Ping on the idea for some good old activism.
I'm just wondering.
Here's something I would recommend. We do this down here in my little part of Florida, and I recomend that FReepers, TEA Partiers, 9-12ers and Constitutional Conservatives everywhere do this.
First, do a bit of research. Do you city council members and mayor have an oath of office? Does it include language similar to "I will support, protect, and defend the Constitution and Government of the United States and of the State of ...?" I pasted that directly from the Florida oath of office for all elected officials, by the way.
I suspect that your officials in Seattle, Washington have to take a similar oath. If they do, get some FRiends together, take some pocket constitutions with you, and ask your City Council and Mayor how accepting this "Federal Grant" squares with their oath of office. Ask them to point out specifically where within the enumerated powers in Article 1, Section 8 of the United States Consittution do they believe that the United States Congress has the authority to tax the people of the states of Florida and North Dakota to pay for "weatherizing" private homes in Seattle.
Show up at all your City Council meetings, School Board meetings and County Commission meetings and be prepared to ask this question of your elected representatives often. Make them aware that they have voters in their city, county, and district who actually thinks the United States Constitution means something, and they expect even local officials to hold Congress to stay within the limits of the enumerated powers laid out in the Constitution.
Ping on the idea for some good old activism.