OT: Debian questions

Everyone here is an expert in Debian, I presume.  I should be
moving to Debian in the near future, I hope.  Manually updating
through source and personally handling all the associated
dependencies on a Red Hat distribution is consuming enormous
amounts of my time.  As a paying customer, and someone who
tirelessly provided free marketing for them, along with a great
deal of user support over the years, I do passionately resent Red
Hat's new leadership for dumping us -- after we were finally able
to help them to become profitable.  All this new work continually
reminds me of how we were spit in the face.  Perhaps Debian
should get a new slogan like: 

   "Debian -- because we can't trust the corporate bastards."

Perhaps I am being too gentle.  What do you think?

Anyway... I have a couple of newbie questions:

1 - Which version of Debian should I get?  Newer software would
help with compatibility issues with not included applications,
but security is my highest priority.

2 - What is the best source of Debian information for a
struggling newbie?  In other words, what do you people do when
you need help?

-- 
  Thomas Corriher
  A.I.M.: corriherct
  phone: 336-391-2713