The City That Loves You Back (If You Have Money and Know the Right People).

I DON'T KNOW JIMMY BINNS, the local lawyer who sports pin-striped suits and drives a Jaguar. I know that he gives a ton of money to the local police department (which seems like an odd practice for a lawyer, a potential conflict of interest somewhere, no?).

I also know that Jimmy Binns is not a member of the police department. I know that when I saw his vehicle, parked illegally on the sidewalk, in front of my neighbor's garage door, he was not on official duty (he was at a coffee shop with a police sergeant, as he is on many mornings). And despite his honorary police commissioner status the city designated upon him (again, how is this not a conflict of interest?), he is never actually on official police duty.

So why is he rocking the "Official Business" placard from the commissioner's office?

This is clearly not the greatest sin in a city with many evils. But it is a clear sign that people with access to power receive special treatment.

The fact that this guy donates money and supplies to our police officers (and firefighters) should not allow him the privilege to be an asshole. And that parking job, which is blocking the entrance to an active business, is the move of an asshole. He knows he's in the wrong - that's why he threw his placard up there.