as2 will only confuse you - as3 is much more structured and will force you to be a better coder. You can learn all the basics in as3, work in the timeline and eventually move on to the Document Class and make your own classes.
When a project starts getting big, if you don't have things laid out and somewhat planned, you'll spend a ton more time trying to get it working right.
There are a ton of good tutorials list above - but also check out the video tutorials at
http://gotoandlearn.com/ - great stuff to start with
I'd start out on ActionScript 2 for your first few basic tutorials to ease you into basic programming concepts: MovieClips, variables and input etc. where the syntax isn't swamped with punctuation. From what I've seen, ActionScript 2 looks a lot more legible for someone with absolutely no programming experience or background.
Once you've got the concepts done, transfer any existing knowledge of ActionScript 2 and start learning how to code properly working games and interactive web applications (or whatever it is you want to do).
Of course learning all of ActionScript 2 and then leaping into ActionScript 3 and pointlessly relearning everything is a stupid mistake, I don't think that's what people mean. ActionScript 2 is just easier for inexperienced web developers, nail the concepts with something you can click your fingers and understand and then go and learn how to develop application in ActionScript 3, which is more advanced, but you'll understand a lot of the rules and thoughts behind the workings of it.
