No, it’s not from The Onion. The boxes were set up to collect donations for soldiers serving overseas. Well, that’s just apparently too “pro-war” for the city of Cambridge, Massachusetts, as it removed the boxes from a polling place. Remember, though, “They support the troops, just not the war”. And the best way to show support for the troops, is to make sure the local Boy Scouts don’t collect donations for them.

CAMBRIDGE – Was it just too pro-war for Cambridge? A troop of Boy Scouts is wondering why their donation boxes meant for troops in Iraq were thrown out of polling stations last week.

Election officials ordered the removal of donation boxes set up by a troop of Cambridge Boy Scouts of America during last Tuesday’s municipal election.

The boxes were set up inside the 33 polling stations around the city to collect donations for soldiers serving overseas in the war in Iraq.

Marsha Weinerman, executive director of the city’s Election Commission, said the boxes were removed after a resident complained to commission workers about their implied “pro-war” message.

“We contacted the law department, and it was determined that the best course of action would be to remove the boxes,” Weinerman said.

In a column that appears in this week’s Chronicle, Troop leader Jamisean Patterson said the commission twice granted the scouts permission to set up the boxes at the polling stations.

“We have never seen anything like this decision in Cambridge before,” Patterson wrote. The city is changing for the worse if decisions like this are allowed to be made.”

Helping soldiers is apparently too “pro-war”.