue to rise. And while the government's portion may fall, yours won't.

In fact, the Congressional Budget Office's calculations found:

-- The "penalty payments by uninsured individuals" (which Chief Justice John Roberts called a "tax") will cost citizens $55 billion a year

-- The "additional hospital insurance tax" is the largest increase - $318 billion annually

-- Another $216 billion from something called the "associated effects of coverage provisions on tax revenues"

-- A "reinsurance and risk adjustment collections" provision brings in another $184 billion

-- Fees on certain manufacturers and insurers generates another $165 billion

-- A tax on high-excise insurance plans reaps an additional $111 billion

All told, this one law confiscates a trillion dollars from the private sector, to feed the Leviathan and implement one more step in the "cradle-to-grave" approach of controlling your - and your kids' - lives.

Preapproved Auto Loan

Get on the road faster with a Preapproved Auto Loan. The most difficult part about purchasing a vehicle is the financing. Just when you think you have it all figured out, you have found the vehicle you want and negotiated the very best price. Now the time has come to talk about financing and you are caught in a confusing jumble of interest rates, loan terms and monthly payments. You are never quite sure if you are getting a good deal or not, and if you happen to have bad credit, you may not be able to get financing at all.

One way to avoid all of these problems is to secure aPreapproved Auto Loan. Having a Preapproved Auto Loanmeans that your auto financing is already taken care of before you even stop foot in a dealership. You already know how much you can spend on a vehicle, how much you can finance and even approximately what your monthly payment will be. There is no confusion and no surprises when you have aPreapproved Auto Loan. You also know you won’t be turned down for financing, because your loan has already been preapproved.

Having a Preapproved Auto Loan has several distinct advantages. You can go into a dealership with confidence knowing that you can’t be turned down for financing. You are free to negotiate the best price for your vehicle without having to worry about negotiating your monthly payment as well.

When you get your Preapproved Auto Loan, the lender will help you determine how much you can afford to spend on a vehicle. That should prevent you from purchasing a vehicle that is outside of your budget. You also have the advantage of being able to shop like a cash buyer. With your Preapproved Auto Loan, you are guaranteed a loan for a set amount. All you have to do is stay within your budget.

Often a Preapproved Auto Loan will have requirements as to the age and mileage of the vehicle you are purchasing. They will generally require that you purchase a late model used car with reasonable mileage for its age. Most also exclude commercial, conversion or custom vehicles. You may also find that to get a Preapproved Auto Loan you will need to purchase your vehicle from a lender approved dealer and not an individual. That is for the protection of you the buyer as well as the lender.

If you would like to find out more about how to get aPreapproved Auto Loan, visit RoadLoans.com today. At RoadLoans you can get a Preapproved Auto Loan for a new or used vehicle purchase as well as refinancing for of your current auto loan.

Car loan & auto refinance experts for people with bad credit. RoadLoans.com provides a car loan calculator and car financing to buy new & used autos. Save money and time and apply online today!

When to think about an Auto Loan

Most people don't even think about an auto loan until after they have gone to a dealership, taken a test drive and decided on a vehicle. Usually by that point, they are overcome by the excitement of finding a vehicle and anxious to just sign the papers and drive away. In many cases, these excited buyers have not even taken the time to really figure out if they can afford the car they are buying.

So when is the best time to think about an auto loan? Long before you decide whether you like the car better in red than in blue. Before you choose the sport model over the sedan. Even before you step foot in a dealership; you should know exactly how much you can afford to spend on your next vehicle and how you plan to pay for it.

Chances are you will need to secure an auto loan for your vehicle purchase. There are several advantages to having yourauto loan approved before you start shopping. Before purchasing a vehicle, you should look at your monthly budget and decide how much you can afford to spend. Keep in mind that the cost of owning a car involves more than making the monthly payment on your auto loan. Insurance, gasoline, maintenance, taxes and registration fees all need to become part of your budget.

The terms of your auto loan, including the interest rate and the duration of the loan, also directly impact your monthly payment. You can use a car loan calculator to see what changing these values will do to your payment. Just enter the interest rate, the length of the loan in months and the amount you are borrowing to see an estimate of the monthly payment. In general, a reduction in the interest rate or an increase in the duration of the auto loan will lower your monthly payment. Likewise, an increase in the interest rate or decrease in the length of the loan will give you a higher monthly payment. Once your budget is set and you know how much you can afford each month, you are ready to apply for anauto loan.

The auto loan process is easy at RoadLoans. You can apply online using our safe and easy, one page application. When your application is complete, you receive a loan decision – in many cases, instantly. Once approved, you can print your loan documents and take them to a RoadLoans Dealer. Our dealers can show you available vehicles, process your auto loanpaperwork and help you complete a sale. Before you know it you will be on your way in your new vehicle.