He/him.
Lucky father and husband. Love/hate relationship with After Effects and Motion Design.
Views and opinions are expressly my own. | MDSienzant, LLC.
In all the craziness in launching a new product today, forgot to mention Better Ramp is now 2.0 with a pretty great update!!!! multiple color points!! check it out
@ElementSupplyCo
https://t.co/ZdrYl6cO71
Amazon just got caught running a secret price manipulation operation with Levi's, Home Depot, Walmart, and many more.
Every time you "comparison shopped" online, you were looking at prices that were already rigged.
Here's what happened:
Amazon would monitor prices on Walmart, Target, Best Buy, Home Depot, and Chewy in real time. The second a competitor listed a product cheaper than Amazon, they'd contact the brand directly and tell them to "fix it."
And the exact emails are now PUBLIC.
Amazon sent Levi's links to two Walmart listings with the subject line "styles of concern." They basically said the prices on Walmart are too low and we have a problem.
The next day, Levi's responded: "I talked to Walmart and they have partnered with us to take Easy Khaki Classic fit back up to ladder SPP price, $29.99 immediately."
Levi's literally called Walmart and told them to raise the price. Because Amazon told Levi's to make the call.
Walmart complied. Then Amazon matched the HIGHER price.
Both retailers ended up charging more. The customer paid extra. Nobody competed.
Same playbook with Hanes:
Amazon sent them links showing Target and Walmart prices were lower. Hanes confirmed they "reached out to Target and Walmart to have the prices increased."
Target increased the prices. Walmart increased the prices. Amazon kept their margins.
But it gets even worse...
Amazon told Allergan (the company that makes eye drops) that their product was "suppressed" on Amazon because it was cheaper on another site.
Allergan responded: "Walmart got their price back up to $16.99." Amazon then unsuppressed the listing.
They did this with pet treats on Chewy. Furniture on Home Depot. Products across dozens of categories spanning YEARS.
The mechanism is simple but terrifying:
If you're a brand and you sell cheaper on Walmart than on Amazon, Amazon suppresses your product, removes you from the Buy Box, buries you in search results, and effectively makes you invisible to 300 million customers.
Brands can't afford that. So they call Walmart and Target and say "raise your prices or we'll lose our Amazon listings."
Walmart and Target comply because they need the brand's products.
Amazon captures 40 cents of every dollar spent online in America. That gives them the leverage to set prices across THE ENTIRE internet. Not just their own platform.
So turns out, you were never comparison shopping.
You were looking at a coordinated price floor set by Amazon through backroom phone calls between brands and their competitors.
"Amazon is working to make your life more unaffordable."
3 separate antitrust trials are now scheduled for 2027. The FTC has its own case. 18 states plus the DOJ are piling on.
This is literally happening during the WORST affordability crisis in a generation. Groceries up 25% since 2020. Housing unaffordable. Wages flat.
And the largest ecommerce company on Earth has been secretly coordinating with brands to make sure you can't find a cheaper price ANYWHERE.
"Competition" in retail is just a fantasy.
For the ASL remakes, Disney Animation resurrected the original data and pipeline version, reanimated (from near scratch in many places), relit where needed, and re-rendered. Probably the hardest way to do this, but definitely the right way to do it, so that's what we did.
The SAVE Act is Jim Crow 2.0. It would disenfranchise tens of millions of people.
If Trump is saying he won’t sign any bills until the SAVE Act is passed, then so be it: there will be total gridlock in the Senate.
Senate Democrats will not help pass the SAVE Act under any circumstances.
🛑 THE DHS SHUTDOWN: MAGA’s "Law and Order" Is Pure Chaos
Don’t be fooled by the official @DHSgov tweets. They want you to blame Democrats for the Spring Break airport lines, but here is the reality of who is actually running this circus:
🎭 The "Party of Chaos" is in Charge
Republicans hold the White House, the House, and the DHS leadership. Yet, the Department of Homeland Security has been in a partial shutdown since February 14th.
Why? Because the Trump administration is refusing to accept basic accountability for federal agents—and now they’re making you pay for it with 4-hour security lines.
🎥 The Demands: Accountability vs. Impunity
Democrats aren't "holding travel hostage"—they are holding the line for civil rights. After federal agents fatally shot two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis this year—Renée Good and ICU nurse Alex Pretti—Democrats in the Senate are refusing to sign a blank check for more violence.
They are asking for four common-sense reforms that MAGA is blocking:
1. Body Cameras: Mandatory for all ICE and CBP agents (Republicans say no).
2. Unmasking Agents: Banning federal agents from wearing tactical masks to hide their identities during arrests.
3. Judicial Warrants: Requiring a judge’s signature before agents can kick in doors on private property.
4. Independent Oversight: Allowing local police to investigate when federal agents kill citizens.
✈️ Why You’re Stuck in Line
Instead of agreeing to basic transparency, the administration has let DHS funding lapse. TSA officers are currently working without pay. * Staffing is cratering.
• Morale is non-existent.
• Kristi Noem was just fired as DHS Secretary because the department is in such a tailspin.
The Bottom Line:
MAGA would rather have you wait 5 hours for a flight than have their agents wear body cameras. They’ve traded your safety and your time for a culture of zero accountability.
#DHSshutdown #SpringBreak #JusticeForAlexPretti #JusticeForReneeGood #AccountabilityNow #TSA #MAGAChaos #Minneapolis