I am just getting started with Blender, which looks really cool....just wanted to somewhat verify the download.

Is there a md5 or sha1 file available for Blender 2.65 binary (linux, windows, mac)?

Viewing the official Blender FTP site, it does not look like anyone has been very religious about keeping an up-to-date md5 file. It has been hit and miss throughout its history, with 2.60 being the last release to include one.
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Spacemice Wiki -- Input devices for a 3D world.
Spacemice / Blender Compatibility

Thanks for the reply. Happen to know who I could email to find out? I'm not sure if it's a development question or FTP/repository question. It's surprising a high quality program like blender, that's on par with 3ds max, is hit or miss with the check sum and key verification.

You could download the source from the SVN server via SSL.