diff --git a/oml/item/query.py b/oml/item/query.py
index a6a7049..b48fe29 100644
--- a/oml/item/query.py
+++ b/oml/item/query.py
@@ -16,8 +16,8 @@ logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 def parse(data):
     query = {}
     query['range'] = [0, 100]
-    if not 'group' in data:
-        query['sort'] = [{'key':'title', 'operator':'+'}]
+    if 'group' not in data:
+        query['sort'] = [{'key': 'title', 'operator': '+'}]
     for key in ('keys', 'group', 'list', 'range', 'sort', 'query'):
         if key in data:
             query[key] = data[key]
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ def parse(data):
         query['range'] = [0, 0]
     #print data
     query['qs'] = models.Item.find(data)
-    if not 'group' in query:
+    if 'group' not in query:
         query['qs'] = order(query['qs'], query['sort'])
     return query