Is there a time after which software becomes automatically free?

[LoadWB]

Tripitaka's screed is well thought out and articulated.  While I do agree that our country is on the slide to severely reduced rights and individual responsibility abdicated into the hands of an over-reaching federal government, I feel, however, that it grossly exaggerates individual sovereignty and sounds more like a sovereign citizen or anarchist manifesto, or a hard-core Ron Paul disciple.

[LoadWB]

It just shows how our laws are written.  It is still illegal in London to walk a pig the wrong way down a one-way street, beat your wife after dark and taxi cabs are supposed to carry hay to feed their horses.  

Agreed with that point.  We have a lot of useless laws in various states which are never taken off the books because they're of little importance and not enforced.  Every once in a while you'll come across a story where one of these archaic laws are enforced and it causes a great stir.  And rightly so, IMNSHO, as I believe these cases are often nothing more than political expedience.  The judges are often in the position to throw out a case due to the lack of enforcements or hold true to the letter of the law, in both cases the results would be taken to appeal and eventually the state's supreme court.  There's a lot of legal shenanigans involving state constitution and potential legislation which is a complex Pandora's box.

[LoadWB]

Someone smarter than I once said you can tell a society's priorities by looking at what it punishes most strongly.

That sounds too broad to me.  If it punishes in the forefront then, yes, it is a fairly good indication.  Such as forcing a man to register as a sex offender for peeing off the side of a highway.  Fortunately society is malleable and can face silly episodes like these and correct them.  In terms of priorities, I would accept that premise in the context of a society which has more priority with dealing with pressing matters rather than spending time taking archaic laws off the books.

Although, I would be pretty happy if all our city and county commissions, state legislatures, and Congress would take a year off to purge laws.  I wouldn't have to worry every day about what new stupid restriction I'll face when I awake.

I feel we've strayed a little off the topic.