In case you haven’t heard, the government shut down [Tuesday morning] as Congress failed to pass a “continuing resolution” to keep it operating. You’ll hear a lot of people saying this is a “standoff” or a simple case of two sides being unable to compromise. But it’s not politics as usual—it’s an unusual, and dangerous, hijacking of politics by a determined minority. Here are eight things to keep in mind as you watch this play out.

We’re excited to unveil our new health care website: WorkingAmericaHealthCare.org.

In the thousands of conversations we have every week, health care is consistently one of the most important issues to our members. That’s why we’ve spent a decade as a champion for coverage, and why we fought so hard to pass the Affordable Care Act. And now that the law is taking effect, we want to do everything we can to make sure it works.

10) If you’re not getting paid what you deserve. Whether you see money disappearing from your paycheck or you’ve just never gotten a raise, that’s a problem that you don’t just have to accept.

Read the rest of the reasons after the jump. 

Ten Good Reasons You Should Use FixMyJob.com originally appeared on Working America's Main Street blog. 

"Working America Organizers Turn Into Neighborhood Heroes," by Seth D. Michaels, is a cross-post from Working America's Main Street blog. 

Michael Taeu, a Working America organizer, was out talking to people in Oregon City, Ore., last night when he saw something he doesn't usually see: smoke pouring out of the windows of one of the houses in the neighborhood.

Michael could have turned around, but he didn't. Instead, he went into the house, helped rescue a woman trapped inside and put out the fire.