BADecker, you draw too many conclusions from things that are totally unrelated.
Even if we did revamp the government from the ground up, I would still want people like Ulbricht to be imprisoned. I might let them out of prison in their 70s because the chance of them doing much harm at that point is over. I still want controls on anyone that promotes hard drug use (directly or indirectly), weapons distribution or harms children among many others. In fact, I would drastically increase penalties for some things like cruelty to animals.
This is one of the reasons it would be so difficult to accomplish anything even if an attempt was made. I would want changes in complete opposition to what you desire.
Yes, I think Ulbricht should be in prison, although mainly for charges other than the drug selling (I remember reading something about an attempt at hiring a hitman and weapons being sold on Silk Road). We have many legal "drugs" in the US. I do not need a nanny state to tell me which harmful drugs I'm allowed to use and which ones I am not. They are ALL harmful to an extent and I am more than capable of weighing my own pros and cons in substance use. The money spent on the war on drugs would be better put to use in education, treatment and addiction facilities.
It also appears from your previous posts you are in favor of tighter gun controls or even an outright ban on civilian gun ownership. Both of which I oppose fervently. What's the oft coined phrase?
"If you criminalize gun ownership then only the criminals will own guns."
I know the nuances of gun control laws and consequences cannot simply be boiled down to a 2 dollar catch phrase on a NRA poster, but France has much tighter gun laws than the US and yet criminals can just as easily mow down a street of people there as they can here.
I respect your desire for change and modernization, I just think you are pulling at the wrong threads if you want to realistically bring the majority of our country behind a change. Lobbyists, corruption, governmental transparency, the revolving door between congress and corporations, term limits for positions that have none, etc are more pressing issues that have a greater feasibility for public support.