They way I view it, GPL is free provided it's the status quo for everything to be "free software", and it is the goal of GNU to make such a world. BSD / ASL is is free in the mixed environment that is our current reality. I admire the idealism of the GPL and believe it has achieved much. But for getting work done right now, I find the BSD / ASL is more appropriate.

edit: side note - I know many customers are very happy to adopt BSD / ASL software, but more hesitant to adopt GPL because not everything they do can or will be open-source. If, one day, everyone is using like BSD or ASL or GPL, switching to an all GPL world becomes more feasible.