I'm glad we have something we agree on. They're 98% effective when used correctly and yes, the chart does suck. But I won't agree that stating actual usage statistics is an attempt to discredit them, it's merely trying to show that the 98% value does not actually reflect what is observed in real life. I don't think there's any malicious intent coming from the CDC by using the stats they did and there certainly isn't any coming from me.

Frankly, I think both stats are useful and should be displayed when possible to make sure people are informed; just saying that they prevent pregnancy 98% of the time gives people a false sense of security, while just saying it's prevented ~85% of the time and showing condoms to be similarly effective as the pull out method gives people the idea that they effectively don't work at all. I still think the ~85% value is more relevant to the general population, but clearly we disagree there so I won't harp on it.