Several months ago Glenn Beck began promoting his Restoring Honor rally with the stated intention of commending everyday citizens who "embody our nation's founding principles of integrity, truth and honor." The event, which Beck has said numerous times will be purely apolitical, has tapped Sarah Palin as the main guest speaker and will feature a prominent sponsorship by the National Rifle Association. It also will be held on the steps of the Lincoln memorial in Washington D.C. on August 28th, the day that marks the 47th anniversary of Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech.

It's the last tidbit that rankled the sensibilities of civil-rights activists to the point where many are staging their own march. Those opposed to Beck's rally include the Rev. Al Sharpton (who eviscerated Beck earlier this summer) and Marc Morial, president of the National Urban League. The Washington Post's DeNeen Brown retorts: "The event, supported by the NAACP, the Urban League and Martin Luther King III, 'is not a countermarch to Beck,' nor will the rally be about confrontation."

Beck, who once claimed "divine providence" was the reason his event coincided with the anniversary, this time had a more modest explanation:

It was not my intention to select 8-28 because of the Martin Luther King tie. It is the day he made that speech. I had no idea until I announced it and I walked offstage and my researchers said, New York Times has already just published that this is [the same day as the King speech] -- and I said, 'Oh, jeez.'

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Erik Hayden