Removing DRM is acceptable for certain personal uses, including, for example, making purchased media usable on your personal hardware.
Depends on the legislation you're in. In Germany it's quite certainly illegal.
> I did. It took about 30 seconds, from downloading the ebook from Amazon, converting it in Calibre, and pushing it to my Nook.
You are a technically savvy user. 99% of normal humans are not.
DRM is a serious issue, even if the book itself is free.
It's considered tortuous infringement (unlawful) in the UK too.