I think, at least in some small part, the people who went over-the-top anti-table in favor of CSS don't advocate table-cell usage for that reason.
That is, it could be read as kind of an admission of CSS's shortcomings for layout, and HTML table's relative ease for same.
Kind of like saying, "Don't use HTML tables. They are evil and you are an amateur. Use CSS instead. It is amazing and absolutely rocks. Er, BTW, if you actually want it to work, use table/table-cell properties, etc".
That is, it could be read as kind of an admission of CSS's shortcomings for layout, and HTML table's relative ease for same.
Kind of like saying, "Don't use HTML tables. They are evil and you are an amateur. Use CSS instead. It is amazing and absolutely rocks. Er, BTW, if you actually want it to work, use table/table-cell properties, etc".