That's a case of assuming the worst without knowing the decisions that went into the spec. The idea of using a simple `$` syntax for variables came up and was d

That's a case of assuming the worst without knowing the decisions that went into the spec. The idea of using a simple `$` syntax for variables came up and was discussed but was eventually rejected. If I recall right it was rejected because they thought they might want to use it for a separate feature in the future. And they thought the function syntax better fit in with the rest of CSS (which uses functions a lot) anyways. I know I used to think the var syntax was incredibly ugly, but I have to say after using it for a while now, you actually get used to it. But read through the CSSWG mailing lists and you'll gain a lot more respect back for the decisions they make.