Black conservative leader Deneen Borelli, a senior fellow with the Project 21 black leadership network, says she's not thankful - at least not yet - about Barack Obama becoming the next president of the United States.

"A black Jimmy Carter would be nothing to be thankful for," notes Ms. Borelli, who serves on the board of trustees of the Opportunity Charter School in Harlem in New York. "But a black Ronald Reagan would be a precious gift to the nation."

CHOICE OF JOES

One might argue that the 2008 presidential election came down to a preference of Joes.

The liberal bunch that publishes The Progress Report presents a list of 17 reasons to be thankful this Thanksgiving Day, including: "We're more thankful for Vice President Joe Biden and 'Morning Joe' than Joe Lieberman and 'Joe the Plumber.'"

NO RESPECT

If Benjamin Franklin had had his way, none of us would be picking through turkey bones on Thanksgiving.

"I wish the bald eagle had not been chosen as the representative of our country," Franklin wrote in 1784. "He is a bird of bad moral character; like those among men who live by sharping and robbing, he is generally poor, and often lousy.

"The turkey is a much more respectable bird, and withal a true original native of America."

SEND OUR REGRETS

Alexandria Sheriff Dana Lawhorne has extended an unusual invitation to members of the media to share Thanksgiving dinner with the nearly 500 inmates housed in the city's jail.

"If you'd like to dine, let me know. It'll be superb," insists Harry Covert, the sheriff's press information officer.

Prisoners at the jail, who in recent years have included al Qaeda terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui and "American Taliban" John Walker Lindh, will be dining on turkey and gravy with stuffing, green beans, mashed sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, bread, cake and iced tea.

GOBBLER

Hold your horses; we're not in a race.
Get that drumstick away from your face.
Now put your fork down, and stop making that frown.
You can eat when we finish the grace.

-- F.R. Duplantier

READY FOR A NAP?

The National Turkey Federation (NTF) says nearly 88 percent of Americans eat turkey on Thanksgiving, so it comes as no surprise that during the last year some 235 million turkeys were consumed in the United States.

The average weight of turkeys purchased for Thanksgiving is 15 pounds, meaning that approximately 690 million pounds of turkey will be consumed in the United States on this Thanksgiving Day.

Afterwards, of course, millions of Americans will be ready for a nap. In fact, most people report drowsiness after eating Thanksgiving dinner, although it has nothing to do with turkey.

"While turkey often receives the blame, studies suggest that carbohydrate-rich meals may cause sleepiness by increasing the number of tryptophans in the brain," according to the NTF. "Therefore, the unusually large, multi-coursed, carbohydrate-rich meal most people eat on Thanksgiving is more likely the cause."