> I realize that css isn't the best language in the world. But if it was intuitive to write css forwards and backwards regardless of document flow -- this wouldn't be a discussion topic. The question is the amount of time invested to learn it.

Quite right. The argument, as I see it, is that it's much more practical to use the best cross-platform tool for the job, which in many cases is tables and not CSS. He's arguing that it's not worth the time.

> at least one follows a clear stated goal -- html describes the content, css draws the presentation.

This isn't even close to CSS Zen Garden's stated goal. Its goal is to show what is possible to do using CSS. It's goal is to be "A demonstration of what can be accomplished visually through CSS-based design." There's nothing about content/presentation separation anywhere on the site.

> but at least at the core we can see that HTML is purely being used to describe the content

That's certainly not what I see at all, especially at CSS Zen Garden, if that's what you're still referring to here.

> Allowing _enough_ separation required for programmers to be nearly clueless of a designer's job.

If you mean programmer == HTML, and designer == CSS, then this is simply wrong.