MLK, Mark Twain quotes go viral -- and are wrong

Entertainer Penn Jillette apologizes on Twitter for tweeting a quote that was misattributed to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.Quotes from MLK and Mark Twain addressing Osama bin Laden's death were both wrong
King's viral quote apparently started when woman added it after her own thoughts
The misquote went viral, aided by a tweet from entertainer Penn Gillette
Quote that's somewhat similar to an actual Twain quote was from lawyer Clarence Darrow

(CNN) -- As quotable American figures go, it's hard to top the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Mark Twain. So, in the wake of the historic raid that killed terrorist leader Osama bin Laden, it's not surprising that both had quotes that were all over social media.

Just one problem: They never said either one of them.

The quote attributed to King, used by many to express discomfort with celebrations of bin Laden's death, ended up being a mashup of something he actually said with commentary an Internet user had written before quoting him.

The supposed quote, which made its away across Twitter and Facebook Monday and Tuesday, read like this:

"I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that."

Beginning with "Returning hate for hate ...," the last three sentences are in fact, a King quote from his book "Strength to Love." But the first sentence, and arguably the one most pointedly apropos to the bin Laden aftermath, is not.

Twitter user Jessica Dovey would later say the partial misquote originated with her. She posted a link to her Facebook page, on which it appears she wrote the first sentiment and followed it with the King language -- in quotation marks and followed by the attribution "MLK jr."

Apparently, one of her Facebook friends shared it and, from there, it went viral.

Its biggest boost appeared to come from entertainer Penn Jillette, who tweeted the incorrect quote to his 1.6 million followers. He would later correct it.

But not before the lightning-fast world of the Internet got wind of the misquote (in some cases from online articles that mistakenly blamed him for creating it) and used Twitter to hurl sometimes harsh criticism at him.

By Tuesday, as the confusion began to clear, Dovey appeared to be focused on the positive aspects of the misunderstanding.

"I am overwhelmed: my tiny voice has sparked meaningful, intelligent debate across the interwebs," she wrote on Twitter, following with the hashtag "#peace."

Another quote making the rounds Monday and Tuesday was attributed to Mark Twain, the author and legendary wit who, alongside William Shakespeare and the Bible, may be among the world's (and Internet's) most misquoted sources.

The quote certainly sounds like something Twain would have written or said: "I've never wished a man dead, but I have read some obituaries with great pleasure."

Matt Blum at Wired was among those who caught the misquote. A similar version actually came from Clarence Darrow, an American lawyer most known for his role in the Scopes Monkey Trial.

His quote: "I have never killed any one, but I have read some obituary notices with great satisfaction."

The quote may have gotten confused with another that's long been attributed to Twain: "I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it."

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LaHood Gives Wrong Reason for Firing Air Traffic Controller

AP

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, right, is shown here at a news conference in Allentown, Pa., March 4.

The Federal Aviation Administration on Thursday corrected Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, who announced the dismissal of two air traffic controllers during a news interview Wednesday, but gave the wrong reason for one of their dismissals.

With the Federal Aviation Administration under harsh scrutiny following a series of mishaps, LaHood told PBS that two air traffic controllers -- one in Tennessee and one in Miami -- had been fired. So far so good. 

He then explained that the controller in Miami had been fired for guiding a 737 Southwest flight to look at a small plane that was out of radio contact to determine if something was amiss.

"Completely violates procedures," he said. "You can't guide a big plane over to look at a small plane. That's not the way that's done."

But the controller was fired not for being incompetent, but for sleeping on the job.

LaHood was correct that the Tennessee controller was fired for making a bed in the control tower, including pillows and blankets.

"We're not going to sit by and let that kind of behavior take place in control towers," he said.

The two firings were two of the five cases involving sleeping controllers that have gained notoreity this year. 

In a separate embarrassment, a controller was caught watching a DVD movie at his post. That controller was suspended. In total, the FAA has suspended eight controllers and supervisors since late March.

But the civilian air traffic controller who allowed first lady Michelle Obama's Boeing 737 to get too close to a 200-ton military cargo jet on Monday will not be punished. Military air traffic controllers at Andrews Air Force Base had Obama's plane abort a landing out of fear that the military jet wouldn't have enough time to clear the runway.

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the incident. LaHood told PBS that the first lady was never in any danger, the U.S. has the safest aviation system in the world but it needs to perform better.

"So, I would say that flying is safe, but we need to do more, and we are doing more, and we will continue to do more until we make sure that controllers take personal responsibility for the most important safety jobs they have," he said. "We're doing a top-to-bottom review of procedures, workplace procedures and other things."

The FAA issued new air traffic rules for flights carrying Mrs. Obama or the vice president. An air traffic supervisor rather than a controller will handle those flights, the agency said. A supervisor already handles flights carrying the president.

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He lost his job, but probe finds McChrystal did nothing wrong

Report: McChrystal did nothing wrongSTORY HIGHLIGHTSMcChrystal commanded U.S. and ISAF forces in AfghanistanA magazine article quoted his aides making disparaging remarks about U.S. leadersMcChrystal resigned his command and later retired from the miliaryA DoD inspector general's investigation finds neither he nor his aides did anything wrong Washington (CNN) -- Gen. Stanley McChrystal lost his job when Rolling Stone magazine ran an article in which some of his aides made disparaging remarks about the vice president and others. But a newly released investigation by the Department of Defense inspector general finds neither McChrystal nor any of his aides did anything wrong.

In the article called "The Runaway General" reporter Michael Hastings wrote that one of McChrystal's aides referred to Vice President Joseph Biden as "Bite Me" and another referred to then-national security adviser Gen. James Jones as a "clown."

After interviewing 15 people, the inspector general's office completed its report on April 8. It was made public Monday after a Freedom of Information Act request by the New York Times. Neither McChrystal, who cooperated with an earlier Army investigation, nor Hastings were interviewed for the inspector general's report.

In the report, the inspector general writes, "The evidence was insufficient to substantiate a violation of applicable DoD standards." The report goes on to say, "Not all of the events at issue occurred as reported in the article."

It concluded "none of the matters we reviewed warrant further investigation."

McChrystal, who had been in charge of all U.S. and International Security Assistance Force units in Afghanistan, was brought back to Washington after the article was published. After meeting with President Barack Obama, he resigned his command and later retired from the military.

But four days after the inspector general's report was completed, the White House announced McChrystal would be part of the Michelle Obama's and Jill Biden's new Joining Forces initiative. The organization is set up to support and honor America's service members and their families.

McChrystal is now a senior fellow at Yale University.

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Stamp features wrong Lady Liberty

The Lady Liberty stamp went on sale December 1 paired with with a flag stamp. STORY HIGHLIGHTSPostal Service says it would have chosen the image anywayThere are no plans to withdraw the stamp"It's certainly injected some excitement into our stamp program," spokesman saysRELATED TOPICSU.S. Postal ServiceStamp CollectingStatue of Liberty Washington (CNN) -- When the U.S. Postal Service printed 3 billion stamps last year, it thought the image was of the Statue of Liberty, the iconic symbol of freedom keeping watch over huddled masses yearning to breathe free.

But a sharp-eyed stamp collector uncovered the truth. The image on the 44-cent stamp was of a replica of the Statue of Liberty more than 2,000 miles away, keeping watch over throngs of sweaty Vegas tourists yearning to get rich.

The U.S. Postal Service on Friday confirmed that the image was of the statue at the New York-New York Hotel & Casino, a fact that was made known to them by a stamp collector a few weeks ago.

But, attempting to make the best of an embarrassing situation, the Postal Service said it would have picked the image anyway, and it said news of the mistake has added enthusiasm to the stamp-loving masses.

"We really like the image and are thrilled that people have noticed in a sense," spokesman Roy Betts said. "It's something that people really like. If you ask people in Vegas, they're saying, 'Hey, That's great. That's wonderful.' It's certainly injected some excitement into our stamp program."

The Lady Liberty stamp went on sale December 1 paired with a flag stamp.

Betts said the Postal Service obtained the image from a photo service, which had misidentified the image as being the Statute of Liberty. Consequently, the Postal Service also identified the stamp as being the original Statue of Liberty in materials about the new stamps, Betts said, but it has since rectified the error.

The stamp is a "Forever" stamp, meaning its value is always equal in value to the current First-Class Mail 1-ounce rate.

Betts said the stamp design was reviewed by a citizens stamp advisory committee, which endorsed it.

But a stamp collector "brought it to our attention" that the image was of the casino statue a little less then a month ago. "We immediately started to go into a research mode," Betts said. "Once we got confirmation that it was the replica, then we started to make the necessary changes in our description, and then we started to look at our own internal processes."

Betts said the Postal Service never considered withdrawing the stamp. "There's no reason to," he said. "There's no error on the artwork. It's not as if we are saying this is Lady Liberty and we are showing a picture of some other lady."

"We would have used this image anyway," he said. "We were looking for a different treatment of this icon that has been on 23 different stamps previously."

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Regulators order mortgage firms to repay homeowners for wrong foreclosures

and that it planned to levy fines in the future. All three government agencies said they would review the foreclosure audits.

In the four years since the housing bust, about 5 million homes have been foreclosed upon. About 2.4 million primary mortgages were in foreclosure at the end of last year. Another 2 million were 90 days or more past due, putting them at serious risk of foreclosure.

MORE: Critics say new rules aren't tough enoughSTORY: States help homeowners avoid foreclosureCritics, including Democratic lawmakers in Congress, say the order is too lenient on the lenders. House Democrats introduced legislation Wednesday that would require lenders to perform a series of steps, including an appeals process, before starting foreclosures.

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