Yesterday's News Today

Here at The Ad Contrarian, we try very hard to stay at least a year behind the times.

We do this to gain some perspective and avoid looking like the fools who 9 months ago assured us that Facebook apps were the new greatest thing ever, and widgets would change the world.

Today, we are going to talk about the news, and why it's so much more beneficial to read last year's newspaper than today's.

You see, reading today's newpaper you will learn about what people think is happening. In other words, you'll learn nothing.

But if you read last year's newspaper, you can compare what people thought was happening to what actually happened. In other words, you'll learn something.

Here are a few stories from The New York Times of a year ago this week, and what we can learn from these stories:

• Hillary nails it: "Sources with direct knowledge of the conversation between Sen. Clinton and Gov. Bill Richardson, D-N.M., prior to the Governor's endorsement of Obama, says she told him flatly, "He cannot win, Bill. He cannot win."

• Good call! "G.M.’s chief sales analyst, Michael C. DiGiovanni said that G.M. remained upbeat about the latter part of the year, when it believed a recovery could begin. "The fundamentals are in place for a second-half recovery,” he said. “We’re starting to see the positive signs that we thought we would see.”

• Big thumbs-up to these guys. "Stocks Mostly Up As Investors Overcome Economic Worries...investors seemed to turn their attention to broader signs...that suggested that government efforts to steady the economy were working...Tom Lydon, president of Global Trends Investments... said... “over all, things aren’t all that bad.”...a UBS equities strategist, David Bianco, said...“Business activity is strong in the U.S. and especially globally...”

• Yeah, that did the trick. "Starbuck's Revamp Entertainment Unit... Starbucks shook up its entertainment division on Thursday in the latest bid by the company to invigorate its sagging sales."

So what have we learned by reading last year's newspaper?

1. Politicians don't know shit.
2. Business analysts don't know shit.
3. Business strategists don't know shit.
4. Business leaders don't know shit.

My advice: Stay behind the times and learn something.