1. Comment #33150 by DamnDirtyApe on April 19, 2007 at 1:45 pm

Yikes. There may be some turbulence.

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2. Comment #33151 by LDmiller on April 19, 2007 at 1:45 pm

This is a REALLY DUMB THING for Professor Dawkins to do, as he will find out.

O'Reilly is a pugnacious, bullying, shouting asshole who will not let anyone who disagrees with him get a word in edgewise. One exception was Geraldo Rivera, who is also a pugnacious, bullying, shouting asshole.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLPuGuaZTx8

As a last resort he often has the microphone of his prey --er, guest-- cut off if he sees he is about to lose an argument.

Professor Dawkins, you have better things to do with your time-- just about anything, actually.

Other Comments by LDmiller

3. Comment #33154 by Kingasaurus on April 19, 2007 at 1:48 pm

We'll see how this goes. O'Reilly had tough questions for Sam Harris a while back, but was generally polite and not as combative as I expected. He's a bit tough to figure in that he seems to have little love for fundamentalism, but thinks religion in general is extremely important for society and highly beneficial.

O'Reilly has called Dawkins a "pinhead" on his radio show as recently as a few weeks ago, though I doubt that will get a mention. :)

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4. Comment #33155 by Loren Michael on April 19, 2007 at 1:48 pm

Sam Harris has been on O'Reilly a few times and it turned out fine.

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5. Comment #33156 by Mash on April 19, 2007 at 1:49 pm

Hm, I disagree LDmiller. I'm very exited on how Dawkins will do in this interview. If anyone can have a civilized conversation with that guy, it's gotta be Dawkins. (Not saying that a civilized conversation is possible though)

I could guess what the interview is about, but www.foxnews.com won't load for me, so could anyone enlighten me?

Good luck Dawkins!

Other Comments by Mash

6. Comment #33157 by Aaron on April 19, 2007 at 1:50 pm

I cannot wait to see this! This will expose a whole new audience to Dawkins' ideas. Awesome!

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7. Comment #33158 by Jane Tomlinson on April 19, 2007 at 1:51 pm

Richard will be fine. I don't know who O'Reilly is, but if he is as offensive as others say, then Richard's humour, charm, sense and reason, combined with his razor sharp logic will cut straight through any bullying and mumbo-jumbo and expose O'Reilly as the twat so many people say he is.

If Richard makes just one viewer see reason, then surely it's worth him doing it?
J
x

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8. Comment #33159 by icouldbewrongbut on April 19, 2007 at 1:52 pm

I don't like this either. O'Reilly doesn't deserve to have a chance to use his invalidation tactics against Dawkins. I think I'll skip this one.

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9. Comment #33160 by DamnDirtyApe on April 19, 2007 at 1:52 pm

Either that, or it will expose an audience to Bill O'reilly's opinion of Dawkin's ideas.

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10. Comment #33161 by William on April 19, 2007 at 1:52 pm

I hope Richard is prepared to withstand a fusillade of blustering, ill-informed self-aggrandizement.

I don't know if appearing on this sleazeball's show is such a good idea. Why contribute in any way to his ratings?

Other Comments by William

11. Comment #33162 by Convertedchristian on April 19, 2007 at 1:54 pm

just goes to show the impact Richard Dawkins in having in the US.

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12. Comment #33164 by William on April 19, 2007 at 1:55 pm

O'Reilly had tough questions for Sam Harris a while back, but was generally polite and not as combative as I expected.

I saw that episode, too. As I recall, while O'Reilly wasn't combative per se, he wouldn't let Harris get a word in edgewise. It's a habit of all these Fox News bobble-heads, but especially O'Reilly. They're constantly interrupting and shouting over their guests.

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13. Comment #33166 by Janus on April 19, 2007 at 1:59 pm

Holy shit!

Well, good luck Richard. I don't think there's a very big chance you'll get to make a nice, reasoned argument. The best you can hope for is probably to make a good impression, a bit like you did in Colbert's show. Shake the preconceptions that the fundies who'll be watching most definitely have about you (and atheists in general).


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14. Comment #33169 by Paul Nettleship on April 19, 2007 at 2:06 pm

I saw this guy on a documentary by Al Franken:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Franken:_God_Spoke

He looks like a nasty piece of work.

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15. Comment #33170 by briancoughlanworldcitizen on April 19, 2007 at 2:07 pm

He looks like a nasty piece of work.

He is. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLPuGuaZTx8

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16. Comment #33171 by neven on April 19, 2007 at 2:08 pm

I hope Richard can get some good exposure this way. My concern is not regarding the interview itself, bur rather, concerning O'Reilly's pre- and post-commentary, as well as his "moderating" attitude. If he's in a bad enough mood, he'll introduce Richard as a baby-eating cannibal, not allow any time for denial of his misinformation about Richard's writing, and wrap up by picking on the good professor some more. Or he might just sail through - who knows.

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17. Comment #33172 by filthyatheist on April 19, 2007 at 2:09 pm

O'Reilly really is a bampot, prepared to shout down his victims/guests, at the drop of a hat, if he doesn't like what they say or if they stand up to his bullying.

Richard could make a bigger splash by publically dumping the O'Reilly interview and going on Keith Olberman's Countdown show on MSNBC. O'Reilly hates Keith and it would be a big news story in here in the US.

Other Comments by filthyatheist

18. Comment #33175 by Graham on April 19, 2007 at 2:16 pm

As I mentioned under the thread I started on the forum, this is a big mistake. Richard Dawkins shouldn't give O'Reilly the credibility of allowing him interview time. This is a no-win situation, O'Reilly always gives himself the last word.

But if he must do it then I implore him to keep a sense of humour and don't let O'Reilly get under his skin. I wish him the best of luck (whatever that means).

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19. Comment #33177 by maton100 on April 19, 2007 at 2:20 pm

For Darwin's sake, help us all.

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20. Comment #33178 by nogod42 on April 19, 2007 at 2:21 pm

Prof. Dawkins will have no trouble with that mental midget. Hopefully, the mental midgets watching Fox Noise can appreciate Prof. Dawkins and his views.

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21. Comment #33182 by Paul Nettleship on April 19, 2007 at 2:24 pm

Just watched the Sam Harris links. O'Reilly likes the sound of his own voice.

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22. Comment #33183 by RabbitDynamite on April 19, 2007 at 2:26 pm

I expect Reily's line of argument to go, in the immortal words of Bob Newhart, something like this

God exists
God loves America
You hate God
You hate America
America is always right
You are always wrong
You're going to burn in hel IMRIGHTIMRIGHTIMRIGHTIMRIGHTIMRIGHTCUTTHECAMERA!

Other Comments by RabbitDynamite

23. Comment #33184 by maton100 on April 19, 2007 at 2:27 pm

O'Reilly called Dawkins a "pinhead." On the other hand, if O'Reilly's brain was even close to the size of a pin, you'd still have enough room left over to write The Epic of Gilgamesh on it.

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24. Comment #33185 by firemancarl on April 19, 2007 at 2:27 pm

To say that "Pappa Bear" is an overgrown gasbag is right on the mark. There is a reason that Colberts "The Word" is such a great spoof of ol Bill.

He's the same yutz that is blaming the mayor of Virginia Beach, Va for an illegal alien killing someone with his car while he was drunk. Not sure how the mayor is to blame since she didn't buy him a drink or give him a car, but this will be the same kind of treatment that Prof Dawkins will get.

I can just see it now, every time that Dawkins has him in the crushing grip of reason, you'll hear "...but professor...."

Its a set up for O'Reilly to win.

One last thing. O'Reilly is the same guy who wrote in his syndicated column around Christmas that Thomas Jefferson would have prayed over Christmas dinner etc, all about "The war on Christmas"

Other Comments by firemancarl

25. Comment #33186 by krogercomplete on April 19, 2007 at 2:27 pm

"If anyone can have a civilized conversation with that guy, it's gotta be Dawkins."

Agreed. An interview with O'Reilly is pretty much a loser for anyone, so we are in the realm of damage minimization. Dawkins should be better equipped than most to come off neutral.

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26. Comment #33187 by filthyatheist on April 19, 2007 at 2:28 pm

I just had a look at the two Sam Harris clips. You can see how O'Reilly would go for Sam's sweeping attack on Islam.

If Richard is going on to talk about 'The God Delusion' O'Reilly will undoubtedly be more aggressive.

Fox News is what Nazi TV would have been like, today, if they hadn't been beaten in the second world war. Anti-nazi's should boycott it.

Other Comments by filthyatheist

27. Comment #33189 by maton100 on April 19, 2007 at 2:30 pm

I wish O'Reilly were a delusion.

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28. Comment #33191 by admin on April 19, 2007 at 2:33 pm

I think it's important to remember that Bill O'Reilly won't want to come off as the aggressor with someone as respected and well-mannered as Richard. He's blown up on guests many times, but usually these are people who don't have the class that Richard has. I think you can see in Sam's interview that Bill is making an effort to come off as a reasonable host. He's certainly going to talk over Richard, but I suspect we'll see a more adult Bill than was present in the recent Heraldo interview.

And Richard is so good with short, solid, quality soundbites, I think he'll do fine. It may take O'Reilly 30 seconds to say something, and Richard will reply with clarity in 10 seconds. Let's not forget that Richard confronts people with opposing views ALL THE TIME. Yes, the format is short, but this is Richard's bread and butter.

This interview is worth doing if only to reach a new audience. Some viewers will come here to RichardDawkins.net, and some will pick up The God Delusion. That's enough.

Josh

Other Comments by admin

29. Comment #33194 by RichardPrins on April 19, 2007 at 2:34 pm

This should be interesting!

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30. Comment #33195 by Bookman on April 19, 2007 at 2:34 pm

93% of Fox News's viewership is Republican and most of those are theists. It could be a good thing to have them hear a little of what RD has to say. I suspect that O'Reilly will not be too out-of-line when interviewing a famous Oxford scientist. O'Reilly is is typical bully and attacks hardest against people who are "lower" in the social pecking-order. I think Professor Dawkins should try to have a little fun with it -- there's nothing much to lose. I look forward to seeing the clip, as I don't get Fox News here in Canada.

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31. Comment #33196 by A. Richard Abeles on April 19, 2007 at 2:38 pm

Make sure you point out how delusional America is when it comes to Evolution and how it is impossible to argue or deny a Scientific FACT.

You will completely dismantle Oreilly I am sure.

Good luck Richard and make sure you are keeping yourself in the Spotlight and as much as possible.

We need you in America now, more than ever.

Other Comments by A. Richard Abeles

32. Comment #33197 by redwards on April 19, 2007 at 2:41 pm

I really can't see this going all that well so long as the volume control belongs to O'Reilly.

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33. Comment #33198 by Ignoramus on April 19, 2007 at 2:42 pm

I think going on O'Reilly is a mistake.
He craves credibility and this gives it to him.
He is intellectually dishonest and should be ignored.
But I'll watch with interest!

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34. Comment #33199 by Lagomort on April 19, 2007 at 2:44 pm

""Sam Harris has been on O'Reilly a few times and it turned out fine.""

This has nothing to do with it. Sam Harris was brought on Fox to back a position already found on Fox News, mainly that people treat the subject of islamic terrorism too hands off, as in everyone is too politically-correct to say what they are really thinking. Using Sam, they get the opinion discussed, but make claim they did not bring it up. In other words, they are looking to make Sam Harris work for them...

Dawkins is TOTALLY DIFFERENT!!! Dawkins does not have anything to say to support Fox News, and he has written a book that is hated by most of their viewers, even though few have read it.

Dawkin must get ready for anything, especially ESPECIALLY, misquotes of his argument, where Bill will add a piece of BS into a few facts, play a few semantics, and then go, "OK, now answer that, Yes or no?," which will be near impossible to do. As Dawkins tries to explain where Bill is misquoting, or misunderstanding, Bill will start to get self-righteous and talk over him using up much of Dawkins time. In the end Bill will say, "OK. last word." and he will interrupt there as well, and then say the true last words after Dawkins can no longer reply, again, where he will misstate what Dawkins said, demonizing him, or belittling him in some way...

Other Comments by Lagomort

35. Comment #33200 by Gordon Brown on April 19, 2007 at 2:47 pm

Oh, great! I can hardly wait for Mr. "Does-your-vibrator-have-a-name?" to spout off about the connection of belief to morality. I don't see this as a no-win situation for RD. Let's hope that O'-LIE-lly doesn't get under his skin, and RD defuses him with his usual unflappable calm and reasoned manner.

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36. Comment #33201 by Graham on April 19, 2007 at 2:47 pm

"Some viewers will come here to RichardDawkins.net, and some will pick up The God Delusion." Josh

Ok, fair point, but Prof. Dawkins needs to keep in mind that those are the people he's talking to, and not to O'Reilly. Take the moral high ground and stick to it.

Other Comments by Graham

37. Comment #33202 by AdrianB on April 19, 2007 at 2:49 pm

Didn't RD enter into an agrrement with Gould not to debate with creationists?

This has to be nearly as risky.

Still I look forward to watching. TGD sold pretty much solely to our side, perhaps we need to take some risks and now is the time to crank up the debate to the opposition.

Other Comments by AdrianB

38. Comment #33203 by Hip_Priest on April 19, 2007 at 2:54 pm

Bookman writes:

93% of Fox News's viewership is Republican and most of those are theists.

I guess the other 7% are people like me - watching out of a morbid sense of curiosity.

Other Comments by Hip_Priest

39. Comment #33204 by drbreakfast on April 19, 2007 at 2:54 pm

26. Comment #33187 by filthyatheist on April 19, 2007 at 2:28 pm
I just had a look at the two Sam Harris clips. You can see how O'Reilly would go for Sam's sweeping attack on Islam.

___________________________________

I'm in total agreement with filtyatheist. O'Reilly was suprisingly cordial with Harris and mentioned "The End of Faith," but did not address SH's points against religion generally. I think O'Reilly's relative calm affect during that segment was due to the focus on Islam.

In direct contrast, when O'Reilly had Dr. Newdow (the atheist-parent who had sued on 1st Amendment grounds over the Pledge of Alliance containing the words "under God") on his show, O'Reilly was all over him despite Newdow's moderate stand and informed discussion.

I suspect that O'Reilly will be far more aggressive with RD. O'Reilly is a loud Bible thumper who regularly has segments denouncing the ACLU and secular groups for pursuing separation of church & state causes. "God is under attack!!" he frequently cries.

While I have little hope that RD will be allowed to get in more than 30 seconds of discussion, I think his appearance on that show is generally a good thing. Let the theists like O'Reilly continue to trot out the same tired, baseless and irrational justifications for their beliefs. To anyone paying attention and keeping an open mind, they can only realize that it's the theists who can't justify their beliefs without shouting, not the "new atheists."

Other Comments by drbreakfast

40. Comment #33205 by MarcKeys on April 19, 2007 at 2:54 pm

I fear the outcome of this interview O'Riely may just shout down his throat.

Other Comments by MarcKeys

41. Comment #33206 by krogercomplete on April 19, 2007 at 2:55 pm

Does anyone know if this is going to be an exclusive studio interview where Dawkins actually comes in and sits at that table, or will he be broadcast via satellite along with another guest (or two)?

Regardless, I have a feeling they will focus more on the effects religion has on society and whether religious people are "delusional." I doubt we see a creation v. evolution debate, or even a logical debate about the existence of god.

Other Comments by krogercomplete

42. Comment #33207 by youmemeyou on April 19, 2007 at 2:57 pm

Mr. Dawkins, the best of luck to you. It's a wide exposure under the worst of circumstances.

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43. Comment #33211 by Bremas on April 19, 2007 at 3:17 pm

I think this is a great move. Richard will do just fine.
I'd be more curious to see the viewer response mail.

I have never been able to figure O'Reilly out. I even read one of his earlier books. Not bad(emphasis Earlier books). In it he talks about going to church and listening to the sermon and thinking that the person talking is nothing more than a man and could be just as wrong as anyone else.

Other Comments by Bremas

44. Comment #33212 by hasty toweling on April 19, 2007 at 3:20 pm

Dear Dr. Dawkins,

Be carefull here, O'Reilly is very good at his job, and knows how to frame the arguement to make his oppenents look bad.

Keep it simple.

Don't let him generalize by talking about Yaweh as some sort of vague "higher power", or something. Keep the conversation specific.

The subject of Evolution is probably your best bet here, since it involves matters of fact, rather than opinion.

O'Reily's entire point of view can be boiled down to what he sees as "secular progressives" undermining "traditionalists"; which needs to be shown as a misinterpretation of "reality" undermining "mythology", especially in the cases like evolution.

Good luck!

Other Comments by hasty toweling

45. Comment #33213 by Rtambree on April 19, 2007 at 3:21 pm

"Just shut up Mr Dawkins, shut up. I know there's a God because I believe there's a God and I believe there's a God because I know there's a God. And 300 million Americans can't be wrong can they? How can you be smarter than 300 million Americans?"

Other Comments by Rtambree

46. Comment #33215 by Hip_Priest on April 19, 2007 at 3:27 pm

The bit I'm looking forward to the most is O'Reilly barking "Why are you athiests so DAMN ANGRY!?" at a calm Dawkins.

Other Comments by Hip_Priest

47. Comment #33216 by Jack Rawlinson on April 19, 2007 at 3:31 pm

Stay cool, Richard. If you've done any homework on O'Reilly you'll know what to expect. Colbert he ain't!

He'll try to browbeat you but if you hang in there with your usual measured persistence and clarity you'll look good, I think.

Other Comments by Jack Rawlinson

48. Comment #33217 by sane1 on April 19, 2007 at 3:34 pm

This has huge potential to be a disaster.

O'Reilly stacks the deck, and uses his show to set people up, attack them, and and pontificate. ZERO intellectual honesty or integrity. NOT a good forum for RD. Did you see the useless interview by Paula Zahn a month or 2 ago. Also a waste of time for other reasons (e.g., not enough time, poor questions, and then 3 morons shouted about the topic)

This may be better as a 1 on 1, but don't expect reasonable or fair intelligent questioning. Colbert's parody of O'Reilly is so close to the real thing it is scary - only real difference is Colbert is funny and pleasant - O'Reilly is a nasty bastard with a microphone.

Other Comments by sane1

49. Comment #33218 by Frostbit on April 19, 2007 at 3:36 pm

Many of those that watch O'Reilly are irrational bubble heads. It's a waste of time Mr.Dawkins, go golfing instead.

Other Comments by Frostbit

50. Comment #33220 by the_blur on April 19, 2007 at 3:42 pm

#49 is right, boycott fox, you will go in and be talked over and yelled at. This exercise is useless at best and will not frame atheists in a fair light and make us look bad at worse.

He will accuse you of being a communist and a stalinist as well as in league with the Nazis and pol pot (possibly in the same breath, that is how big a windbag this man is).

It would be insulting to you to lower yourself to the level where you agree to an interview by fox news.

Please boycott it doc.

Other Comments by the_blur