Given: While much of the chagrin at Bush's comments to the UNITY: Journalists of Color conference revolved around his seeming cluelessness about native sovereignty, Native American activists are reacting to another word: given. Bush defines the term as having been "given sovereignty, and you're viewed as a sovereign entity." In a race where previously ignored constituencies may make or break a candidate, this is an un-smooth move. Sovereignty is "the nearest and dearest, No. 1 issue in Indian Country," said Jacqueline Johnson, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based National Congress of American Indians. "It's not something that was given to us. As tribes, we see sovereignty as something we've always had."

Boycott the Boss? Remember how the Dixie Chicks' careers ended when Clear Channel banned their music for being "anti-American"? Me neither, yet a New York conservative thinks her Boycott the Boss campaign--aimed at Bruce Springsteen for his involvement with MoveOn's Vote for Change tour--will hurt Springsteen's sales. Conservative Party Senate candidate Marilyn O'Grady says in a 30-second commercial, "He thinks making millions with a song-and-dance routine allows him to tell you how to vote." (Incidentally, type in boycotttheboss.com, and you get redirected to a site that claims a link between Planned Parenthood and Hitler (plus PP's alleged eugenics plan targeting African Americans) and adages like "Friends Don't let Friends Go to Hell," "Go to Church! Don't wait for the Hearse to take you!," and "The Death Penalty is for Serial Killers not Cereal Eaters.")