Briefly...

Merrick Garland
From what I've been able to learn, Garland is not one to blaze new frontiers, closely basing his decisions on precedent.  Many would call that "conservative."  Would he be different if advanced to the Supremes?  Beats me.

Friedrichs
What's left of organized labor in the USofA dodged the bullet when a divided Supreme Court let stand a lower court ruling affirming agency fee — the principle that non-members can be charged for services provided by a union, including collective bargaining, contract enforcement, and grievance.  Dead Tony would have rewarded the wannabe free riders with —what else?— free rides.

That iPhone again
It's been "leaked" that an Israeli security firm cracked Farook's iPhone.  I suppose people will feel better about that than if they heard the encryption had been cracked by the Russian based Kaspersky Labs.  Mostly, though, it sounds like the administration didn't want to risk losing to Apple in court.  It's also possible that the encryption wasn't penetrated, but the Obamites thought they'd punish Apple by saying it was.

"Allies"
The USofA should be embarrassed to have Turkey and Saudi Arabia as allies, and Likudniks have steadily been pushing Israel into that category as well.  While there never was a time when the USofA acted on its stated ideals rather than its immediate interests, it would be nice if Kissenger, Cheney, and realpolitik all dropped dead tomorrow.

That iPhone

Now that Defense Department officials are expressing concerns about FBI and administration efforts to force Apple to provide a "back door" to its iPhone encryption, and even the Obama crew is hesitant to ask for Congressional action to force Apple's hand (probably because Congress would be likely to go overboard in the ecstasy of patriotic orgasm), it's time to reconsider just what "vital information" might be available on the phone in question.

We should bear in mind that the phone's metadata has been examined, and Farook did not use it to contact anybody outside the United States.  The FBI knows who was in communication with the San Bernadino attacker, and presumably is thoroughly investigating those persons.  If there is any significant reason to suspect that any of them was involved, surely warrants could be obtained to search their phones.  Since they're not dead, their passwords are not lost; and given the propensity of individuals to give up their civil rights to "prove their innocence," Farook's communications could be read without penetrating his iPhone's encryption.

Face it: law enforcement just can't tolerate any restrictions on its ability to invade our privacy.  Fourth Amendment rights have been weakened enough already.  It's time to draw the line.