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New Hampton — They meant what they said and they're not taking it back.

Despite dozens of phone calls of denunciation — and a few of support — the pair of brothers who own New Hampton Lumber say they have no plans to remove the sign in front of the business that congratulates Al Qaeda and the Hasidic Village of Kiryas Joel for the results of last week's congressional elections.

The message, which has been on display since the day after Election Day, drew dozens of phone calls to Seth and Dennis Arluck after photos of it were posted on several blogs.

The sign was the product of Seth Arluck, a local Republican activist who volunteered for Rep. Sue Kelly's unsuccessful re-election campaign. Like many local politicos, he believes a last-minute endorsement by the bloc-voting Kiryas Joel carried Kelly's Democratic opponent John Hall to victory.

But the in-your-face response, along with the reference to Al Qaeda, infuriated many Hasidics who called to demand that the sign come down. Dennis Arluck, who said he didn't initially agree with his brother's method of rebuttal, now says he wants him to keep the sign up.

"I'm backing him on it, especially when people say I can't put out a sign expressing my views," Dennis Arluck said. "It's a free speech issue now."

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