"Could you imagine the immediate legal action and penalties that
would
be imposed on a soaring operation or a private owner, if it was
discovered that they took paying passengers up in aircraft that were
in violation of ADs?"

Yes, I imagine if a private owner took a paying passenger up the FAA
would get incensed.

I'm only replying because I got myself suckered into reading this
thread, which seems to have virtually no relevance to soaring. We
know how the FAA administers soaring, and that we're not going to get
any breaks for any reason, so grumbling because someone else may or
may not have gotten a break doesn't have much relevance to our
interests.

Well, my only point is I wish the forum was only used for topics that
are primarily soaring. There are plenty of places to go over the pros
and cons of SWA vs. FAA.