"No argument there. My point is that XML languages (I feel like the GNU/Linux guy) don't do anything but markup text well. I can buy a car with dimes. Why would I want to?"

That's a good point.  But still, a tool is a tool, and as such, you can't expect it to do the work for you, nor it will make it better if you don't use it properly.  Think of it as two different car dealers.  Each of them has a sign out front.  The first one reads: "Mustang for sale: $100.000".  The second one reads "Mustang for sale: $100.000.  5% Discount if you pay with dimes".  My point is that the "Why would I want to?" part can have a lot of explanations.  But it's still up to us to choose one.  In this particular case, I would put $5.000 against my laziness to gather the dimes.  Tuff call...

Yes, XML does nothing more than formatting text well.  But, if that's what I need, it just might worth the shot.  Why not?  Everyone else seems be using it!  (just kidding... )