Will you be posting as much of the interview as possible for those of us without cable? Or perhaps they will have it at richarddawkins.net?

I'm sure Norm or richarddawkins will have it.

Predictions of what Oreally argues

1) "america founded on christianity which is what makes it great..." or something to that effect.

2) "Athiests are dishonest and focus only on science, disregarding faith, which is what religion is, is faith"

3) "religion has done so much good in the world... why fight it"

4) And finally, Pascals wager is made at the end.

Man, these talking points write themselves.

Nooooooo! Richard! Whhyyyyy!

In all seriousness though, this will not go well. Richard will get shouted down most likely and interrupted throughout the "interview," mark my word!

I'm not sure dawkins can handle o'reilly. he is very good at what he does. you find yourself agreeing with him on his show even if he's telling total bullshit.

Yeah, of course he'll get shouted at, interrupted and cut off. But I fully expect Dawkins to retain his calm and get some cool jabs in at O'Reilly. Ultimately it's a pointless endeavor, since the only people who watch the show firmly believe that atheists are really glowy-eyed wolf demons masquerading as Englishmen.

Maybe the only thing we agree on is that atheists have no soul...

Dawkins is apparently not above slumming it to get his message across. I respect that...

I'm sure Bill could use the credibility Richard adds to his guest list.

I think Richard will do well. All he has to remember is not to get angry, empahsize that he is there to explain his views. To educate not to argue. O'Reilly will have nothing to work with. O'Reilly needs anger in order to respond in kind. If he comes off as angry in the face of calm reason he loses.

Norm, I wish it were that simple, but keep in mind O'Reilly's audience. These are the same people that relished in the shouting match with Geraldo only a couple of weeks ago. If O'Reilly manages to rile Dawkins, which is highly unlikely, he will create a great show with high ratings. If Dawkins does not respond in kind to O'Reilly's bully tactics, it only takes another Fox Noise anchor or caster to portray Dawkins as a pussy that can't stand up for himself.

Why do people insist on appearing on O'Reilly's show? It contributes to the false notion that he's a journalist, and they rarely get to present their positions effectively. On the other hand, the lefty broadcasters -- all three of them -- are scared shitless of Dawkins.

Actually, I think this could be really good. Dawkins could go on, say a few things to get O'Reilly worked up and yelling. If I were him, I'd sit there, let the guy yell with a perfectly calm face, nodding to show that I was paying attention, and then when O'Rielly pauses, I'd say "Are you done?" "Yeah, what have you got to say to that?" "Well, there's this stereotype that atheists are angry. But I'm not angry, so I think I've proved my point."

Say nothing more, and just walk off the set.

I'm pissed at O'Reilly already for what he will say to/about Dawkins.

Dawkins is just too calm and collected -- he's just not confrontational enough for Falafel-Boy to get worked up and truly into his groove. I don't think there'll be too much shouting.

But it does frustrate me that a respectable, intellectually astute person would agree to be interviewed by Fox, and thus lend credibility to a network that should have none -- slumming indeed. The only redemption is that hopefully there'll be a teenager out there somewhere, watching the show with their pro-Iraq-war, homophobic, crucifix-junkie parents, and she or he will think, "That guys makes a lot of sense."

I mean, you know -- hopefully...

Nice one Stefan: "Maybe the only thing we agree on is that atheists have no soul..."

Let's try to think of some great one liners like this for Richard! Who knows, he might use one if we can give him some like Stephans....hhmmmm thinking.....

O'Reilly will attempt to put words into Dawkins mouth in order to try and frustrate him into saying something out of anger, or to not get any valid points across while following an inane path of dumb logic. Don't let Billow do this. Call him out on his rude tactics, and definitely do not be rude first. If you have a calm rational debate with OReilly, he will lose his cool first, and easily be made to look like a jackass.

My suggestion is that Dawkins come dressed as a clown, and start juggling.

Heh.

Seriously, I hope Dawkins knows exactly what kind of creature he is dealing with. Say what you like about DohReilly, he knows how modern network TV works. Say anything longer than a soundbite, and he cuts you off.

Maybe Dawkins could grab a bottle (or two) of something stiff, and see what kind of Bill-O antics YouTube has, so he can prepare.

Richard will no doubt bring an air of calm and sophistication to the program. We too easily forget that just because someone is politically conservative they are not excluded from being an atheist. Atheism should not be a political statement, it has only become one because of the wingnuts attempting to secure more and more political power to advance their own agenda. Let's work toward making a/theism non-political.

Let's work toward making a/theism non-political.

Yeah..... good luck with that.

Remember folks, Dawkings is a very smart man. He knows what he's up against and he knows who O'liarly's core audience is. I think that is exactly why he is going there.

Remember, he started his American promotional tour in Kansas. There is method to the madness.

"Shut up! Shut up, I tell ya! Cut his mike! Cut his mike..!"

Maybe O'Reilly, like the Unreverend Haggard will call him "arrogant", and the next week something bad comes out of Bill's past?

I admire Dawkins for many reasons but I think it's a mistake to think obnoxious Bill will have it all his own way.

O'Reilly will not let Richard get any real point across before he cuts him off. I think the best strategy is for Richard to let Bill get all his typical stereotypes out in the open, even help him along in bring them out. Then at the end say "Those were excellent points and there all answered in my book."

In all honesty I think that's the best we can hope for.

My number one hope would be that Dawkins be very familiar with O'Reilly's tactics. Yes, I'm sure he's been hollered at by worse jerks than Bill, but I still think it would be worth reviewing past videos to be fully prepared.

Here's my suggestion: Cancel. We should be dealing with everyone who doesn't bother to inform themselves who have some how made it into the debate the same way we deal with creationists; don't bother. Ignore them and maybe they go away, starve them and maybe they die.

Actually, I expect O-really to temper his bullying and feign civility with Dawkins -- simply because of Dawkins' stature. Billo's interview with Bill Maher about Christianity might be useful: http://youtube.com/watch?v=fgrtHQ93L1g

Wow, that Maher clip was excellent. I saw him on another debate clip once, something where he wasn't on his own show, and he held up better than anyone I'd seen before or since. He makes his points and when they try to hit him with bullshit he has the right answer right away, no stammering. I haven't always agreed with him, but I admire this very rare quality of his. Offhand I have a hard time thinking of anyone else who holds up as well, except maybe Barney Frank. Barney Frank has more of an oratorical style, not as down and dirty as Maher.

"Maybe the only thing we agree on is that atheists have no soul..."

i also agree that this is a brilliant line. colin, not stefan. o you wicked, wicked man! well done.

i do love screwing around with definitions of "soul". i don't know the answers, but i know who i would ask. aretha franklin, for instance. looking at it this way, its oreilly that has no soul.

i'm sure richard has his reasons for going on the show, and i'm sure he's just as capable as any of the rest of us of figuring out billo's plan of attack beforehand. i hope he kicks his soulless ass.

Aretha Franklin has soul, but she also believes in God. I'd wager that most people who have "soul" in that sense do. The most sampled drumloop of all time, for instance, is called "Amen Brother".

This is one of the main reasons I don't accept Atheism, actually. Reason is only a small part of what makes life worth living, and not everything that's true stands to reason.

(FWIW, I run a very successful business in a very technical field -- so I'm not averse to Science, I just think it has its place.)