Barking, birthing insanity

Insanity may sometimes be sneaky, hiding under a veneer of rationality. And some people we might think of as insane are merely misguided. But once in a while, someone comes along for whom there is no doubt of the diagnosis.

Orly Taitz is one of those.

In case you’re not aware of who that is: Orly Taitz, sometimes derisively referred to as “the Israeli woman” (she’s originally from the USSR, and came here by way of Israel), is a dentist and lawyer — an interesting combination — who lives in California, and who has emerged, in recent months, as a sort of spokeswoman for the “birther” fruit-bats, the people who maintain, against all evidence and sense, that Barack Obama was born in Kenya, and is, therefore, not qualified to be President. Taitz, as quoted in the New York Times:

Obama is completely illegitimate as a U.S. president for two reasons — not only because he did not provide the place of his birth, but also because both parents have to be U.S. citizens. His father was never a U.S. citizen. He was in the United States on a student visa.

As the Times immediately points out, “That, of course, is not true. Both parents do not have to be citizens of the United States for their child to be a citizen.”

Of course, getting a fact wrong, even a very basic one, is not evidence of insanity. On the other hand, one can argue that simply sitting on the bench with the birthers is, given the ample evidence that they’re wrong. In the beginning, it was a fair question, despite the motivation for asking it. But it’s long been settled, and no one with any credibility will give these imbeciles the time of day, at this point.

But with Orly Taitz, it goes beyond the time of day — far, far beyond it. Apart from taking the microphone for the cause, she has taken also to litigating for it, and in a most bizarre way: she’s the lawyer for some birthers who’re in the military and who won’t report for duty because Taitz says, on their behalf, that they ultimately report to the Commander In Chief, and the person currently claiming that position is illegitimate.

Right.

After the cases have been summarily dismissed or bucked around for a bit, U.S. District Court Judge Clay Land — a Bush appointee, by the way — issued a 14-page order denouncing Taitz as the nutjob she is, and telling her to stop wasting the court’s time. Judge Land has ordered Taitz to show cause why he shouldn’t fine her $10,000 for filing frivolous motions.

Talking Points Memo talked with Orly Taitz, and reports Taitz’s response to the order:

In an interview with TPM just now, Birther evangelist Orly Taitz fired back at Clay Land, the U.S. district court judge who tore apart Birtherism and threatened Taitz with sanctions in an order today, saying that “somebody should consider trying [the judge] for treason and aiding and abetting this massive fraud known as Barack Hussein Obama.”

“This is so outrageous what this judge did — it goes in the face of law and order,” said Taitz, reached at her office in Mission Viego,[sic] CA. “Not every judge is as corrupt as Judge Land. Some judges believe in the Constitution. And some judges believe in the rule of law.”

And then:

“Oh absolutely, absolutely,” she said. “Listen, Nelson Mandela stayed in prison for years in order to get to the truth and justice.”

And Taitz brushed off the possibility of sanctions. “I’m not afraid of sanctions. Because I know this is not frivolous. I know this is extremely important — the most important issue in this country today.”

“Judge Land is a typical puppet of the regime — just like in the Soviet Union,” she said.

That is the evidence that she is completely, totally, off her tree. Not only does she consider President Obama a “fraud”, but she has delusions of being a Nelson Mandela, in her fight for what she sees as justice. She imagines the U.S. as her native Soviet Union, and Judge Land as a treasonous “puppet”. She’s paranoid and delusional, and, so, particularly suited to being the mouthpiece for the birthers. The Wikipedia entry on her lists a number of other loony claims she makes about President Obama and beyond.

Even Judge Land implies that she’s certifiable, with a reference to Alice in Wonderland.

On the good side, TPM reports that a complaint has been filed against her with the California bar. With any luck, she’ll soon be disbarred — by more puppets of the regime, I guess.
 

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Update, 24 Sep: Want more? Read this article in Esquire, particularly the part where Taitz talks with Kentucky’s Commissioner of Criminal Investigations.