diff -ru a/m4/validate.am b/m4/validate.am
--- a/m4/validate.am	2009-10-02 17:57:03.000000000 +0000
+++ b/m4/validate.am	2009-10-02 17:58:15.000000000 +0000
@@ -26,5 +26,5 @@
 .%-up-to-date:
 			@rm -f  .*-up-to-date
 			@$(MAKE) -s clean
-			@touch -t 197001020000 '$@'
+			@cp -a Makefile.am '$@'
 			@$(MAKE) -s $(BUILT_SOURCES)